Retirement plans
Big deductions for owners. The plan has to exist before year end, or you lose the year.
Tax planning for business owners and real estate investors
Stop finding out your tax bill in April.
Every year the same thing. A big check, and nobody told you it was coming. Sit down with us twice before December 31. You will know your number, and you will have a written plan of every legal way to make it smaller. Then we do the work.
In English or Russian. In our Columbus office or on video.
Why now
The earlier in the year you plan, the more you can save
Your tax return only reports what already happened. A plan changes what happens. But almost every move has to be made before December 31, and some take months to set up. The best time to plan is the start of the year. The second best time is today.
Equipment, trucks, property
Buy it and put it to use in December, and it comes off this year's taxes. Buy it in January, and it does not.
Your own pay from your S corporation
Your salary for the year is set by the last payroll in December. By tax time it is too late to fix.
Changing your business structure
Elections have deadlines. Miss one and you wait a whole year.
Fourth quarter estimated payments
Pay the right amount in January and you avoid penalties without overpaying.
Selling stock, property, or a business
Sell before December 31 or after, and the tax can be very different. Once it is sold, that choice is gone.
How it works
Two meetings. One written plan.
1
First meeting: we listen
You tell us about your business, your property, your investments, your family, and what you want in the next few years. We ask how much risk you are comfortable with. By the end we have the full picture and the numbers.
2
We write your plan
We work out your tax bill as things stand today. Then we check every legal way to lower it against your situation. Each one that fits goes in the plan with the saving, the cost, the risk, and the date it has to be done by.
3
Second meeting: we go through it
We walk you through the plan one item at a time, in plain words. Is it legal? Yes or no. Does it save money? Here is how much. You decide what to do. The plan is yours either way.
4
We do the work, if you want
Most advisors hand you a list and leave. We can file the elections, set up the payroll, change the entities, order the cost segregation study and fix the estimated payments. The price for that is in the plan, so you know before you say yes.
Why us
One person who can answer both questions: is it legal, and does it save money?
Your plan is written and explained by a CPA who is also a licensed attorney. You do not get told "ask your lawyer" about half of it. And the same firm that wrote the plan can carry it out: entities, payroll, bookkeeping, your tax returns, and standing between you and the IRS if they ever ask.
CPA and attorney
Over eight years in Ohio. Taxes, business law, and representing clients in front of the IRS.
On paper, with numbers
Not a conversation you half remember. A document you can open again in March.
We do the work
Payroll, entity filings, books and returns in one place. Nothing falls between two advisors.
Nothing that falls apart on audit
Everything in your plan is something we are ready to explain to the IRS. No tricks.
Ways to pay less
Where the money comes from
Not every one of these fits every person. Your plan only has the ones that fit you, with the dollar amounts.
If you own a business
Is your business set up right?
LLC, S corporation, or something else. We check whether your structure fits your real profit and whether the S election is saving more than it costs.
How you pay yourself
The split between salary and distributions decides how much payroll tax you pay. We set it so it saves money and holds up.
Retirement plans for owners
Solo 401(k), SEP, cash balance plans. Large deductions now, and the money stays yours.
Equipment and vehicles
Write off big purchases in the year you need the deduction most. Timing is everything.
Estimated payments
Federal, Ohio, school district and city, all lined up. No penalties, and no lending the government money for free.
Working in more than one state
Where you live, where you work, where the trucks run. We sort out which states get what, including the local returns most firms forget.
If you own real estate
Cost segregation
A building is written off over decades. A cost segregation study pulls a big part of that into the first few years. Often a very large deduction in the year you buy.
Bonus depreciation
Combine it with cost segregation and the right purchase date, and the deduction lands in the year it saves you the most.
Short-term rentals
If you run an Airbnb and do the work yourself, the losses can offset your regular income. Most people never claim it.
Real estate professional status
If real estate is your main job, rental losses can offset everything else. We plan the hours and the paperwork so it survives an audit.
1031 exchange
Sell a property, buy another, and pay no tax on the gain right now. It only works if it is set up before the sale.
Losses you cannot use yet
Rental losses often sit unused for years. The right election can let you use them now.
If you have stock, options, or a big sale coming
Stock from your employer
RSUs, options, ESPP. We plan before they vest or you exercise, not after the surprise on the W-2.
Selling something big
A business, a property, a large stock position. When you sell and how you sell can change the tax a lot.
Your last three returns
We read them for deductions and credits that were missed. If we find money, we can still go back and get it.
This is for you if
- Every April you write a big check and wonder if it really had to be that big.
- Your accountant files your return and never calls you before the year ends.
- You own a business, rental property, or both, and nobody has ever shown you a plan.
- You have grown, and your accountant has not grown with you.
- You want someone to do the work, not hand you a list.
This is not for you if
- You just want the cheapest tax return you can find.
- Your only income is one W-2, with no business, property, or stock.
- You are not willing to change anything about how your business is set up.
- You want tricks that no professional will sign their name to.
Questions
Before you book
When should I start?
Any time. The earlier in the year, the more options are still open, and the more time you have to use them. If it is already late in the year, start now: some things can still be done before December 31, and the rest go into next year's plan.
I already have an accountant. Can I still do this?
Yes. Many people come just for the plan and take it back to their own accountant. It is written so anyone can follow it. Or we do the work ourselves. Your choice.
What do I bring to the first meeting?
Your last two tax returns, your business numbers for this year so far, and anything you are thinking about: buying, selling, starting a company, moving. We send you a short list when you book.
Do you only advise, or do you do the work?
Both. The advice and the written plan are in the package. The work is priced in the plan, item by item, so you pick what we do and what you do yourself.
How much will I save?
It depends on your situation. That is why the plan shows a dollar amount for each item before you commit to anything.
Can we do this in Russian?
Yes. Both meetings and the written plan, in Russian or English.
Stop guessing. Book your first meeting.
Pick a time. We send you a short list of what to bring, so the first meeting starts with your numbers, not a form.
We take a limited number of plans at a time, so each one gets finished and put into action.