Tax services

Tax planning & consulting | Federal tax preparation services
Cost segregation study | Research & development tax credit study
Accounting method changes | Estate & financial planning
State & Local Tax Services

Tax planning and consulting

Benefit:

• Capture tax benefits for your organization or personal wealth
  
  
• Decrease potential risk of penalties or errors in interpretation of tax code through review and recommendations of experienced and knowledgeable tax specialists
  
  
• Preparation and recommendations for not only current but future tax environment

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Organizations or high-net-worth individuals with more complex tax situations, such as:
  
  
• Merger, acquisition or other business transition
• Change in ownership structure of business
• Significant change in financial situation
• Several related entities whose financials are linked
• Disruption such as litigation or divorce
• Major expansion or downsizing of assets
• Change in business location(s)
  
  
• Any organization or individual desiring to ensure they are receiving any tax benefits to which they are entitled

Description:

This service varies by individual and organizational need, but typically involves research and fact-finding (through interviews and review of financial and operational documents), analysis of current and prospective tax benefits, recommendation of tax strategies, and, if desired, implementation of the tax strategies through tools such as cost segregation, accounting method changes, or handling tax compliance (preparing and filing returns).

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Federal tax preparation services

Benefit:

• Efficient, accurate and timely tax preparation and filing by knowledgeable tax professionals
  
  
• Decreased potential risk of penalties or errors in interpretation of tax code due to high experience level and current tax code knowledge of tax professionals

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Organizations or high-net-worth individuals with more complex tax situations, such as:
  
  
• Merger, acquisition or other business transition
• Change in ownership structure of business
• Significant change in financial situation
• Several related entities whose financials are linked
• Disruption such as litigation or divorce
• Major expansion or downsizing of assets
• Change in business location(s)
• Businesses eligible for the foreign income exclusion or the domestic manufacturing deduction

• Any organizations or individuals desiring to ensure they are receiving any tax benefits to which they are entitled
  
  
• Organizations or individuals lacking the time, expertise or inclination to handle the rigorous analysis and deadlines required for tax compliance

Description:

AGH tax professionals review past years’ tax returns and financial documentation provided by the client, evaluate any changes required in the current year’s return due to changes in client’s situation or new tax code interpretations, and send completed return and supporting documentation for the client’s signature and filing. AGH retains copies of the return and supporting materials for future years’ comparison and review.

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Cost segregation

Benefit:

• Increased cash flow due to higher tax deductions and less taxable income

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Organizations which have built, expanded, renovated or purchased a building or facility within the past 10 years. This includes companies which have purchased another business whose assets include buildings, manufacturing facilities, or even rental property.

Description:

Often, most or all of the cost of a building is depreciated over a period of 39 years – the schedule for “real” property. Through a cost segregation study, some of the costs can be reclassified from real to personal property and depreciated over a much shorter tax life – typically 5, 7, or 15 instead of 39 years. The accelerated depreciation schedule lowers tax bills through higher deductions, increasing cash flow available for other uses.

Cost segregation robust enough to endure an IRS audit is best supported with an engineering-based study, in which a construction engineer scrutinizes facility blueprints and building costs, visits the facility under review, and provides documentation of property costs qualifying for reclassification. AGH's cost-segregation team includes a construction engineer specializing in cost segregation and a senior tax professional.

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Research and development (R&D)
tax-credit study

Benefit:

• Increased cash flow due to lower taxes based on tax credits for qualifying research and development costs in addition to existing tax deductions
  
  
• Establishment of systems to capture R&D costs for future years’ tax credits
  
  
• Potential for amending prior three years’ open returns for additional tax credit if qualifying expenses found

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Companies engaged in:
  
  
• product and process research, development, design, engineering, or testing in technological areas using principles of physical, biological, chemical, engineering or computer sciences in which the development or outcome is uncertain
  
  
• Manufacturing and technology companies are often eligible

Description:

Most companies engaged in research and development (also called research and experimentation) already claim tax deductions for their costs. For qualifying R&D expenses, however, those same expenses can also generate tax credits as well – a double benefit from the same expenses.

In an R&D tax credit study, a tax professional identifies expenses that qualify for both the Federal and state R&D tax credit. These may include not only materials used in R&D, but also qualified wages for personnel engaged in research and often certain outside consultants. If significant tax credits are identified, the organization may choose to file amended tax returns to capture any open years' tax credits. Our tax professionals can also assist with any amended returns required.

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Accounting method changes

Benefit:

• May improve cash flow through reduction of income tax obligations

• Enhanced benefit likely as organization grows
  
  
• May present a more accurate and consistent view of an organization’s taxable income
  
  
• May adapt to an existing or new IRS regulatory requirement

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Organizations which:
  
  
• Have experienced dramatic changes (mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, etc.)
• Have experienced dramatic growth
• Are subject to a switch in regulatory requirements

Description:

Accounting methods are prescribed ways of reporting an organization’s income and expenses, using tax methods that clearly and consistently reflect income. Once an organization adopts a particular accounting method, it must ordinarily continue to use that method unless a request to change methods is filed with the IRS, or the change is eligible for automatic IRS consent.

Accounting method changes are most commonly related to how (and when) an organization reports its revenue and expenses (i.e., cash vs. accrual), how inventory is valued (i.e., LIFO vs. FIFO or other hybrid methods), or how depreciation is calculated. Accounting method changes in which tax code clarifications have delivered the opportunity for significant benefit include prepaid expenses, recurring—item exception for expenses and advance payments regarding income inclusion or exclusion.  

