Most people think “taxes” only happen once a year when they file. That’s tax preparation—accurately reporting what already happened.
Tax planning is different. It’s proactive and happens before year-end so you can change outcomes:
- Entity selection & compensation: S-Corp salary vs. distributions; reasonable comp analysis.
- Timing of income & deductions: Accelerate expenses or defer income to smooth brackets.
- Retirement & benefits: Solo 401(k), SEP-IRA, HSA optimization, backdoor Roth.
- Credits & incentives: R&D credit (for eligible businesses), energy credits, clean vehicle timing.
- QBID (199A): Managing qualified business income and wage/property limits.
- Depreciation: Section 179 vs. bonus depreciation, asset schedules.
When you only do preparation
- You comply, but you often leave money on the table because the year is already closed.
When you add planning
- You design a 12-month playbook—estimated tax strategy, retirement funding cadence, high-value deductions, and documentation we’ll need at filing.
What we do at Key Group
- Baseline review of last return(s) and books.
- Scenario modeling (salary splits, contributions, timing).
- Quarterly check-ins to keep you on track.
- Preparation at year-end with everything documented and clean.
Want a quick second opinion? Send us your last return and we’ll flag the top 2–3 planning moves for the next 12 months.
Next step: Contact us for a short discovery call.