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Accounting Lions

Tax Planning · Twin Cities · Remote MN

Most people do tax planning in April. We do ours in October.

By the time you’re filing, the year is over — the return is just reporting what already happened. Real planning happens earlier. We look at where you’re headed, then use the moves the IRS actually allows: adjusting estimated payments, maxing retirement contributions, timing big purchases, and planning charitable giving. By April, there are no surprises.

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What we help with

Eight planning conversations we have most.

The conversations that come up year after year — grouped into the moves a business owner makes and the personal situations that swing a return.

The conversation

Year-end review

Year-end planning meeting

What this means

A virtual meeting in October or November to look at your year-to-date numbers, project where you'll land, and decide what to do before December 31.

How we help

We pull your year-to-date P&L (if we keep your books) or your latest pay stubs and 1099 totals, project the year, and walk you through the moves that are still on the table — retirement contributions, equipment purchases, charitable giving, deferring or accelerating income.

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Quarterly estimates

Quarterly estimated payments

What this means

If you're self-employed, contracting, running a business, or earning meaningful 1099 income, the IRS expects quarterly estimated payments. Underpay and you owe penalty interest in April.

How we help

We calculate realistic quarterly estimates based on your actual income and adjust them as the year goes. April becomes a confirmation, not a surprise.

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Business owner moves

S-Corp election

S-Corp election analysis

What this means

Once a sole prop or LLC clears roughly $60K–$80K in net profit, electing S-Corp tax status can save real self-employment tax — but it adds payroll, a separate return, and reasonable-salary rules.

How we help

We run the actual numbers on your situation — net profit, reasonable salary, payroll cost, separate-return cost — and tell you whether the savings clear the friction. No election is forever; we revisit it as the business grows.

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Retirement contributions

Retirement contribution strategy

What this means

SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), traditional IRA, Roth conversion — the right vehicle depends on your business structure, income, and what other plans you're in. Limits and deadlines change every year.

How we help

We look at your income, your entity, and any existing plans, and recommend the contribution that actually fits — including timing (some plans must be open by December 31; some can be funded up to the filing deadline). For investment selection we refer to your advisor.

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QBI deduction

Self-employment + QBI deduction planning

What this means

The Qualified Business Income deduction can take up to 20% off your business net income — but it phases out at higher incomes and treats certain professions differently (the SSTB rules).

How we help

We project where you'll land relative to the QBI thresholds and look at the moves that preserve the deduction — retirement contributions, charitable giving, deferral. For SSTB-eligible practices, the planning matters more.

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Personal situations

Multi-state

Multi-state planning

What this means

You moved mid-year, you work remote for an out-of-state employer, you own rental property in another state, you split residency between Minnesota and somewhere warmer. Each scenario has its own rules.

How we help

We walk through residency, sourcing, and credit-for-tax-paid-to-another-state ahead of filing — so the return isn't the first time you find out about the apportionment rules. For complex residency disputes we refer to specialists.

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Life events

Major life events

What this means

Sold a property. Got married or divorced. Started or sold a business. Lost a parent and inherited assets. Each of these can swing your tax picture by tens of thousands.

How we help

If the event is coming, we plan ahead — capital gain treatment, basis step-up, filing-status timing, estimated payments. If it already happened, we figure out the impact before April and adjust withholding or estimates so there's no shock.

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Charitable giving

Charitable giving timing

What this means

With the standard deduction high, many people give every year but only get tax benefit when they bunch two or three years of giving into one — sometimes via a donor-advised fund.

How we help

We project the standard-vs-itemized math, model what bunching would look like, and coordinate timing of contributions (cash, appreciated stock, donor-advised fund) for the year it actually moves your return.

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When the planning happens

Three windows that matter.

Quarterly

April, June, September, January. We adjust estimates so the number you’re sending in actually matches the year you’re having.

Year-end (Oct–Dec)

The window where most of the meaningful moves still close — retirement contributions, equipment, charitable gifts, income deferral or acceleration.

Life-event

Selling a property, getting married, starting or selling a business, inheritance. The right time to call is before the event, not after.

Common questions

What people ask before planning.

No, and the difference matters. A financial advisor manages your investments and your long-term plan — retirement, college, insurance, asset allocation. Tax planning is the math on what each move costs in tax — when to contribute to which account, when to recognize a gain or loss, how to time an entity election. The two roles work together; we coordinate with your advisor when you have one and refer to advisors we trust when you don't.

Free guides

Helpful reading on this topic.

Year-end

Year-end tax planning checklist.

The October-through-December moves that still close before December 31 — retirement, harvesting, deferral, bunching.

Read the guide

Quarterlies

Quarterly estimated taxes guide.

How to size each Q1–Q4 payment, when safe-harbor protects you, and what to do when income shifts mid-year.

Read the guide

K-1s

K-1 income explained.

What each box on a K-1 means, how it lands on your personal return, and where the timing surprises tend to hide.

Read the guide

Often paired with

Related services on the menu.

Personal tax returns

Filing follows the planning.

1040 federal + Minnesota state, filed by the same person who sat in October planning the year.

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Retirement plans

SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), SIMPLE.

Picking the right plan for your income — and getting it set up before December 31 so the contribution counts.

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Entity setup

S-Corp election done right.

When the math says S-Corp saves real self-employment tax, we file the election in the 75-day window — not after.

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The earlier we look, the more we can move.

If you’ve been doing your taxes one April at a time, an hour in October usually pays for itself. Bring last year’s return and a rough idea of how this year is going.

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