A calmer Dashboard
Your account-balance graph opens by default unless you previously chose to collapse it. Supporting explanations expand when needed, and the next action is easier to find.
Lifetime Tax Planner
Updates & Model Status
What changed, whether it may affect your results, and what to review next.
- Current software
- v2.326
- Software released
- October 28, 2026
- Tax-data years
- Federal 2026 · State 2025
Update notes: September 17, 2026. Software updates and tax-rule reviews are different. This page refresh does not represent a new tax-law review. Future-year values are projections; state inflation indexing is an approximation.
What's new
Less repetition, clearer next steps, and detail when you need it.
Related findings, together
Related notes share one topic card without losing their distinct details. Archive eligible reviewed items and restore them later. Unresolved risks stay visible; relevant reviews reappear when your plan changes.
Savings and withdrawals, clearly separated
See where new money goes separately from how retirement spending is funded. Review modeled contribution changes before changing elections with a provider.
Borrowing risks in context
Funding spending does not mean a borrowing plan passes its collateral checks. Review repayment commitments and different inheritance assumptions before applying changes.
Easier to review on a phone
Compact summaries, expandable details and clearer navigation make inputs and comparisons easier to use on smaller screens.
Returning to your plan? Review your next action and any assumptions marked for attention. Explore alternatives before applying them.
This update changes the Updates page, not the planning calculations. The recent Dashboard cleanup also left calculations unchanged. Earlier calculation changes below may affect older results.
Previous improvements
Whose account is it. Married plans can now say which spouse owns each retirement balance — 401(k), IRA, Roth, HSA, 457(b) — and whose pension it is. The rules that depend on the owner’s age follow the right dollars: the penalty before 59½, Rule-of-55 access to a workplace plan, when required distributions begin, and what rolls to the survivor at the first death. Plans that leave the shares blank are unchanged.
More of your life fits in the plan. Restricted stock and employee stock purchase plans, employer stock inside a 401(k), self-employment income with its own tax and deduction rules, an inherited IRA, one-time inflows, capital-loss carryforwards, charitable giving (including bunching gifts into alternate years), a stock-to-bond glide path, property tax and mortgage interest as itemized deductions, and healthcare and education costs that can grow faster than inflation.
Two big choices, priced against your own plan. A pension lump sum versus the monthly benefit, and taking employer stock out of a 401(k) in kind versus rolling it over — each shown both ways under the strategy chosen without the decision, with the break-even the numbers imply, and added to the plan only when you say so.
Dashboard clarity. Earlier updates brought funding, risk and strategy explanations together. The latest layout builds on those changes with less repetition and expandable detail.
Harder questions, honest answers. A disability stress that stops the primary earner’s wages for good, a job-loss stress, the child and dependent-care credit, and advisor-mode pins on the Roth conversion schedule to fix or skip any year.
Getting started is clearer. The Planner names the six fields that drive most of the answer; Compact mode lists the sections you haven’t filled in, with a jump to each; Quick Start includes an optional reality check against last year’s actual spending and tax; college costs can be set per child.
Learn keeps up. Every new rule has a plain-language entry with what it is, why it matters, the rule behind it, and how it’s tested — and a link to where it appears in your plan.
Recovery and save protections. Recovery copies and confirmation prompts help protect working plans. Browser storage can be cleared or unavailable, so download a backup of important plans.
Recalculation keeps up with you. Only your newest edit is computed; inputs that don’t reconcile are refused before a projection runs. The dashboard shows how long the last calculation took.
Share or transfer a plan with a link. Shared plans ask whether to preview, keep or replace the working plan. Review what you share and whom you share it with.
Cash that adds up. The first-retirement-year breakdown and Year by Year “Money Out” itemize housing, healthcare, subsidies and taxes so lines total the figure shown.
Borrowing in context. Borrowing balances, costs and risk comparisons are available alongside the plan. Review collateral feasibility separately from cash-flow funding.
Input and navigation improvements. Money entry, chart labels, dialogs and phone navigation have been refined to make plans easier to review.
Changes that may affect results
Open an item to see who may be affected and what to review. Published correction history is retained and expanded with approved updates; publication dates and software release dates may differ.
Calculation changeSocial Security while working
Who may be affected: Plans combining wages with Social Security before full retirement age.
What changed: Modeled withholding now includes regular wages and a working spouse's wages, not only part-time work after retirement. Some claiming comparisons and projections may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
What to review: Recalculate and review Social Security timing if you expect to claim while working.
