Year-Round Tax Planning Checklist for Privately Held Businesses

Why it matters

Turning tax strategy into an ongoing discussion helps you:

• Keep more cash in the business.
• Avoid missing credits and deductions.
• Spend less time reacting at year-end.

Build Business Value by Making Taxes a Part of Every Decision

As a leader, you understand that trusted advisors can be a secret weapon in making decisions that move the company forward.

Your business tax advisor should be on that list of professionals, checking in throughout the year to talk about your business and how taxes influence your daily decisions. This collaborative relationship helps you stay on top of potential risks and weigh the pros and cons of decisions as markets, business dynamics and rules change.

When tax is part of your regular planning — not just something you deal with at filing time — you can make decisions earlier, adjust when needed and avoid surprises. In practice, it means tax planning becomes part of how you run your business.

When you stay on top of tax planning year-round, it frees you up to:

• Keep more cash in the business instead of getting surprised at tax time
• Make better decisions during the year — not after the fact
• Plan purchases and investments with taxes in mind
• Pay yourself in a way that makes sense for both you and the business
• Avoid last-minute scrambling at year-end
• Be ready for growth, a sale or new opportunities

To keep this discussion going, we advise using a year-round activity checklist. This checklist will help you organize your approach and focus on the right questions long before deadlines loom. When you maintain regular dialogue with your tax team, you turn this seasonal requirement into a permanent business advantage.

Year-Round Tax Checklist for Privately Held Businesses

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) made sweeping changes to the tax code. Many of the bill’s provisions dramatically alter what’s possible for privately held businesses and their owners, so you should consider the impact of these changes and adjust your tax strategy in response.

Adapting to these new rules is not a once-a-year task. To figure out exactly what this legislative shift means for your bottom line, you need a consistent strategy.

Use this year-round tax planning and strategy checklist as a practical roadmap for staying ahead of compliance while discovering opportunities. It also provides a great framework to keep the discussion going with your tax advisor long before tax season hits.

Foundational Snapshots & Annual Reviews

• State exposure: Keep track of where you potentially owe taxes based on where you operate, sell or have employees.
• Federal and state elections: Review your current elections and how they affect your overall tax bill.
• International tax compliance: Review transfer pricing agreements and identify any additional international tax requirements arising from new or expanded operations.

• Entity and income timing: Review your entity structure and how income and expenses are recognized to better manage taxes and cash flow.
• Owner compensation: Set owner compensation and distributions in a way that balances taxes and cash needs.

• Deal readiness: Stay prepared for a potential sale or investment by understanding your tax position and financial performance.
• Technology investments: Consider the tax impact of major investments (like software or AI) and any available credits.

• Ownership transition: Keep buy-sell agreements and succession plans up to date as the business evolves.
• Exit planning: Model potential transactions to understand how different structures would affect your overall tax position. Consider a quality of earnings analysis or nexus review to identify and address issues early — so there are no surprises in due diligence.

Quarterly To-Do Lists

• Filings and setup: Complete required filings and confirm your entity and state tax elections for the year.
• Planning and payments: Start tracking business tax credits (e.g., R&D, energy incentives, work opportunity tax credit) early and make Q1 estimated tax payments. Project potential quarterly tax payments for the remainder of the year.

• Update projections: Refresh your numbers based on year-to-date performance and adjust your tax plan.
• Tax update modeling: Update tax projections to reflect changes under the OBBBA.
• Hiring and credits: Look for hiring incentives and other opportunities tied to growth.

• State nexus review: Identify where you may have state tax obligations.
• Spending review: Plan big purchases/investments strategically, with tax implications in mind.
• Compensation and planning: Start planning bonuses, retirement contributions and any potential transactions.

• Finalize decisions: Lock in your strategy around spending, compensation and distributions before year-end.
• Wrap up and look ahead: Complete documentation, prepare final payments and start planning for next year.

Be Tax Savvy. Be Free To Grow.

Year-round tax planning works best with the right guidance. Download the tax planning checklist for privately held businesses so you have a comprehensive discussion guide to take to your tax advisor. Learn how our experienced tax advisors help you make the most of tax planning all year long.