Your Accountant Files
Your Return. Nobody
Is Managing Your Exposure.
There is a difference between tax preparation and Small Business Tax Strategy & Planning in Virginia - and most business owners have never experienced the second one. Filing a return is reporting what happened. Strategy is shaping what happens before the year closes so that what gets reported costs you as little as legally possible. If your current tax relationship begins in February and ends in April, here is what is almost certainly falling through the cracks:
You're in the wrong entity structure - and you've been there for years
A sole proprietor earning $80,000 in net profit pays self-employment tax on every dollar. An S-Corp owner earning the same amount can structure their compensation to eliminate SE tax on a significant portion. Nobody modeled this for you because nobody was looking ahead.
Your retirement contribution window is longer than you think - and you're still missing it
A Solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA contribution is a dollar-for-dollar deduction against business income. For SEP-IRAs and most employer contributions, the window stays open until your business tax filing deadline - including extensions. But the plan has to be set up, and the decision has to be made. Every year this slips by is a year of deferred tax savings gone.
Q4 arrives and you have no idea what you owe
A strong Q3 changes your annual income projection significantly. Without a mid-year review, you either make estimated payments that were calculated in January on different numbers - or you scramble to defer income and accelerate expenses in December with no time to do it properly.
Major purchases happen without a depreciation strategy
Section 179 and bonus depreciation allow you to deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment and vehicles in the year of purchase - but only if the purchase is timed and documented correctly. Buying in January versus December can mean the difference between a deduction this year and a deduction next year.
Compensation strategy was never revisited after year one
How you pay yourself as an S-Corp owner has to be reviewed regularly. The "reasonable salary" requirement changes as your revenue changes. Getting it wrong - too low or without documentation - creates IRS exposure. Getting it right creates payroll tax savings.
Exit planning starts too late to matter
The tax on selling a business can consume a quarter to a third of the sale price if the transaction isn't structured in advance. Asset versus stock sale. Installment sale elections. QSBS exclusions. These are not decisions you make after you have a buyer. They're decisions you make years before.
💡 Every one of these is a calendar problem, not a complexity problem.
None of the situations above require exotic strategies or aggressive positions. They require someone who is paying attention to your business throughout the year - not just in April. At Griffin & Johnson, our Small Business Tax Strategy & Planning in Virginia engagement works with small business owners as year-round advisors. We review your financials quarterly, identify opportunities before they close, and make sure the decisions that affect your tax bill are made with full information - not discovered in February.
The Most Consistently
Missed Tax Strategy
for Growing Businesses
At a certain revenue level, Small Business Tax Strategy & Planning in Virginia makes the S-Corp question unavoidable - not whether the election makes sense, but how much it's already cost you to wait.
When you operate as a sole proprietor or single-member LLC, every dollar of net profit is subject to the 15.3% self-employment tax. That’s Social Security and Medicare - both sides - because there’s no employer to split it with.
An S-Corp election changes that. As an S-Corp owner, you pay yourself a reasonable salary - which is subject to payroll taxes - and take the remaining profit as a distribution, which is not. At the right income level, that structural difference produces meaningful, recurring, annual savings.
The right time to evaluate the election isn’t when revenue is already high. It’s before the year closes - because the timing of the election and the payroll setup both affect how much you save and when.
Net self-employment income where an S-Corp election typically begins producing meaningful payroll tax savings. We model the specific numbers for your situation before any recommendation is made.
The S-Corp election is not appropriate for all situations. We model the specific numbers for your revenue level, state tax obligations, and payroll costs before any recommendation is made. The goal is net savings - not structure for its own sake.
If You Own a Business
and Pay Taxes, This Is for You
Business tax strategy isn't a service reserved for large companies with full-time CFOs. It's the difference between a business owner who reacts to their tax bill and one who manages it - and the gap between those two positions compounds in both directions every year.
Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs with growing revenue
Revenue is increasing and so is the SE tax bill. This is the exact moment entity structure analysis becomes worth the conversation.
S-Corps already elected - but never strategically managed
The election was made. Reasonable salary was set once. Nobody has reviewed it since. The salary, the retirement plan, and the deduction strategy all need annual attention.
Multi-member LLCs and partnerships
Multiple owners, multiple interests, and a tax structure that affects every member. Partnership returns require careful treatment of allocations, basis, and guaranteed payments.
Business owners with employees or contractors
Payroll, contractor classification, retirement plan obligations, and fringe benefits create tax consequences on both sides of the employment relationship.
Owners approaching retirement or business transition
Exit planning, succession strategy, and the tax treatment of a sale are decisions made years in advance. The earlier the conversation starts, the more options remain available.
Business owners who want proactive planning - not just annual filing
You want quarterly check-ins, year-end planning conversations, and a tax advisor who calls you before December - not after April 15.
Every Dimension of Your
Business Tax Position,
Addressed Year-Round
From entity selection to exit planning, we address every lever that affects what your business pays - and we address them on a calendar that gives each decision the time it requires.
What It Looks Like
When Someone Is Actually
Watching Your Numbers
Most business owners have a tax preparer, but Small Business Tax Strategy & Planning in Virginia requires something more. Very few have a tax advisor. The difference is whether someone is looking at your business between Aprils - and whether the conversations that reduce your liability happen when there's still time to act on them.
Straight Answers to the
Questions You're Already Asking
Common questions about Small Business Tax Strategy & Planning in Virginia - answered directly. No jargon. No runaround.
Start Your Strategy.
Before the Year Closes.
No surprise fees. Year-round advisory engagement. Our Small Business Tax Strategy & Planning in Virginia starts with a conversation before the year closes. Submit your intake form and we’ll reach out within one business day - not after it already has.