By Kevin Luu, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer. Reviewed on 2026-09-30.
There is no official average cost of a financial plan. No regulator publishes one, and the price of a plan is set by each firm in its own fee schedule. What drives the cost is scope: a basic budget and retirement plan is a small project, while a plan for a W-2 family earning $750,000 to $3 million, with RSUs, young children and California or Washington taxes, is a much larger one, so the useful question is what the plan must cover and how many hours that work takes.
For a family with young children, a plan is also the first written record of how the parents make money decisions: equity, taxes, guardianship, trusts for minors and what the kids should eventually understand. This guide shows what a complete plan for that family includes, a worked example that prices one module by module, how one-time plans compare with ongoing planning, and the questions that turn a vague quote into a fixed one.
Why a plan for a high-income W-2 family costs more than a basic plan
Most published price ranges describe a plan for a simpler household: one salary, a 401(k), a mortgage and a savings goal. Your household adds work that a basic plan never touches:
- Equity compensation. RSUs vest on a schedule, ESPP purchases often happen twice a year, and some of you hold ISOs. Each needs a sale and tax plan, and concentrated employer stock needs a diversification plan.
- State tax. In California, the top marginal rate is 13.3% for 2025 (the 12.3% top bracket plus the 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax on taxable income over $1 million), SDI takes 1.3% of all wages in 2026 with no cap, and capital gains get no lower rate. In Washington there is no wage income tax in 2026, but long-term gains on stock above an annual standard deduction are taxed at 7%, rising to 9.9% on taxable gains above $1 million, and a new 9.9% income tax on households with AGI above $1 million starts January 1, 2028.
- Benefits elections. Mega backdoor Roth, deferred compensation, the dependent care FSA (up to $7,500 per household for 2026, if your employer’s plan adopts the higher limit) and life and disability coverage all need a yearly decision.
- Children under 12. 529 funding, UTMA accounts, guardianship, and trusts for minors in your wills.
Each of these adds hours. That is the real reason two quotes for “a financial plan” can differ several times over: they are not quoting the same plan.
What a complete plan for this family should include
Use this as a checklist when you compare quotes. A plan that skips a line is cheaper because it does less.
| Plan module | What it should answer for you |
|---|---|
| Cash flow and goals | What you spend, what you save, and what “enough” means for your family |
| Equity compensation | When to sell vested RSUs and ESPP shares, how much employer stock to hold, and the tax on each sale |
| Tax projection | Your federal and state tax for this year and next, under-withholding on RSU vests, and the timing of large sales |
| Benefits and retirement | Which workplace elections to make, including after-tax 401(k) contributions and deferred comp |
| Children | How much to put in 529s, whether a UTMA makes sense, and who is named guardian |
| Estate coordination | Whether your wills and trust match the plan, and whether beneficiary designations are current |
| Risk and insurance | Whether life and disability cover replaces your income if one parent stops working |
| Written plan and review meeting | A document you can act on, with owners and dates for each decision |
Worked example: pricing a plan for a $1.4 million Seattle household
Assumptions (illustrative, not a market quote): an Amazon director and a physician in Seattle earn $1.4 million combined in 2026, including RSU vests. They have two children, ages 2 and 7. They hold $1.1 million of employer stock in a brokerage account, $800,000 in 401(k)s and $150,000 in 529s. They want a one-time written plan covering every module above. The planner bills a hypothetical $400 per hour.
| Module | Hypothetical hours | Cost at $400 per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Cash flow and goals | 4 | $1,600 |
| Equity compensation and stock concentration | 7 | $2,800 |
| Tax projection, including WA capital gains tax | 5 | $2,000 |
| Benefits and retirement | 3 | $1,200 |
| Children: 529s, UTMA, guardianship | 4 | $1,600 |
| Estate coordination | 3 | $1,200 |
| Risk and insurance | 2 | $800 |
| Written plan and review meeting | 7 | $2,800 |
| Total | 35 | $14,000 |
Three things stand out. First, nearly half the hours (16 of 35, for equity, tax and children) go to work a basic plan would not include at all. Second, the Washington piece is specific: if this couple sells $600,000 of long-term employer stock gains in one year, the gain above Washington’s standard deduction ($278,000 for 2025, the latest published figure) is taxed at 7%, about $22,540 of Washington tax, so the timing of sales across tax years is worth real planning time. Third, if this family lived in the Bay Area instead, the tax module would change shape: no separate capital gains tax with its own standard deduction to plan around, but every dollar of RSU income and every gain taxed at California’s ordinary income rates, with no lower rate for long-term gains.
