Income Tax Planning and Preparation
It is amazing how many of our business engagements start out as engagements to prepare income tax returns for the corporation, S corporation, partnership, or LLC. The reason is fairly simple: All businesses have income tax needs in common. Because we focus on customizing our approach to each client’s situation and because we believe in committing to deadlines, new clients who come to us with a need to “just” have income taxes prepared quickly learn that we are not like other CPA firms.
Very few business owners are capable of planning and preparing their business income tax returns and most seek the help of professionals. Our professionals have years of experience behind them but, in the constantly changing world of taxes, a professional must commit to lifelong learning in order to keep their skills sharp. Members of our firm who prepare income tax returns attend seminars every year to learn about changes in the Federal and State tax codes, and we hold in-house seminars taught by our own experts on tax subjects that are focused on issues that have been encountered specifically by our clients.
We refer to “tax planning” and “tax preparation” because the two services are really separate and distinct. Tax preparation is fundamental to every business engagement, and specific skills are required to effectively, efficiently, and thoughtfully prepare business income tax returns, given the data and information that is presented. Tax planning, on the other hand, is the forward thinking component; it allows business clients to plan for tax burdens in advance, or to help them better understand the benefits of their actions in advance, like buying equipment or implementing a retirement plan. Simply put, tax planning can help businesses save money. Some level of tax planning is appropriate in virtually every business engagement; depending on the issues and complexities, some businesses will obviously benefit in a given year more than other businesses. Unfortunately, many businesses choose to forego tax planning on an annual basis. While we can not force our clients to plan every year, we do take the time to contact clients and remind them of the benefits of planning. Ultimately, however, the decision lies with the client.
We prepare Federal, State, and Local income tax returns for every type of business entity, helping our clients navigate and stay ahead of the changing tax codes and complexity of interpretation.
