BUSINESS TAX SERVICES
The concept of a tax strategy is simple: minimize your taxes in order to maximize your business opportunities. However, an effective tax strategy is anything but simple. With an ever-changing tax code and increasing regulatory environment, it is critical to work with a certified public accounting firm that understands your business and your needs and can help you develop tax strategies that support your goals. Lopata, Flegel & Company LLP is that firm.
Our tax specialists stay abreast of tax law changes as they happen, and apply their knowledge and industry experience to understand how these changes impact you. We strive to partner with your business to proactively address tax matters and develop custom solutions to meet your business needs.
Our Business Tax Services Include:
We provide a full range of tax compliance services for federal, state, and local tax returns for businesses:
- Corporations
- S-Corporations
- Partnerships
- Employee Benefit Plans
- Not-For-Profits – Including Private Foundations
- Sales and Use Tax
- Payroll Tax
- Property Tax
This basic aspect of your business is critical to your tax planning strategy. The entity structure of your business affects not only your company’s and owners’ taxability, but also its risk exposure and owners’ wealth accumulation. We analyze this important decision and advise you on the impact of various entity structures.
In the age of technology and interstate commerce, interstate business transactions have become the standard instead of the exception. In many cases these transactions can create “nexus”, which is also known as a taxable presence in a state other than your business home state. We can help you with the multi-state tax issues such as:
- Determining whether your company has nexus under the particular state regulations and if so, the associated tax filing obligations.
- Assistance with tax compliance in those states in which the company is determined to have nexus.
- Tax planning and strategy to reduce your overall state tax burden.
- Tax preparation in all relevant states.
Companies that prepare their financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles reflect their income tax provision in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards ASC 740 – Income Taxes (formerly FAS 109). Many companies do not have internal personnel who possess the skill set to perform this complex calculation, which requires specialized knowledge. We can prepare the income tax provision, acting as an extension of your internal accounting department.
The Research and Development Tax Credit provides cash incentives for companies of all sizes that conduct R&D in the U.S. It is a dollar-for-dollar federal credit against taxes owed or paid. Any company that designs, develops, or improves products, processes, techniques, formulas, inventions, or software may be eligible.
An R&D study generally is performed to determine and document a company’s qualifying activities. From this information the credit(s) can be calculated.
We typically begin with a feasibility analysis to determine if the R&D credit will benefit the company. If you believe your company may have these activities, we would like to learn more about your business and how we can help your business benefit from this valuable government incentive.
Whether you are a property owner and are constructing a new building, expanding an existing one, rehabilitating an old facility or are a lessee and incur leasehold improvements, owned or leased property can generate much bigger tax savings than you may expect. your business can realize substantial tax and cash flow savings from accelerated depreciation when properly classifying construction costs between real and personal property.
Structuring alternatives for acquisitions or sales of businesses can have significant income tax effects on both the buyer and seller. Also, transaction activities usually involve significant expenses along the way. Tax rules generally require capitalization of transaction related expenses; however, a Transaction Cost Analysis can generate significant tax savings opportunities by identifying costs and expenses that may be deductible currently or over time.
Being selected for a tax authority audit generates stress for company management. We lead businesses through the process and consult with management on potential solutions. We are an advocate for our clients and work aggressively to generate the most favorable result for them.
Succession planning is one of the most essential areas of strategic planning for a closely held or family business. Although planning ties into the long-term goals and objectives of an organization, unfortunately in many businesses it is not a focus until a triggering event (such as death, disability or retirement) requires action. We encourage our clients to develop clear goals for the future of their business and we work with them to attain those goals, sometimes over multiple generations.