Tax Planning
Tax Planning for Business Owners
Tax preparation reports a year that already closed. Tax planning changes the outcome while the year is still open — and most of it has to happen before December 31.
- Licensed Utah CPAs
- In person or virtual
- Four offices — UT, OK, RI
What It Is
Changing the Outcome While the Year Is Still Open
Tax planning is the work of changing your tax outcome before the calendar forces the answer — adjusting the timing, structure, and amount of taxable income while you still have room to act. It is a separate service from filing your return.
It is a short list of decisions, not a mystery: when you buy equipment, what you pay yourself, how much goes into a retirement plan, whether your entity structure still fits, and whether your estimated payments match reality. Each one has a deadline, and most of them fall on December 31.
If your only conversation with your accountant happens between January and April, you are buying preparation and assuming it includes planning. It does not. That gap is the single most expensive misunderstanding we see — and it is the reason our team starts calling clients around August rather than waiting for filing season.
The Distinction
Two Different Services, Opposite Ends of the Year
Preparation reports history. Planning changes it. Most business owners are paying for one and expecting both.
Looks backward
Tax Preparation
The question it answers
What did we owe?
When it happens
January–April, after the year has closed
What it can change
The accuracy of the filing
What you get
A filed return
Cost of skipping it
Penalties and interest
Looks forward
Tax Planning
The question it answers
What will we owe — and can we change it?
When it happens
August–December, while the year is open
What it can change
Timing, structure, and amount of taxable income
What you get
Decisions with deadlines attached
Cost of skipping it
A correct return on a number nobody could influence
What’s Included
What a Tax Planning Engagement Covers
Every engagement starts from your actual numbers — current-year figures, prior-year returns, entity structure, and where you are taking the business. You leave with decisions, not a reading list.
Current-Year Tax Projection
Where you will actually land this year, built from real numbers — not last year’s return with a percentage added. Everything else depends on this.
Entity Structure Review
Whether your current structure still fits, and the tax effect of changing it — modelled on your numbers, not a rule of thumb.
Owner Compensation Analysis
For S corporation shareholders, whether your salary is defensible against this year’s business — not the year you set it.
Retirement Plan Modelling
Which plan fits, what you can contribute, and — the part people miss — which plans have to exist before year-end even when funding can wait.
Capital Purchase Timing
What to place in service before December 31 and what to hold — because delivery and install dates are a tax variable, not a logistics detail.
A Dated Action List
Every recommendation with the date it expires, plus right-sized estimated payments for the quarters still ahead of you.
Utah Specifics
The Utah pass-through entity election, reviewed every year
Utah allows eligible S-corporations and partnerships to elect to pay state income tax at the entity level, which may affect how those taxes are treated for federal deduction purposes. Whether the election benefits you depends on your circumstances — so we evaluate it for every pass-through client, every year, and the election must be made annually rather than carried over.
Is It Time?
Six Signs Your Business Is Ready
Your profit moved this year
A significant swing up or down changes which strategies apply. A structure that fit last year’s numbers may not fit this year’s.
April keeps surprising you
If the size of the bill is news every spring, the projection work is not happening — and neither is the planning that depends on it.
You are still a sole proprietor
Past a certain profit level, an S corporation election can change your self-employment tax materially. The threshold depends on your numbers.
Something big is coming
Buying or selling a business, adding a partner, purchasing real estate, changing entity type — each outcome is set by how the transaction is structured.
You have not revisited your salary
S corporation compensation is a live decision annually. The common pattern is a salary set in a strong year and never brought back down.
Your books are not current
You cannot project on numbers that stop in May. Often what looks like a planning problem is a bookkeeping problem first.
The Runway
What’s Still on the Table, Month by Month
By August you have enough of the year’s real numbers to project accurately, and you still have four months to act on what the projection shows. That combination does not exist in April.
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August–September
Clean up the books, build the projection, right-size the estimated payments you have left.
Q3 estimate · Sept 15, 2026 -
October
Equipment and vehicle decisions while lead times still allow installation before year-end; entity structure review.
No fixed date -
November
Retirement plan setup, owner compensation adjustments, and payroll changes that need runway to take effect.
Plan setup deadlines vary -
December
Place assets in service, final payroll runs, S corporation compensation true-up, income and expense timing.
Dec 31 · most levers close -
January
Q4 estimate, W-2 and 1099 preparation, document gathering for the return.
Q4 estimate · Jan 15, 2027
Notice how little of this is about finding new deductions. Most of it is sequencing decisions you were going to make anyway.
