A Mother’s Wisdom & Tax Advice

It’s Mother’s Day, and what a great day it has been. Hopefully, you got an opportunity to spend time with your mother and had time to reflect on all she has done for you. Over the years, she’s likely given you some great advice… and maybe a few suggestions you chose to ignore.

What makes a mother’s advice so powerful is that it usually comes from a place of pure care, not control. Her wisdom is shaped not just by her own experiences but also by years of watching you grow, stumble, and try again. Often, we don’t fully appreciate her wisdom in the moment – but as time passes, we find ourselves repeating her phrases or acting on her insights, realizing just how right she was.

Through Purpose-Built Planning, we aim to offer advice from that same spirit – rooted in experience and genuine (fiduciary) care. Yes, we have years of expertise in financial planning and tax, but we also know that everyone’s financial journey is unique. What works for one person may not work for another, and our job is to help you find what fits you.

One current example of the advice we have given revolves around the recently changed tax return deadline for Tennessee. In case you missed it, the IRS extended the due date from April 15th to November 3rd.  Below is the language included on the IRS website related to this change:

The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred from April 2, 2025, through Nov. 3, 2025 (postponement period). As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until Nov. 3, 2025, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period. 

This means, for example, that the Nov. 3, 2025, deadline will now apply to: 

• Individual income tax returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2025. 

• 2024 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts for eligible taxpayers. 

• Quarterly estimated tax payments normally due on April 15, June 16 and Sept. 15, 2025. 

• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on April 30, July 31 and Oct. 31, 2025. 

• Calendar year corporation and fiduciary returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2025. 

• Calendar year tax-exempt organization returns normally due on May 15, 2025. 

This change has given our clients multiple opportunities to delay payments and filings related to 2024 and 2025.  With these opportunities come options, and some are right for one client, but not another. 

For example, with this change, you have the option to: 

1. Wait until November to pay your 2024 remaining tax due and earn interest on the balance for 6 ½ months. 
2. Go ahead and pay the tax for 2024 to get the liability paid and not have to worry about coming up with the money later. 
3. File your return now but pay the money sometime between now and November 3rd.
4. Pay your 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarterly estimated tax payments on their normally scheduled due dates to keep your payment structure.
5. Hold on to those three quarterly payments until November 3rd to earn more interest.   

There’s not a right answer on what to do this year, but you have multiple options to weigh.  What’s right for me might not be the best option for you.  If you need assistance working through life’s options, Purpose-Built Planning is designed to help you make the most appropriate decision for you.