There’s a retirement and tax strategy sitting inside plenty of businesses that never gets used, not because it’s complicated, but because nobody thinks to look at it: the spouse who’s already doing real work for the business, unpaid. It shows
Most business owners do not need the retirement plan that is “best” in general. They need the plan that best fits how their business is structured today. Yet many owners choose a plan once — often when the business is
The IRS Has No 60/40 Rule for S Corp Salaries “The IRS expects you to take 60% as salary and 40% as distributions.” If you own an S Corp, there’s a good chance you’ve heard some version of that advice.
Two owners. Same profit: $200,000. Same industry. Same role. Wildly different salaries and only one of them holds up under scrutiny. Owner A pays himself $28,000 in salary and takes the rest as distributions. There’s no wage benchmarking behind it,
“I file my 1120-S every year, so I’m covered.” It sounds reasonable. Your accountant prepares the return. You sign it. The IRS accepts it. Another tax year is officially in the books. So you’re compliant, right? Not necessarily. Form 1120-S
Imagine two S Corp owners. Same industry. Same $180,000 of business profit. Both pay themselves a salary and take additional money from the company as distributions. On the surface, they look similar. But if someone asked each owner one very
Somewhere along the way, “once you hit $50,000 in profit, elect S Corp” became gospel. Business owners repeat it to each other. Social media repeats it. And, unfortunately, some advisors repeat it too. It sounds helpful because it gives you
Arizona businesses know seasonality better than most. Between snowbird season, summer heat driving customers indoors (or out of state entirely), and tourism patterns that shift dramatically by month, a lot of local businesses deal with income that swings hard depending
If your slow season keeps catching you off guard — even though it happens every year — the problem usually isn’t the slow season itself. It’s that you don’t have a forecast, so it feels like a surprise every single
Back-to-school season feels like a “consumer” thing — parents buying supplies, new clothes, that whole scramble. But if you run a small business, especially here in Arizona, this season quietly affects your cash flow too, whether you sell directly to