The Figures
The 2026 Numbers That Shape Most Planning Conversations
| Item | 2026 amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Section 179 maximum deduction | $2,560,000 | IRS Form 4562 |
| Section 179 phase-out begins | $4,090,000 | IRS Form 4562 |
| Bonus depreciation | 100% | IRS guidance — permanent, property acquired after Jan 19, 2025 |
| 401(k) elective deferral | $24,500 | IRS 2026 limits — plus $8,000 catch-up at 50+, $11,250 at ages 60–63 |
| Total annual additions cap | $72,000 | IRS 2026 limits |
| SEP-IRA employer contribution | $72,000 | IRS SEP limits — or 25% of compensation, whichever is less |
| Q3 estimated tax due | Sept 15, 2026 | IRS estimated tax |
| Q4 estimated tax due | Jan 15, 2027 | IRS estimated tax — skippable if you file by Feb 1, 2027 |
Verified against IRS guidance for tax year 2026 · reviewed August 2026. Contribution limits and thresholds are adjusted annually — confirm the current year’s amounts before acting.
How It Works
Four Steps, No Pressure
- 1
Scoping call
Your entity type, revenue, how current the books are, and what changed this year. This is where we find out whether planning is the right next step or the books need attention first.
- 2
Projection
We build a current-year tax projection from your real numbers, so every recommendation that follows is anchored to something real.
- 3
Planning session
We work through the strategies that actually apply to you, ranked by impact, with the deadline attached to each one.
- 4
Implementation
Strategies only count once executed. We coordinate the payroll changes, elections, plan setup, and documentation — and check back before deadlines land.
Pricing
What Tax Planning Costs
There is no list price, because there is no standard engagement. Here is how the number actually gets set — and what pushes it up or down.
How we quote
A flat fee, agreed before any work begins
You see the number and the scope it covers before you commit to anything. No hourly meter, no invoice that arrives bigger than the conversation.
What moves the number
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How many entities
One S corporation is a different job from three LLCs and a partnership that all touch each other.
-
How complex the structure is
Multiple states, real estate holdings, or a transaction in progress each add real analysis.
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How current your books are
Cleanup ahead of a projection is the single most common reason a quote lands higher than expected.
Usually better value
Most clients bundle planning with the rest of the year
Folding planning into one annual arrangement alongside bookkeeping, payroll, and return preparation costs less than buying it separately — and it is what makes the planning actually happen instead of getting scheduled and skipped.
Go Deeper
Read More on a Specific Strategy
- Advanced tax planningThe five layers: entity structure, income timing, retirement, compensation, and business events
- Year-end tax planning strategiesOrganized by what has to happen before December 31
- S corporation tax guideFiling requirements, reasonable compensation, and when the election makes sense
- Estimated quarterly tax paymentsWho has to pay, how much, and how to avoid underpayment penalties
- Federal and Utah business tax creditsWhat most commonly goes unclaimed
- Business restructuring and tax effectsThe analysis that belongs before you file, transfer, or sign
- Key tax dates and deadlinesThe full filing calendar for Utah businesses
- Why timing beats deductionsThe case for planning before the year closes
Where We Work
Four Offices, Plus Fully Virtual
FJ & Associates, PLLC is a licensed CPA firm. Planning engagements run in person or entirely by video and secure document sharing — we work with owners well beyond our office markets.
Kaysville, Utah
612 N Kays Dr #120 — main office. Layton, Farmington & Davis County.
Roy, Utah
5145 Airport Rd #100 — formerly Litz & Company. Riverdale, Ogden & Weber County.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Serving Oklahoma business owners.
Westerly, Rhode Island
Serving southern New England.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between tax planning and tax preparation?
Tax preparation reports a year that has already closed. Tax planning happens while the year is still open, when the timing, structure, and amount of taxable income can still change. Preparation is a filing requirement; planning is a set of decisions with deadlines attached.
When should a business owner start tax planning?
August through October is the practical window. By August you have enough of the year’s real numbers to project accurately, and you still have roughly four months to act on the projection. Waiting until filing season removes most of the options.
Do I need to switch accountants to get tax planning?
No. Planning can be a standalone engagement even if someone else prepares your return, though it works better when the same firm sees both sides. We’ll tell you honestly if splitting the work creates more friction than it’s worth for your situation.
Is tax planning worth it for a small business?
Value tracks decisions, not revenue. A sole proprietor weighing an S corporation election, or an owner whose profit doubled this year, has more at stake in a planning conversation than a larger business with a stable, unchanged structure. If nothing has changed and nothing is changing, planning has less to work with.
Can I still do anything after December 31?
A few elections and contributions remain available after year-end, and we use them. What can’t happen after December 31 is creating the underlying transaction — equipment has to be placed in service, payroll has to have run, and most decisions have to have been made inside the tax year.
Can AI handle tax planning instead?
AI is useful for understanding concepts and building a sharper list of questions, and we’d rather clients use it than not. It can’t run your payroll, place an asset in service, open a retirement plan, file an election, or take professional responsibility for the position on your return. Knowing a strategy exists and qualifying for it are different problems.
This page is general information, not tax or accounting advice. Tax rules change and depend on your specific situation — consult a licensed CPA before acting.
Start with a projection, not a guess
Bring your year-to-date numbers and last year’s return. We’ll tell you where you’re landing and which decisions are still open to you.