A firm may quote the same work as a flat fee, but the hours behind it are similar. If a quote for this household is a fraction of $14,000, ask which modules it leaves out.
One-time plan or ongoing planning
A one-time plan is a snapshot. For this family, the facts change every quarter: new RSUs vest, the stock price moves, a child starts school, a job offer arrives with a new equity package. A plan written in January can be out of date by the summer.
- A one-time plan fits when you will carry out every step yourself and your situation is stable for a year or more.
- Ongoing planning fits when you are a delegator: you want someone to own the follow-through on sales, elections, the CPA and the estate attorney. It is usually priced as an annual retainer or a percentage of assets, which costs more per year but includes the implementation.
The common mistake is paying for a one-time plan, filing it, and never acting on it. A plan nobody implements is expensive at any price. For how ongoing fees compare in dollars, see how much a wealth manager costs and what fee-only financial planners charge.
How to get a fixed quote you can compare
Most planners who charge fees work through a registered investment adviser, which files a brochure called Form ADV Part 2A. Item 5 describes fees, how they are billed and whether they are negotiable. You can read it free on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site. Then ask each firm for these in writing:
- A total price in dollars for a named list of modules (use the table above).
- Whether equity compensation, state tax and estate coordination are included or extra.
- Who carries out the recommendations, and what follow-up questions cost after delivery.
- Whether the firm earns anything from products it recommends.
If two quotes cover the same modules, you can compare them. If they do not, the cheaper one is not cheaper. See also what a vetted financial advisor is.
Is the cost of a financial plan tax-deductible?
Federal: no for 2026. Fees for investment and tax advice were miscellaneous itemized deductions; their federal deduction was suspended for 2018 through 2025, and section 70110 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) made that suspension permanent.
California: the state did not follow the federal change. The 2025 Schedule CA instructions still allow these miscellaneous deductions to the extent they exceed 2% of federal AGI. At $1.4 million of income, 2% is about $28,000, so a $14,000 plan would not clear the floor on its own, and typically only the investment and tax advice part of the fee counts. For most families at this income the state deduction is small or zero.
Washington: there is no individual income tax in 2026, so there is no state deduction to claim. See our tax management service for how planning fees fit into a household tax plan.
What to document for your kids
The plan’s price is less important than what it leaves behind. Most plans record what you decided. Few record why: why you sold the employer stock over three years instead of one, why you named your sister as guardian, why the 529s are funded the way they are. A one-page note on each big decision, kept with your estate documents, is what your children can use when they face the same choices. As Kevin Luu puts it: “Your kids don’t need to inherit your portfolio. They need to inherit your decision-making process.” Our family governance work is built around that record.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a financial planner cost per year?
It depends on the fee model. Ongoing planning is usually billed as a flat annual retainer or a percentage of the assets the firm manages. A percentage fee rises with your balance even if the work does not, so for a family with growing RSU and 401(k) balances, compare annual costs in dollars, not percentages. Each firm’s Form ADV Part 2A shows its fee schedule.
Is a cheaper financial plan worth it?
Only if it covers the modules you actually need. For a high-income W-2 family, the value is usually in equity compensation, tax timing, benefits elections and the children’s accounts and guardianship. A low-cost plan that covers budgeting and retirement savings alone can miss the decisions that matter most at your income.
Next step: list the modules in the table above, mark which ones your household needs, and send that list to any planner you are considering with a request for a fixed price in dollars. If you want a second view of your own picture first, the Tax & Wealth Assessment is a starting point.
This is general education, not individual advice. The right move depends on your family’s full picture.
Kevin has advised high-income W-2 tech and biotech families since 2015, and leads the education-first Age Five Family Office from Brea, California.
Connect on LinkedIn → · About KevinThis is part of how we approach Investment & Risk Management for high-income W-2 families at Bright Advisers.
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