Does the '4% rule' account for taxes and investment fees?

No, and that's a common misunderstanding. The 4% rule describes a gross withdrawal from your portfolio, not spendable, after-tax income. If you pull 4% from a Traditional IRA, ordinary income tax comes out of that amount, so your real spending money is less. Investment fees also eat into the returns the rule assumes, so a high-cost portfolio may not sustain 4%. To plan honestly, estimate your effective tax rate on withdrawals, factor in fund expense ratios and any advisor fees, and treat 4% as a starting research figure rather than a guarantee. Where your money sits, Traditional, Roth, or taxable, dramatically changes how much of each withdrawal you actually keep.