Calculation changeSpending adjustments in adverse scenarios
Who may be affected: Plans with modeled spending adjustments enabled.
What changed: Spending adjustments were corrected. Some stress outcomes, simulated funding results and spending-cut estimates may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
What to review: Check both the funding result and the spending reductions it assumes before relying on a budget.
Calculation changeTax deductions and Medicare surcharges
Who may be affected: Plans involving senior or charitable deductions, itemized deductions, married-filing-separately deductions or Medicare income-related surcharges.
What changed: Modeled treatment was corrected in these areas. Affected tax totals, contribution comparisons and projections may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
What to review: Recalculate and review annual tax and Medicare estimates; verify relevant inputs with your records and adviser before acting.
Calculation changeContributions and deferred compensation
Who may be affected: Plans using deferred compensation, age-based contribution changes, HSA eligibility or contribution reallocation.
What changed: Contribution checks, deferred-compensation limits and scheduled contributions were corrected. Some allocations and projections may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
What to review: Confirm employer-plan limits, HSA eligibility and payout schedules before changing elections.
Calculation changeZero-return assumptions
Who may be affected: Plans with an explicitly entered zero expected return.
What changed: Market simulations now retain that entered assumption. Affected outcomes may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
What to review: Confirm the return was intentional and rerun the market-outcome comparison.
Display or wordingBorrowing, spending and result labels
Who may be affected: Users interpreting borrowing results, spending estimates, projections or comparison previews.
What changed: Funding is distinguished from collateral feasibility. Dollar-year labels and spending adjustments are clearer. Previews are distinguished from included settings. Margin calls are warnings, not recommended repayment dates.
What to review: Check borrowing feasibility and the assumptions behind each figure. A clearer label does not itself mean the underlying calculation changed.
Earlier correction history
Earlier corrections remain available below. Dates identify the historical update period, not a new rule review.
September 2026 — additional corrections
Display or wordingCouples’ plan-end labels
Funding and report labels now follow the modeled household horizon. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingContribution and conversion explanations
General contribution guidance now agrees with the measured strategy; conversion summaries describe the selected schedule rather than implying the same choice every year. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingAssumptions and modeled coverage
Formatting and stale descriptions of borrowing checks, estate-tax coverage and stress scenarios were corrected. These wording corrections do not add new coverage. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingBorrowing in funding charts
A borrowing draw could appear twice in the chart breakdown. Its presentation was corrected; the underlying projection was unchanged. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeSpending-capacity estimates
An estimate could repeat the entered budget without making clear whether greater spending had been tested. The estimate now reflects the tested capacity and states its limits. Review this figure before relying on an earlier budget comparison. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingSpending adjustments beside funding results
Funding statements now disclose modeled spending adjustments. Read the spending reductions alongside the funded share. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingAnnual-flow and report summaries
Annual-flow labels now distinguish other flows from the displayed funding total. The Report identifies its inputs table as a summary rather than a complete reproduction record. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingStress scenario descriptions
Scenario names match the modeled scenario; the adverse-scenario summary distinguishes those cases from the base case and is not a probability forecast. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingBorrowing cost and penalty explanations
Interest explanations follow the selected servicing mode. Early-access penalty comparisons distinguish applicable early borrowing from later borrowing. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingMeasured actions and risk comparisons
Tested contribution changes are distinguished from general rules of thumb. Lower-return guidance asks users to compare outcomes rather than promising improved results. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingDollar-year, conversion and benefit labels
Projected dollar amounts, simulated ranges, conversion targets and Social Security reference benefits are more clearly distinguished from current purchasing power, realized tax rates and modeled payments. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingTax savings and comparison previews
Taxes paid are distinguished from savings against another strategy. Unapplied previews are identified separately from settings included in the projection. Fixed and regression-tested.
September 2026 — previously published corrections
Display or wordingMortgage-interest coverage was clarified
The methodology description now matches the modeled deduction coverage. No projection changed.
Calculation changeRestricted stock during an income gap
Job-loss scenarios now reflect the affected restricted-stock income as well as wages. Affected stress results may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingDashboard spacing after resizing
Unnecessary blank space after resizing the page was corrected. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingValidation summary corrected
The displayed testing summary was corrected to match the recorded checks. No projection changed.
