Preparation is filing what happened. Planning is the set of decisions during the year that affect what the return will say: entity structure, retirement contributions, equipment timing, and how a large transaction is handled. We do both, on a cadence that puts the planning before December 31.
Tax outcomes are shaped by decisions made during the year. These three are the ones that most often get decided by default.
The same business can be taxed quite differently as a sole proprietorship, S corporation, partnership, or C corporation. The right structure is a decision, not a default — and many owners are still using whatever was set up years ago.
Many planning moves — retirement plan contributions, equipment timing, owner compensation adjustments, charitable giving — have to happen before December 31. If the first time you see the number is at filing, the chance to act has passed.
Timing of income and capital gains, use of losses, depreciation choices, retirement plan design. None of these are decided on a single return. They need a multi-year view.
If you only need a return filed, we can do that. The planning side is for owners who want to make the decisions during the year that affect what the return says.
"My business has gotten more complex than my returns suggest."
Revenue grew. Maybe a second entity got added. Maybe the depreciation schedule is now substantial. Maybe the owner’s compensation question is no longer obvious. The work is mapping the business as it is now — not as it was when the original tax structure got set up — and making the planning decisions that fit the current shape.
"I have three entities, four returns, and no one looking at the picture as a whole."
Holding company, operating company, real estate entity. Each has its own filings; none is being optimized against the others. Distributions, intercompany loans, related-party rents, payroll allocation — each is a planning decision and most owners are making them by default rather than by design. The work is treating the structure as a single tax picture, not three separate ones.
"I’m about to have a big year. I want to make sure I keep more of it."
A bonus year. A property sale. A capital event coming in 18 months. A retirement plan rollover decision. The events that move the most tax dollars rarely show up only in the year they happen — the planning starts a year or two in advance and continues for several after. The work is mapping that arc instead of dealing with it transaction by transaction.
Most engagements follow this rhythm, with timing adjusted to the client’s fiscal year and decision points. Which parts apply is set out in the engagement letter.
We review recent returns, the current entity structure, the open compliance items, and the planning decisions that have been made by default. You leave with a written diagnostic identifying the planning gaps, the entity questions, and the compliance issues that need to be addressed in the current year.
The structural decision. Sole prop, S-corp, C-corp, partnership, multi-entity. Owner compensation balance. Reasonable comp analysis. Whether the existing structure fits the business as it is now or as it was five years ago when it was set up. Where a change makes sense, it is reviewed with your attorney before anything is filed.
Every quarter, an updated projection of the year-end tax position based on actual performance. Estimated payment recommendations. Surprises caught at the quarter where there is still time to respond, not in March when there is not.
October or November. The planning meeting that decides what gets done before December 31. Retirement plan contributions, equipment timing, owner compensation adjustments, charitable strategy, capital gain or loss harvesting, deferred income decisions. Scheduled while there is still time to act.
Returns are prepared, reviewed, and filed. The filing itself is the artifact of a year’s planning, not the work itself. The conversation that matters comes right after: what changed, what we learned, what to do differently next year. The post-filing review sets up the next year’s planning.
Examples of the written work a tax planning engagement can produce: the documents that anchor the planning decisions and stay in the file year after year. What any engagement includes is set out in writing before work begins.
Written review of recent returns, the current entity structure, and the planning gaps in front of you. The document that anchors the year’s strategy and gets revisited annually.
Written analysis of the current structure with quantitative comparison to alternatives. Owner compensation analysis. Reasonable comp documentation. The memo that supports the structural decisions on every future return.
Four times a year, an updated projection of year-end position based on actuals. Estimated payment recommendations. Variance analysis from prior quarter. The document you bring to your year-end planning conversation.
Annual planning document delivered before December 31. Specific recommended actions — retirement contributions, equipment timing, charitable strategy, capital gain harvesting, owner compensation adjustments — with the dollar impact of each.
A 3–5 year tax strategy document, updated annually. Income smoothing plan, capital event timing, retirement plan design, succession or exit considerations. The map that keeps annual decisions consistent with longer-term goals.
All filings prepared, reviewed, and submitted. Federal, state, local, multi-state where applicable. Followed by a written post-filing review summarizing what changed year over year and the implications for next year’s planning. The return is the artifact; the review is the value.
Return preparation is priced by the returns involved. Planning during the year is scoped alongside it, from a one-time review of your current position and structure to an ongoing relationship with projections and a year-end planning conversation, and project work on a specific question such as an entity change. Scope, deliverables, timing, and fees are set out in writing before any work begins.
"Are you a CPA firm? Can you file my returns?"
Tax preparation, tax planning, and bookkeeping are all part of the work we do, and returns are prepared, reviewed, and filed as part of the engagement. The firm is not held out as a CPA firm. If that changes, this page will be updated.
"How is this different from what my current preparer does?"
Preparation is filing what already happened. The difference here is that planning is its own scheduled work: quarterly projections, an entity structure review, and a year-end conversation before December 31, rather than a quick exchange during filing season. If your current preparer already does this with you, keep them.
"Does planning pay for itself?"
Sometimes clearly, sometimes not. We don’t promise savings. What we can do is show you, in writing, the decisions available before year-end and what each would mean, so you can decide with the numbers in front of you. If planning is unlikely to be worth the fee for your situation, we’ll say so.
"Can you handle multiple entities and multi-state returns?"
Yes. Holding and operating entities, real estate held separately, partnerships with related-party rents, and multi-state filing are common. For specialized areas such as international exposure or industry-specific credits, we coordinate with the appropriate specialist.
"What happens during filing season if I’m a planning client?"
Filing is easier when the planning has already happened. The quarterly projections and the year-end conversation mean the return reflects decisions already made rather than surprises. The post-filing review is where the next year’s planning starts.
Send a short message and our office team will follow up to arrange a conversation with Brian. If this isn’t the right firm for your situation, he’ll say so and point you toward someone who is.
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