Paying more than $10,000 a year in tax? Most of it is decided before you ever file.

A real plan, anonymized

One family restaurant. Here’s what their plan found.

Two owners, about $2 million a year in sales, and still losing money this year. The plan shows what they save now, and what they save as the restaurant gets back to profit.

• This year, still losing money$5,000–$12,000Mostly paperwork: reimbursements, a 14-day home rental and a staff-meal policy.
• Year 2, at $100,000 profit$25,000–$40,000An S corporation, a 401(k) and a child on payroll.
• Year 3, at $300,000 profit$55,000–$75,000Payroll-tax savings add up, and the owners’ 401(k)s are funded from their wages.
• Year 5, at $1,000,000 profit$110,000–$150,000Most profit paid out as S corporation distributions, 401(k)s maxed out, and a state tax election.

$250,000–$400,000estimated tax saved over five years, if the plan is put in place now and profit follows that path

What was in the plan

• 12 strategies, in the order they can actually be done: paperwork first, then family wages, retirement and the entity change
• 6 more it looked at and ruled out, with the reason for each
• 16 problems flagged in the books and tax returns, 5 of them errors to fix before anyone relies on the numbers
• The biggest unused deduction: a $2 million building still being written off over 39 years. See what a cost segregation study does.
• A roadmap for the next 30 days, the next 90 days and the first profitable year, plus a list of every document still needed

No big promise for this year. The restaurant was losing money, and the plan said so plainly: “Selling a $100,000 ‘tax savings’ number against a restaurant that is currently losing money would not be honest.” These are planning estimates from one plan. They aren’t a guarantee or a prediction for your business, and the larger numbers only come if the profit does. Owners’ names and details withheld.

Questions

What people ask before they book