If you own a small-to-medium size business you probably have some experience with retirement plans, either for yourself or for your employees. No matter how small or deep those experiences are, almost every business owner is looking for cost-effective ways to create retirement benefits along with the immediate tax benefits. The problem often lies in the cost of those immediate tax benefits. Retirement plans often require company contributions to all eligible employees. Plans can be expensive to setup and maintain. These may qualify for immediate tax benefits, but these are costs that come off your bottom line!

We have a potential solution, lets dig further into your company and find the money to help fund your retirement solution! There are two things I know for sure. Your retirement solution is going to be unique to you and it’s going to be much easier for you to implement if it’s funded through a new source of tax savings. This is music to a business owner’s ears. Lets start by exploring one of the most commonly underutilized tax saving strategies.

The Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit

I’ve spoken and worked with many business owners and many have heard of R&D tax credits, but the R&D credit is underutilized by many eligible businesses that erroneously assume their activities will not qualify.  The credit is available to businesses of all sizes that are engaged in a wide range of specializations, including architecture, engineering, construction, software and manufacturing.

The biggest mistake a business owner can make is to assume you don’t qualify for the credits and not explore the possibility as a result. Additionally, CPAs who prepare tax returns may not specialize in this area of the tax code. Many CPA tax preparers refer businesses to specialists in this field as a result, but they may have missed you.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Several other tax-planning opportunities await many of you. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has introduced many new wrinkles into the tax code, such as the Section 199A Qualified Business Deduction for owners of pass-through business entities and Opportunity Zone investments.

If you like the idea of finding new sources of tax savings to fund your retirement, contact us for more information at 480-818-8300 or send us a message here.