An AGH tax professional can evaluate your organization and the types of accounting methods currently in use, as well as your business environment and goals, and regulatory requirements that may apply to you. The professional will then outline any proposed accounting method changes and the pros and cons of each, as well as help you file for IRS consent to an accounting method change (if necessary) and provide support in implementing the change within your organization.

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Estate and financial planning

Benefit:

• Build and preserve wealth
  
  
• Plan for retirement well-being
  
  
• Provide security for family and/or business’ financial future
  
  
• Reduce potential financial risks to business and family assets
  
  
• Control and ease transition of assets to next generation
  
  
• Reduce estate taxes

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• High-net-worth individuals and families, especially those with children
  
  
• Owners of family-owned or closely held businesses
  
  
• Philanthropists
  
  
• Anyone who wants to plan for a comfortable, secure retirement

Description:

Estate and financial planning is appropriate for anyone who wants to preserve and build the assets they’ve worked hard to accumulate. If you don’t create an estate plan, the state you live in will determine how your assets are distributed in the event of your death – so if you want to control those decisions, an estate plan is essential.

Even early in your life and career, it’s important to start thinking about how to protect your financial security and your family’s future, including plans to save for retirement. Then, as you become closer to retirement age, you may want to not only ensure your family and children’s well-being, but perhaps also begin to transition some of the assets you’ve acquired along the way – including property, businesses or other wealth. The more you can preserve these assets by minimizing estate taxes, the more you can share with your family or the charitable organizations you want to benefit.

Any plan begins with a discussion of your goals and what you’d like to achieve with your assets – whether that’s passing your business to the next generation, putting your children through college, retiring in relative comfort, or sharing your wealth with an organization you care deeply about. Our estate planning consultants then review your assets, develop tax-efficient strategies to meet your goals, and outline the plan for your approval and implementation.

Over your lifetime, as your goals, assets, life situation and interests change, your financial and estate plan will likely change as well. But even so, the most important step you can take is to create a long-term strategy for wealth preservation and building.

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State and Local Tax

Reverse state, local and sales/use tax review and recovery
Business tax credits assistance
Nexus study
State audit defense

Reverse state, local and sales/use tax review and recovery

Benefit:

• Reduce state, local and sales/use taxes paid in error
• Recoup overpayments already made
• Establish system to avoid future overpayments

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Wide variety of organizations including manufacturers, utilities, processors, and companies with business units, warehouses or staff in multiple states

Description:

Looking for additional revenue, states are stepping up audits and enforcement, even as federal, state, local and sales tax regulations become more complex and harder to understand. Many companies, trying to stay in compliance, unknowingly overpay and increase their tax burden unnecessarily.

In a reverse review, AGH’s tax professionals review prior returns and supporting documentation, including reviewing related transactions for refund potential. If overpayments are located, AGH’s team prepares a report outlining the available exemptions and the exceptions that were discovered, provides documentation, helps you apply for refunds and tracks the refund process through completion – including defending a claim if it is rejected.

In addition to seeking applicable refunds, AGH’s team also provides education on applicable tax code, and helps establish internal processes and training to track and pay appropriate taxes.

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Business tax credits assistance

Benefit:

• Increase cash flow by earning state tax credits

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Organizations which are:
• Making significant investments in capital asset purchases
• Investing in eligible employee training and education and employee training
• Locating, relocating, expanding or renovating
• Growing and adding jobs in any state

Description:

Tax incentives, exemptions or other benefits for growing businesses are common nationwide but vary by state. If your organization is adding people or capital assets, you may be able to reduce your tax liability or earn other benefits.

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Nexus study

Benefit:

• Avoid or decrease penalties and interest in states where you do business but have not registered
• Understand what constitutes nexus
• Reduce tax liability through nexus planning

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Organizations with even a minimal presence in multiple states, including:
• Sales reps
• Delivering products 
• Selling products
• Inventory
• Performance of warranty services

Description:

As states’ need for revenue increases, their likelihood of aggressively seeking all available taxes increases. That, combined with information-sharing between states through the recent streamlined sales tax initiative, makes it even more important to understand when your organization has established nexus in a state. Even an item as small as a phone directory listing may arouse state interest.

In each state where you have business activity, your operations are reviewed for tax liability. If liability has been incurred, AGH’s team can recommend corrective action to help avoid penalties, assist the company in registering with the applicable state, and negotiate reduction or elimination of penalties if possible.

If nexus is established in multiple states, AGH can review operations to determine if the organization’s tax liability can be reduced by transferring certain activities into a state with a lower tax rate.

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State audit defense

Benefit:

• Reduce or eliminate potential for assessments during a state audit
• Serve as an experienced and knowledgeable representative of an organization during an audit
• Reduce interruption to and stress on your operations by minimizing internal staff time required to work with audit team
• Negotiate on your behalf with state audit team

Who’s most likely to benefit:

• Any organization notified that it will be audited or currently undergoing a state Department of Revenue audit for state and sales tax.

Description:

As states seek to increase revenues, one of their tools is an emphasis on audits to uncover unpaid tax liabilities. If time permits, an AGH audit team arrives at your facility as soon as you are notified that you’ll be audited, in order to review your returns and any pertinent documentation before the state’s team arrives as well as develop any recommendations for working with the auditors.

During the audit itself, the AGH team monitors the state audit team’s progress, acts as a liaison to your organization, answers technical questions and handles daily contacts, decreasing staff time required. If tax liabilities are discovered or are in question, AGH represents your interests with the state audit team to reduce or eliminate penalties and minimize taxes. In a number of cases, AGH’s review and coordination turned what started as an audit defense engagement into additional tax refunds earned by the organization.