Why Waiting Until Tax Season Limits Your Business Tax Options

Tax season tells us what your business did. Year-end planning gives us time to decide what to do next.

Tax Season Is for Reporting

When you own a business, January can feel like the natural time to start thinking about taxes. But by January, the year is already over. Your revenue is what it is. Your expenses have already happened. Payroll has already been run. Owner withdrawals have already been taken. And your year-end decisions can no longer be changed.

That is why I do not want the first real look at your business numbers to happen when I am preparing the tax return.

NOW

WE CAN REVIEW

• Your books and current profit

• Payroll and owner activity

• Estimated payments

• Potential year-end decisions

What do the business look like right now?

TAX SEASON

WE REPORT

• What the business earned

• What the business spent

• What your profit was

• What needs to be reported

What already happened?

Year-End Planning Asks a Different Question

Before the year closes, we can ask: "Based on what the business looks like right now, is there anything we need to address?"

Maybe your draws are much stronger than your expected W-2 wages for tax issues. Maybe payroll changed. Maybe you took more than expected. Maybe you are paying more in taxes than you need to. Maybe that tax impact needs attention.

THE GOAL:

Understand where the business stands while there may still be time to respond, not just when it is time to file.

What I Want Business Owners to Look At

1. Books & Profit

Are your books current enough to know your profitability?

2. Payroll & Owner Activity

Did compensation, draws, reimbursements, or owner activity change?

3. Estimated Payments

If the business performed better than expected, does the estimate still fit?

4. Major Purchases

Considering buying equipment? Making a large business asset purchase? A year-end review is sometimes easier with a well-timed investment.

TTS

"By tax season, I can read the business story. Before year-end, we may still have time to influence how it finishes."

Your business is unique to you and your tax, payroll, and owner activity matter. Every planning conversation or year-end strategy requires that information so you understand where the business stands while there is still time to make informed decisions.

Does This Sound Like Your Business?

• Revenue has such a shift or lower than expected?

• Payroll changed?

• You are unsure whether estimated payments are accurate?

• You simply do not know what your current profit looks like?

• Your books are behind?

• You took significant draws or distributions?

• You are considering a large business purchase?

You do not need to know the tax answer. You just need to tell me what changed.

Don't Wait Until Tax Season to Find Out.

If your business looks different today than it did when the year started, let's look at the numbers before the year closes.

SCHEDULE A YEAR-END TAX REVIEW