How to Use Strategy for Tax Savings

You don’t need to earn more. You need to keep more. Most people focus on income and ignore what taxes quietly take away. The real game: It’s not what you make. It’s what you keep. Start here: 1. Earn Through Tax-Efficient Structures ↳ Structure determines how much tax you pay ↳ Use businesses instead of personal income streams ↳ Plan income types before earning begins 2. Capture Every Legitimate Deduction ↳ Missed deductions reduce net income ↳ Track income-related expenses consistently ↳ Separate personal and business spending clearly 3. Leverage Depreciation Strategically ↳ Paper losses offset real income ↳ Invest in assets with depreciation benefits ↳ Accelerate depreciation where legally allowed 4. Reinvest to Defer Taxes ↳ Reinvestment delays taxes and compounds growth ↳ Roll profits into income-producing assets ↳ Avoid unnecessary taxable events 5. Optimize Income Timing ↳ Timing impacts how you’re taxed ↳ Shift income across tax years strategically ↳ Align timing with tax brackets 6. Use Tax-Advantaged Accounts ↳ Reduce taxable income legally ↳ Maximize contributions annually ↳ Use retirement, health, and education accounts 7. Protect Gains with Smart Planning ↳ Poor planning creates tax leakage ↳ Plan exits before investing ↳ Use long-term strategies for lower taxes Tax strategy isn’t a one-time move. It’s a loop you repeat every year. Earn. Protect. Reinvest. Repeat. Follow me Marc Henn for more. We want to help you Retire Early, Supercharge Your Cash Flow, and Minimize Taxes. Marc Henn is a licensed Investment Adviser with Harvest Financial Advisors, a registered entity with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

I’ve helped clients save over £4 million in taxes. And it’s not because they earned less or cut corners. It’s because they understood how to use tax rules to their advantage. Here are 10 strategies I give to my clients: For Individuals: 1. Maximise pension contributions to reduce your taxable income. ↳ Accounts like SIPPs offer generous tax relief on contributions. 2. Take advantage of your tax-free allowances every year. ↳ Use personal, dividend, and capital gains exemptions before they reset. 3. Invest in tax-efficient accounts to grow your savings tax-free. ↳ ISAs, for example, shield interest, dividends, and gains from tax. 4. Claim deductions for eligible expenses if you’re self-employed. ↳ Things like office costs and equipment can reduce your tax bill. 5. Spread capital gains over multiple years to save more. ↳ This lets you maximize annual exemptions without overpaying. For Businesses: 6. Sell your business through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). ↳ This can eliminate capital gains tax entirely on the sale. 7. Claim R&D tax credits for innovation in your business. ↳ Even small projects can qualify for these lucrative credits. 8. Use salary sacrifice schemes to cut payroll taxes. ↳ Pensions, electric cars, and childcare vouchers all save money. 9. Pay dividends instead of a higher salary to reduce tax. ↳ Dividend income is often taxed at a lower rate than wages. 10. Invest in capital assets to use the Annual Investment Allowance. ↳ This allows 100% tax relief on qualifying purchases. Tax savings aren’t about avoiding what you owe. They’re about understanding the rules and using them wisely.

A SaaS founder recently asked me, “Is it too late to save money on my 2024 taxes?' My answer: Absolutely not! There’s still time to make strategic moves that can save you thousands. Here are a few key opportunities to consider: 1️⃣ Maximize R&D Tax Credits If you’ve been investing in product development, you might qualify for the R&D tax credit. Even if your company isn’t profitable, this credit can offset payroll taxes. 2️⃣ Accounting Basis Check whether cash basis or accrual basis accounting works better for you. If your current liabilities (like accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and deferred revenue) outweigh your current assets (like accounts receivable and prepaid expenses), accrual basis might save you money. 3️⃣ Review Deferred Revenue For SaaS businesses, proper revenue recognition can make a huge difference. Ensure you’ve tracked your deferred revenue for annual subscriptions correctly—it could lower your taxable income when filing under an accrual basis. 4️⃣ Review Entity Structure Consider a late S-Corp election. For bootstrapped SaaS companies with LLCs and positive income, this could be a game changer for taxes. 5️⃣ Take Advantage of Retirement Plans It’s not too late to contribute to a retirement plan for your business (like a SEP IRA or Solo 401(k)) and reduce taxable income. Contributions can often be made up until the tax filing deadline. 💡 Pro Tip: Partnering with a CPA who specializes in SaaS can uncover savings opportunities you might miss. ❓ Still unsure? Let’s talk about strategies to save on your 2024 taxes. Do you have a favorite tax saving strategy?

