Tax Services

Businesses 

When we speak with business owners about what they need from their accountant, taxes are a top priority. Smart tax planning can save money, and you need tax services you can trust. At Smart Financials, we prepare business tax returns for many of our accounting clients. There is efficiency gained and improved tax planning when your tax preparer understands your business/industry like we do and sees your financials every period. You don’t have to waste time sending documents back and forth between accountants to complete tax filings, especially when faced with tax deadlines. We go beyond the mandatory tax form completion to address the tax effects of upcoming transactions, tax law changes, and your business goals. We specialize in growing businesses, and we are there to support you as your business evolves. Areas where we assist businesses include: 

  1. Preparation of annual income and franchise tax returns and estimated tax computations for all federal, state, and local jurisdictions 

  2. Sales and use tax filings 

  3. Property tax return filings 

  4. Planning for unusual income increases or losses  

  5. Transaction planning for unusual or large transactions 

  6. Succession planning and its tax ramifications 

  7. Fixed and intangible asset analysis, including cost segregation studies 

  8. Tax savings ideas, including deduction timing, tax credits, and other incentives 

  9. Integration of compensation planning for executives and the personal tax returns of business owners 

  10. Accounting method changes and tax elections 

  11. Multi-state tax analysis and planning, including sales and income tax nexus studies and Wayfair risk analysis 

  12. Tax controversy assistance and representation, including letters, notices, and audits from the IRS and other authorities 

Business structures we work with: 

1.     LLC’s 

The most common business structure we see, and with good reason. LLC’s provide their owners with liability protection and flexibility to choose how the entity will be taxed. We can help you with your LLC’s tax compliance needs, whether it is taxed as a corporation or partnership with dozens of members across the US, or as a single-member business.  

2.     Corporations (both C- and S- corporations) 

For many businesses, a corporation is the optimal business structure. From compensation planning for owners to tax strategies for employee benefits, we go beyond basic tax form preparation and help you get the most from the tax benefits available to your corporation. We work with numerous S-corporations and C-corporations, across many industries and service areas.  

3.     Partnerships, including tiered structures 

Partnerships offer the most flexibility for business owners, but with that flexibility comes complexity. We can help with the unique annual tax filings, basis tracking, and compensation structuring that arises in the operation of a partnership. We frequently see tiered partnership structures with holding companies, real estate entities, and operating entities under a common control umbrella.  

4.     Single owner non-corporate businesses  

Often setting up a single-member LLC or just a DBA name, some business owners prefer the simplicity of reporting business activities directly on their personal tax return as a Schedule C. Our accounting services help keep your numbers relevant and accurate, and our tax team optimizes your tax filings. We often find that Schedule C businesses grow into partnerships and corporations, and we can help you with that growth step when the time is right.

Back to Table of Contents

Individuals

Tax return preparation and planning for all phases of life and all types of income takes a personalized, thoughtful approach. We go beyond basic tax form preparation and work with our tax clients throughout the year when goals change, or new tax laws demand a new perspective. Areas where we assist individuals and their families include:

  1. Preparation of annual tax returns and quarterly estimated tax computations for all federal, state, and local jurisdictions

  2. Planning for unusual income increases or losses

  3. Charitable gift planning and timing of deductions

  4. Household employee consulting

  5. Stock option awards and other types of compensation

  6. Tax projections and personal financial statements

  7. Accounting and bookkeeping, including check writing and loan consulting

  8. Tax savings ideas, including taking advantage of tax credits and incentives

  9. Integration of compensation planning for the personal tax returns of business owners

  10. Multi-state tax analysis and planning

  11. Tax controversy assistance and representation, including letters, notices, and audits from the IRS and other authorities

Back to Table of Contents

Tax Strategy and Consulting

Knowledge of tax law combined with an in-depth understanding of your business is a powerful combination. When opportunities arise, we work with you to optimize and structure transactions and take advantage of tax incentives wherever possible. Areas where we can provide expertise and support include:

  1. General tax strategies and liability forecasting/accrual calculations

  2. Transaction analysis for business sales and acquisitions

  3. Fixed and intangible asset planning, basis tracking, depreciation, and amortization

  4. Compensation strategies and tax optimization

  5. Tax election compliance and calculations

  6. Accounting method changes

  7. Lease vs. buy asset analysis

  8. Succession planning

Cost Segregation Studies

Cost segregation studies involve an analysis of your real property, with the goal of identifying items of the building that are able to be depreciated faster under tax rules. Typically, commercial real property is depreciated over 39 years, which is an exceptionally long time to wait for a tax deduction. A cost segregation study can allow your business to accelerate deductions and save tax. In addition to tax savings, many businesses that purchase real property have unusually large expenses in the year of the building purchase, and accelerating tax deductions can help increase cash flow when you really need it.

Back to Table of Contents

State and Local Tax

State and local taxes, often referred to as “SALT,” can have a huge impact on your business. The sheer number of jurisdictions with their own specific, all-too-often confusing rules and regulations can take over your time and resources. With SmartFinancials, you have a partner on your side for the full spectrum of state and local income and franchise tax, sales and use tax, and property tax. We also provide payroll tax consulting for specific issues that may arise outside of your normal payroll tax filings.

We can help you analyze where you are filing, and what your exposure may be under the evolving state and local tax rules. Tax law changes have accelerated due to the Wayfair decision and subsequent court rulings. This has emboldened states to pursue new targets for tax revenue. Nexus studies to identify any tax filing risks for income and sales tax have become necessary for businesses that may not have considered this analysis in the past.

Our team has experience with every state and hundreds of local jurisdictions. We strive to keep you ahead of the game with planning and optimization of credits and incentives that may be available to you, regardless of where you do business now, or where you grow in the future.

Back to Table of Contents

Tax Credits and Incentives

While it may seem like every business should automatically receive any tax incentives it is entitled to, the reality is that it’s often a challenge to find and appropriately apply for the tax credits and other incentives that are available. We work with you and leverage our experience to help you get the tax savings your business qualifies for. Our team has experience with credits and incentives throughout the US. Here are some examples of tax savings and grants we have helped businesses apply for:

  1. Work Opportunity Tax Credits (WOTC) and other payroll-related tax incentives

  2. State income and franchise tax credits

  3. State or local incentive grant applications

  4. Tax exemption forms, such as sales tax exemptions where applicable

  5. Energy and green initiative rebates and credits

Back to Table of Contents

Business Compliance Forms and Indirect Taxes

It is critically important to stay on top of the numerous informational tax forms and indirect tax filings required in the operation of your business. Here are some of the forms we prepare for businesses and services we provide:

  1. Business registration forms and tax account setup assistance

  2. 1099-MISC form preparation for subcontractors and service vendors

  3. Form 8027 Tip Information Return preparation

  4. Sales and use tax returns for all jurisdictions

  5. Property tax filings

  6. Informational forms and surveys as required by various government agencies

Back to Table of Contents

Alcohol Tax Filings

For brewpub/microbrewery and micro winery concepts, we prepare the periodic alcohol reporting filings and excise tax forms for your alcohol production and sales. Some of the forms we prepare include, among others:

  1. TTB quarterly brewer’s report of operations

  2. TTB excise tax returns

  3. State alcohol filings

This is a complex area, as we find each brewery and/or micro winery is unique. We work with your production staff to obtain required information typically not recorded in accounting records, such as inventory quantities, spoilage, loss, etc. If you have retail sales in the same space as your restaurant/bar, our team can seamlessly handle the retail accounting and sales tax for you as well.

Back to Table of Contents