As the owner of a new small business, you will need to take several key steps to ensure your business’s success. One of the most important things that you should do from day one is properly manage your taxes, as not doing so could sink your business.
You will also need to find ways to reduce your tax liability, as doing so can help you to keep your hard-earned money, allowing you to continue to invest in your business. Fortunately, there are many tax-saving strategies that you can employ to reduce your company’s tax burden. Here are just a few steps that you can take to reduce your tax liability this year:
Contribute to a Retirement Plan
Once your business is profitable, you can reduce your taxes by setting aside money in a retirement account. By placing money in a 401(k) or IRA, you can reap valuable tax benefits as you will get a deduction for your contributions.
For the 2020 tax year, the IRS allows you to put away up to $57,00 in total contributions for retirement into a one-participant 401(k) plan. Doing so gives you a way to prepare for your future while reducing your current tax liability.
Structure Your Business The Right Way
In order to reduce your tax liability, it is critical to structure your company the right way, as structuring your business improperly could cost you greatly come tax season. For instance, if you have a closely held company where income passes through you as the business owner, then it is likely that you have established your company as an LLC or an S corporation.
While this may be the right choice in some circumstances, depending on your income bracket you may actually benefit by changing your company’s structure to a C corporation. It can be beneficial to seek professional help when structuring your business in order to ensure that you choose the best option for your company.
Consider Expanding Benefits Instead of Giving Raises
As your business grows, you may be inclined to give your employees raises to show your appreciation for their hard work as well as to incentivize them to keep working at your company. However, this may not always be the best option for tax purposes. A better option may be to compensate employees by increasing your contribution to their health insurance costs instead of giving them the same amount of money in the form of a raise.
If you gave your employees a salary increase, each employee would have to pay taxes on those wages, and you, as the employer, would have to pay the employer share of the FICA and Medicare taxes on this additional income as well. Instead of giving employees a $400 raise, it may be better for you to offer to contribute $400 more to their medical insurance. This not only prevents you and your employees from having to pay additional taxes, but also, in many instances employer contributions to employee benefits are tax-deductible as a business expense, helping you to save money.
Find The Right Advisor to Help You Maximize Tax Credits
Of course, a great way to ensure that you are doing everything that you can to reduce your tax liability would be to talk to an advisor that can help you to take advantage of available tax credits. The government offers various tax credits at the state and federal levels for businesses of all types. However, it can be difficult to sort through all of the tax credits available to your business on your own.
Working with a tax credit expert helps ensure that you are doing everything that you can to reduce your tax liability.
Contact us to learn how Incentax’s streamlined process can help you to identify and maximize all of the tax credits available to your business, as this could significantly reduce your tax liability.