Comp set by habit
Salary and distributions are usually set once and then indexed by feel, long after the payroll tax, QBI and retirement-contribution arithmetic has changed.
Tax service
Owner, executive & succession planning
For most owners the business return and the personal return are one problem. We plan compensation, retirement, equity and exit as a single system rather than four disconnected decisions.
The problem
The owner is where everything meets
Business decisions become personal tax outcomes on a K-1. Very few advisers are looking at both sides of that line.
Retirement plan left on the shelf
A solo 401(k), SEP or cash balance plan can shelter far more than most owners realize, but the design has to match the payroll and census to work.
Exit planned too late
The structuring that makes a sale tax-efficient (Section 1202 stock, basis planning, installment structure) needs years of lead time, not months.
What we do
What we plan
One engagement covering the business entity, the owner's personal position, and the path between them.
- Compensation architectureThe split between W-2 wages, guaranteed payments and distributions, optimized across payroll tax, QBI limitations and retirement plan capacity.
- Retirement plan designSEP-IRA, solo 401(k), safe-harbor 401(k) with profit sharing, and cash balance plans, chosen against your census, not against a brochure.
- Equity and incentive compensationProfits interests, phantom equity, ISOs and NSOs, including the Section 83(b) election window that is missed more often than any other deadline in tax.
- Basis and distribution planningTracking stock and debt basis so distributions do not become taxable gain, and loans to the company are structured to actually create basis.
- Charitable and philanthropic timingDonor-advised fund bunching, appreciated securities rather than cash, and qualified charitable distributions once you reach the age threshold.
- Succession and exit structuringAsset versus stock sale modeling, Section 1202 qualified small business stock, installment sales, and family transfer planning.
- Estate coordinationWorking with your attorney so the entity structure and the estate documents describe the same plan.
How it works
A process you can follow
Four stages, with a defined deliverable at each one. You always know where the work stands.
1
Full picture
Business returns, personal returns, K-1s, plan documents, cap table and estate documents reviewed together.
2
Model
Total household cash tax under the current arrangement versus each alternative, projected across the planning horizon.
3
Coordinate
A working session with your attorney and wealth adviser so nobody is optimizing one variable at another's expense.
4
Implement
Plan documents adopted, payroll adjusted, elections filed within their windows, and the position reviewed annually.
Who it's for
Who benefits most
This engagement pays for itself fastest where personal and business tax are tightly coupled.
Owners taking meaningful distributions Partners with K-1 income Firms with 5–100 employees Owners over 45 with catch-up capacity Anyone planning an exit in 3–7 years Families transferring a business
Deliverables
What you get
- A compensation recommendation with the payroll, QBI and retirement effects quantified
- A retirement plan design comparison sized to your actual census
- A basis schedule maintained annually, not reconstructed at sale
- An exit readiness memo covering structure, timing and the Section 1202 position
- Annual review with your attorney and wealth adviser in the room
30 days
The Section 83(b) election window, no extensions
5 yr
Section 1202 holding period before any exclusion applies
1
Coordinated plan instead of four separate opinions
Questions
Frequently asked
Enough to be reasonable for the work you actually do, and the analysis runs in both directions. Too little invites reclassification of distributions as wages, with payroll tax, penalties and interest. Too much wastes payroll tax and can reduce your QBI deduction. We set the figure with market data and revisit it as the role changes.
For a consistently profitable business with an owner over about 45 and a manageable employee census, the deductible contribution can be several times a 401(k) limit, which is genuinely material. The trade-offs are real: an actuarial commitment, annual funding obligations, and required contributions for staff. We model the after-tax outcome including the staff cost before recommending one.
Three to five years before you intend to sell. Section 1202 requires a five-year holding period and C-corporation status from issuance. Basis planning, entity cleanup and the quality-of-earnings groundwork all take time. Owners who call us six months before a letter of intent have already lost most of the available options.
No, and that is deliberate. We are not investment advisers and do not sell products, which means our advice on retirement plan design carries no conflict. We work alongside whoever manages your portfolio, and we are happy to introduce you to advisers we have worked well with.
Related
Often paired with
Entity Structuring & Selection
S-corp, LLC or C-corp: modeled on your actual numbers.
Learn moreStrategic Tax Planning
Multi-year projections that lower the bill before year-end.
Learn moreIndividual & Owner Returns
Personal 1040s that reconcile cleanly to your K-1.
Learn more