You’re losing money if your salary isn’t structured smartly. As a CA and finance consultant, I’ve reviewed salary structures for hundreds of professionals. And I see the same pattern every time: decent income, poor planning, and benefits left on the table. If you’re salaried and want to build real wealth, here’s what you need to start paying attention to: ✅ Choose the right tax regime - New Regime: Offers a ₹75,000 standard deduction and simplified slabs, with tax-free income up to ₹12 lakh. - Old Regime: Better if you leverage HRA, LTA, or deductions like 80C and 80CCD(1B). Use a tax calculator to pick the winner. ✅ Tap into Tax-Free Allowances - If you rent, use HRA to significantly lower your taxable income (old regime). - Use LTA to cover two domestic trips every four years (old regime). - Meal Vouchers up to ₹50 per meal for two meals/day is tax-free (old regime). ✅ Maximize deductions smartly - Section 80C: Invest up to ₹1.5 lakh in EPF, PPF, ELSS, or insurance (old regime). - NPS: Add ₹50,000 under 80CCD(1B), plus employer contributions (10–14% of salary, both regimes). - Health Insurance: Claim ₹25,000–₹75,000 under 80D for premiums (old regime). ✅ Watch your standard deduction ₹75,000 in the new regime, ₹50,000 in the old. Check your Form 16 to ensure it’s applied. ✅ Bonus isn’t for splurging Treat it as capital. Invest at least half in ELSS, mutual funds, or your emergency corpus. Your salary is more than a paycheck, it’s a system for financial growth. Optimize it to keep more of what you earn. What’s one tax-saving move you’ve made that actually worked?

The recently passed "One Big Beautiful Bill" (OBBB) introduces substantial tax benefits, creating valuable opportunities for family offices and real estate investors focused on preserving and growing wealth. Understanding and acting on these changes can significantly improve your investment strategy and offer lasting financial advantages: • Permanent 20% QBI Deduction: Provides long-term tax savings for pass-through entities, increasing profitability and investment potential. • Permanent 100% Bonus Depreciation: Enables immediate deductions on property improvements and tangible assets, significantly improving cash flow. • Increased Estate and Gift Tax Exemption: Exemption limits have increased to $15 million per individual ($30 million per couple), simplifying the transfer of generational wealth. • Expanded SALT Deduction: The limit for State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions, including property and income taxes, rises from $10,000 to $40,000 starting in 2025. Full benefits apply only to individuals with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) below $500,000 (or $600,000 for joint filers). Above those levels, the deduction gradually phases out, ultimately reverting to $10,000 once income reaches approximately $600,000. • Enhanced Affordable Housing Incentives: A 12% increase in Low Income Housing Tax Credits makes affordable housing investments more financially attractive. Investors can achieve stronger yields while contributing to community development and meeting ESG objectives. These provisions offer more than incremental tax savings. They create strategic financial opportunities for real estate investment and wealth transfer planning. Are you prepared to take full advantage of these new tax opportunities? Now is an ideal time to review your investment and estate strategies. Taking action today can secure financial benefits for years to come.

Most investors think tax planning is April’s problem. That’s how they lose serious opportunities every December. Here’s how to create year-end alignment, and keep more of what you’ve earned: STEP 1 – Know your real tax position → Guessing invites penalties → Calculate Q4 now, adjust proactively → Waiting means scrambling under pressure STEP 2 – Capture expiring deductions → Bonus depreciation drops January 1 → Cost segregation studies take time → The deadline isn’t April, it’s now STEP 3 – Review entity structure based on income → High W2? S Corp might help → Passive losses? Match with passive income → Adjust structure before year-end, not after STEP 4 – Layer in lifestyle deductions → Business travel, car use, phones, kids, yes, kids → But only if structured properly and documented → Use what the tax code legally allows STEP 5 – Sync tax planning with life goals → Don’t just cut taxes, build momentum → Align every move with your vision for wealth → Strategy is only useful if it supports your life Which move are you still sitting on, with less than two months left in the year?

