Tax Planning

pOpen enrollment has a way of arriving when life is already busy. A benefits email appears, a deadline is several weeks away, and it is tempting to click through the same choices you made last year.

pRetirement planning can feel distant in your 20s and 30s, but by your 40s and 50s the numbers begin to carry more meaning. Careers are often more established, household income may be higher, and there is usually a clearer picture of what you want the next stage of life to look like.

pSeptember may feel early to start thinking about year-end taxes, but that is exactly why it can be such a useful time to review your financial picture. By the final weeks of December, many decisions have already been made and many opportunities have narrowed.

p class=p1Most missed business deductions are not hidden in an obscure section of the tax code. They are lost in ordinary transactions that were paid from the wrong account, recorded without enough detail, or forgotten by the time the return was prepared.

pMid-year tax reviews provide business owners with an opportunity to reassess financial assumptions before year-end decisions become time-sensitive.

pRunning a business requires making ongoing financial decisions grounded in a clear understanding of available resources. Taxes are often treated as a separate obligation, addressed only when deadlines approach.

pspanMost tax advice is written for people with predictable paychecks. Same employer, same withholding, same general ballpark every single year. File in April, maybe get a refund, move on.

pspanNobody wants to think about criminals rifling through their financial life, but tax return fraud has turned into one of the biggest headaches facing American taxpayers. The IRS flagged over a million returns for possible identity theft back in 2023 alone—returns worth roughly $6.3 billion in fraudulent refunds.

pspanSales tax seemed pretty manageable when you first opened your doors. You had local customers, one state to deal with, and the whole process took maybe an hour each month.

pspanSelf-employment offers flexibility, independence and the potential for unlimited earnings, but it also comes with important financial responsibilities—one of the most significant being taxes, as your CPA can attest to.