Calculation changeEarly access to Roth conversions
Converted funds were previously shown as accessible too soon in some early-retirement plans. Affected bridge funding and strategies may change; review the conversion schedule and access qualifications. Fixed and regression-tested.
Data safetyShared-plan replacement protections
Shared plans now require a choice before replacing a working plan, with recovery protection. A related unintended blank-plan save was also corrected. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingConsistent risk summaries
Findings and the Report now present consistent risk information. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingRepeated borrowing notice removed
A duplicate Dashboard borrowing notice was removed; the warning remains available.
Data safetyConfirmation before replacing a saved plan
Saving over a same-named plan now asks whether to replace it or keep a separate copy. Fixed and regression-tested.
Data safetySeparate saved copies remain distinct
A problem affecting plans saved at the same time was corrected. Fixed and regression-tested.
August 2026 — previously published corrections
Display or wordingFunding guidance distinguishes market risk
Base-case funding and simulated outcomes are described separately so the guidance does not imply the same certainty. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingSelected Social Security age clarified
The strategy summary now identifies the selected claiming age clearly. Display only; no calculation changed. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingMatching range endpoints explained
Simulated ranges with matching endpoints now explain what is shown, including remaining home equity where applicable. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingUnavailable account linking labeled
Unavailable account-linking controls were clarified so they do not imply an active connection. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeOlder Quick Start state-tax settings
Older drafts now require the intended state-tax selection; an explicitly chosen flat rate remains available. Affected results may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingDashboard navigation from Quick Start
Selecting Dashboard now opens the expected view. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingFunding language avoids certainty
Funding statements now identify base-case projections and distinguish simulated evidence. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeRent included consistently in spending estimates
Some renter spending estimates overstated the budget including rent. Affected spending and rent-versus-buy estimates were corrected; underlying projections were not affected. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeHousing choice retained after reload
A saved rental choice could be lost or housing costs counted incorrectly. Affected projections may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
Display or wordingNo-conversion strategies labeled correctly
A strategy without Roth conversions is no longer described as having them. Display only. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeWorking-year home-purchase costs
Home-purchase costs during working years are reflected more fully in cash flow. Affected projections may be lower. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeMedicare premium estimates corrected
Affected income-related Medicare premium estimates were corrected. Review annual Medicare costs if relevant to your plan. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeDecision previews use the relevant comparison
Decision previews were corrected where another decision was already included. Affected comparisons may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeLower-return assumptions and market risk
Risk assumptions in lower-return comparisons were corrected. A lower expected return does not by itself guarantee better simulated outcomes. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeSocial Security claiming choices compared
The claiming analysis now includes the choices described by the tool. Some selected strategies may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeAn entered zero volatility is retained
Simulations now honor explicitly entered zero volatility. Affected outcomes may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeSpending cuts removed from the expected path
Modeled adverse-market spending cuts no longer reduce spending on the expected path. Affected funding projections may change. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeContribution suggestions respect available savings
Combined contribution suggestions were corrected where the implied saving exceeded the entered household capacity. Affected projections may be lower. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeHousehold Social Security in Quick Start
Some married Quick Start plans overstated household benefits. Review each spouse’s Social Security record. Fixed and regression-tested.
Calculation changeFunding duration in strategy comparisons
Strategy selection was corrected where an alternative kept a plan funded longer. Affected underfunded plans may select a different strategy. Fixed and regression-tested.
Known limitations & testing
Planning estimates are not guarantees, a completed tax return or lender approval. Results depend on your inputs and modeled assumptions.
Tax assumptions and data coverage
Federal data uses tax-year 2026 values; state data uses the 2025 dataset with approximate inflation indexing. Future tax laws are uncertain. See Methodology for coverage, exclusions and the scheduled data review.
Borrowing and market outcomes
The model uses taxable brokerage as collateral, not retirement accounts or total net worth. It does not establish lender-specific eligible securities or credit approval. Review the borrowing tool's limitations.
Simulations explore modeled outcomes, not every possible future. Where spending adjustments are enabled, interpret funding results together with those adjustments.
Saved information and backups
Recovery copies and confirmation prompts help protect plans, but browser storage can be cleared or unavailable. Download a backup of important plans. Saved comparison snapshots have separate backup limitations explained in the app.
What testing establishes—and what it doesn't
The latest released interface passed automated checks across desktop and phone browser profiles. Testing checks specified cases and behavior; it does not establish suitability for every household or certify every tax rule.
See Validation for detailed calculation examples and testing scope.