Everyone hates paying taxes. Everyone wants to pay less in taxes
Unfortunately, most business owners don’t know how to find tax-deductible strategies and loopholes, so they just accept things as they are. Some business owners are already working with great CPAs who are amazing at preparing tax returns but don’t know how to help their clients minimize their taxes.
One of the biggest misconceptions that every business owner has is that when they file their tax return, their CPA has already done everything to help them pay the least amount of tax possible.
This is far from the truth.
That is because to get the largest tax savings available, you have to plan for it long before your tax return due date. This process is called tax planning.
I started out not liking taxes in college. But what changed for me was when I started working. My first job was working for the tax department of an Atlanta-based company that is still ranked 23 on the Fortune 500 list today. What amazed me was how much time, money, and effort were focused on looking at saving strategies that will help the company to increase cash flow and put more money in the shareholders' pockets. This approach is typically not found in college textbooks.
It's safe to say that my work experience in a corporate tax department and working for high net-worth individuals opened my eyes. Soon, all the tax staff, including myself, started calling ourselves tax ninjas!
When I started working in small to medium business markets, I quickly realized that tax planning is extremely misunderstood. In fact, most CPAs don’t even know what true tax planning is about. The reason for this is because most CPAs are trained to be accountants or auditors, not tax accountants – there is a big difference! They just happen to start doing tax returns since the demand for that particular service is high. Even among my peers, putting money in a 401(K) plan or SEP is the only tool that they have in their tax toolbox, and they think this equates to tax planning. But if this is the only thing you are doing, then you are overpaying dearly on your taxes.
So, what exactly IS tax planning?
The best visual example of this I can find is this.
Imagine a building. Last year, I went to Ireland and during the city tour, this building was one of the stops. This building is the home of the Bank of Ireland.
The story goes...
Years and years ago, there was a tax on windows in Ireland. So the more windows a building has, the higher the taxes the company will pay.
To save on taxes, this building was built with no windows. It passed all the building code regulations because all the natural light comes in from the roof. They basically made the roof into what we call a “skylight”.
Smart? Hell yes!
At that time, the owner of this building was able to reduce the tax bill significantly on an annual basis. They get natural light throughout the building while lowering their taxes.
So, what's the moral of the story? Tax planning takes more ingenuity than simply filing tax returns.
For a business owner such as yourself, this means that your only opportunity to save $30K, $50K, or more on taxes annually is by working with someone who is on top of tax-saving products and tax law changes.
Tax planning is all about ensuring that you are paying the lowest amount of taxes legally. According to the IRS, it’s an action taken to lessen tax liability and maximize after-tax income.
This can only be accomplished by planning your deductions and your federal and state credits. It can also be achieved by prioritizing investments that have tax advantages.
If you want to save money on your taxes, ask yourself the following questions:
1) What tax planning strategy did I implement?
2) How much money did I save?
3) How did I use my tax savings?
The tax savings strategies that we implement allow clients to see the tangible manifestation of their tax savings: liquid cash that can be reinvested to double their revenue. We work with some of the best tax attorneys and professionals to deliver these savings to our clients year after year.
To get access to information on how you can reduce your taxes by $30K or more, here is a FREE DOWNLOAD. It will show you the 5 steps that you need to look at each year to ensure that you are paying the lowest taxes possible. Enjoy a bonus of up to $50K or more in tax-free reimbursements from your business!