Planning for Business Owners 

Business owners know that success is hard won and challenging to maintain. Your business has been built through sacrifice, long hours, mastery of new and unanticipated skills, and relentless determination. Now that your legacy has been established, you may have questions about how to maximize your business’ value or how to transition it to the next stage.

 

Financial planning for business owners:

Entrepreneurs must adapt to an ever-changing market, and your time is best spent working to help your business grow. We help identify planning opportunities and potential issues around taxation, estate, partnerships, succession, and risk management. We serve as a sounding board for our business clients, working with their team of professionals. We provide our clients with advice on:

  • Moving from sole proprietorship to incorporation: We help clients determine when it is appropriate to incorporate their business. If incorporation is appropriate, we advise on the corporate structure to maximize tax savings and to protect shareholders. 
  • Protecting key employees and the business: Key employees require both incentive and protection. While all employees are important, there are key personnel who are essential to the smooth operation of the business. Compensation for these employees may go beyond regular salary and bonus structures. Insurance solutions may also be advisable to protect both the business and any key staff, should they suffer illness, disability, or death.
  • Partnerships: We work with owners to ensure that their interests are protected when expanding or taking on partners. Buy-sell agreements are essential for any partnership. Businesses should always have a clear plan for exiting a partnership before it is needed.
  • Investments: Certain types of investment income are taxed at very high tax rates within a corporation. We show business owners how to invest tax-efficiently, maximizing after-tax income to the business and themselves.
  • Maintaining flexibility for an early sale: Business owners don’t always solicit buyers. Sometimes buyers will approach with an offer, or unforeseen circumstances will lead to a quick sale. We show our clients how to maintain their status as a qualifying small business. Continual purification of a corporation is simple and keeps a company agile and ready to take advantage of the lifetime capital gain exemption available to business owners.

 

Transitioning to Retirement      

When owners transition to retirement, determining an exit strategy can be complex. We work with our clients to examine their options for succession or sale, always mindful of how to lower taxation and increase value. Preparation for the sale or transfer of a business can take years of planning to maximize the after-tax value from the lifetime capital gain exemption. We help our retiring clients to:

  • Ensure shareholders’ eligibility for the lifetime capital gains exemption: Frequent purification of a corporation means that each shareholder in a family business can qualify for a tax-free benefit on the sale of the business of up to $913,630 each.
  • Plan for family succession: Many family businesses do not survive the tax bill generated by ownership transfer to the next generation. Proper planning can mitigate or avoid this consequence. We work with younger family members to help prepare them for ownership.
  • Plan for succession with key personnel within the business: The best people to take over the reins are often already within the organization. Sale to a group of key employees can involve different strategies depending upon the size of the enterprise and the funding available to the buyers. We protect owners’ interests and aid in choosing the right strategy for successful, tax-efficient transfer and retention of wealth.
  • Sell to an outside third party: Strong planning leads to a tax-efficient sale that qualifies for the lifetime capital gains exemption. Multiple family shareholders and a well-planned corporate structure can multiply the $913,630 tax-free benefit on the sale of the business. 

 

If you have a business need that requires advice, please reach out for a consultation.