Resources — Tax & Business Guidance | George R. McGough, CPA

Tax planning considerations

The questions worth raising before December.

Timing of income and expenses, equipment purchases, owner compensation, and retirement contributions all become harder to influence once the year has closed. A mid-year review exists to catch them while there is still a choice to make.

Where does this year's income look different from last year's?
Is a large purchase or sale planned before year end?
Have ownership, payroll, or entity details changed?

Business financial fundamentals

What your statements should be telling you.

Financial statements are management tools before they are compliance documents. When they are accurate and read regularly, they show which parts of the business are actually earning and which are quietly absorbing cash.

Margin by product, line, or location — not just in total
Working capital and the timing of cash, not only profit
Trends across periods rather than a single snapshot

Important filing reminders

Dates that shape the rest of the calendar.

Deadlines vary by entity type, state, and circumstance. Rather than publish a generic calendar, George confirms the dates that apply to your specific situation and flags them in advance.

Entity returns and extensions
Estimated payments during the year
Information returns for contractors and other payees

Recordkeeping guidance

Enough records, kept the right way.

Good records are less about volume than about being able to answer a question two years later. A consistent, simple system beats a thorough one that no one maintains.

Keep the source document with the transaction it supports
Separate business and personal accounts without exception
Reconcile monthly — small errors compound quietly

Explanations of common tax notices

A notice is a question, not a verdict.

Most notices are automated and many are resolved with a straightforward reply. The important things are to read what is actually being asked, to note the response deadline, and not to ignore it.

Identify the tax year and the specific item in question
Compare the notice against your filed return before responding
Send a written response and keep proof of delivery

Before a major decision

Questions to ask before you commit.

Whether the decision is a purchase, a hire, a new entity, or a sale, the same handful of questions tend to determine whether it works out as expected.

What does this cost after tax, not before?
What does it do to cash in the next two quarters?
What would have to be true for this to be a mistake?