I paid an extra $96,000 in taxes in 2023. Yet it will save me hundreds of thousands in future taxes. What I did and the lesson you can learn from it: My goal with taxes is simple ~ pay the lowest amount over my lifetime. This means being strategic about what years my tax bill will be higher (by choice) and what years it will be lower. 2023 was the perfect time for me to execute a key strategy ~ A Roth Conversion. - A Roth Conversion is when you convert (move) money from your IRA to your Roth IRA. When you do this you trigger a tax bill and all of the money converted (moved) gets taxed as if you earned it that year. This year I did that with more than $300,000. - 4 Key Reasons Why 1. My tax rate was lower than nearly any previous year. While my conversion pushed a few dollars into a high marginal tax rate, my effective tax bracket (what I will actually pay) is lower. Paying the taxes now for decades of tax-free growth made sense for me. 2. My tax rate was lower (or equal to) what I expect it to be in retirement. Through continued growth of my income and current assets, I expect my tax bracket in retirement to be at or higher than what it is today. *Remember tax rates are low by every historical measure today. 3. The asset value was down. At the time of my conversion, the stock market was down nearly 20%. This provided me with a 20% discount on the conversion. Since that time those positions have rebounded but done so in a tax-free fashion. 4. Tax control in the future Based on my asset mix, there is a good chance the first time I would use "retirement" assets is not by choice but through Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). Roth accounts are not subject to RMDs thus providing more control of my tax bill. - The key to taxes is understanding your situation. Plus Projecting out where you think you are going to be in the future. Then Understanding what strategies and timing make the most sense to execute on them. - 📌 If you find this helpful, please share it with your network ♻️ and follow me for more ways to get smarter with your money. 💵

I recently helped a client turn a ₹2 lakh capital loss into a tax-saving opportunity—here’s how! My client, an NRI, had sold property in India at a loss a couple of years back. Fast forward to this year, and they made a nice profit from selling shares. The big question was—could they use that past property loss to reduce the tax on this year’s gains? The answer is YES! Here’s how we made it work: 1️⃣ File the Losses on Time: First things first—when you have a loss, you need to file it within the tax deadline. My client did this in 2021-22, which made them eligible to carry the loss forward. 2️⃣ You Don’t Have to File Every Year: Didn’t have much income the following year? No problem! As long as you filed the loss in the initial year, you’re still good to use it in later years. 3️⃣ Use the 8-Year Rule: Long-term capital losses (like from property) can be carried forward for up to eight years! This means you can offset them against future long-term gains—like the profit from shares my client had this year. 4️⃣ It’s Not Too Late: If you missed the July deadline this year, you can still file by December 31, 2024, to claim the loss. Just be sure to get it done by then. 5️⃣ Long-term Losses Only Offset Long-term Gains: Long-term losses can only reduce long-term gains. So, if your gains this year are long-term (like shares held for over a year), it works perfectly! In short, carrying forward losses can save NRIs a lot on taxes if done right. Don’t let those losses go to waste—use them to lower future gains! P.S. Got any past losses you’re not sure about?  December 31 is the last chance to use them for this year. Don’t leave your savings on the table! #NRITaxes #TaxSavings #IncomeTaxIndia #CapitalGains

Dividends and a £12,570 salary? That’s not tax planning – that’s autopilot. Too many accountants are still offering the same advice to every business owner: Take a small salary up to the personal allowance. Top it up with dividends. Done. It’s the financial equivalent of putting on the same outfit every day because it’s easy. It might work, but it’s not elegant. It’s not thoughtful. And it certainly isn’t strategic. This sort of boilerplate approach assumes your life is simple. No property. No debt. No lending to your company. No children. No spouse. No goals. Real life is messier. And real tax planning needs to reflect that. Take one simple example: the loan account. Let’s say you’ve lent your company £100,000 over the years. Instead of drawing dividends, why not take interest? Interest is a fully allowable deduction for the company – so it reduces corporation tax. It’s taxed on you as savings income – which means you may have a £1,000 personal savings allowance (if you’re a basic rate taxpayer). If your spouse or civil partner has little or no income, you can share the income across households and potentially extract £10,000+ per year completely tax free. No National Insurance. No dividend tax. Just better use of what you’ve already got. And best of all? It gives you flexibility. You can pause or restart interest payments to fit your wider tax position, pension contributions, or investment plans. This is what proper tax planning looks like: personal, flexible, and thought-through. Yes, dividends and a small salary are part of the mix. But when they’re used by default – without thought, without context, and without exploration – it’s lazy. At JLA, we build bespoke strategies. We use your assets, your family setup, your long-term aims. We make your structure work for you – not just for HMRC’s convenience or your accountant’s workflow. If your tax strategy hasn’t changed in years, and your accountant hasn’t asked you about loan accounts, interest, rent, family allowances, or pension tapering – ask yourself why. Because boilerplate planning will always cost more in the long run. #TaxPlanning #SMEAdvice #Dividends #LoanAccount #SavingsIncome #SmallBusiness #BusinessOwners #StrategicTax #FamilyBusiness

Is your portfolio working as hard as you are? March 31 is around the corner. And while most people are busy investing in ELSS at the last minute to save Section 80C tax… Smart investors are looking somewhere else. Their brokerage account. Because one of the most underused strategies in India right now is Tax Harvesting. Here is why it matters. Long-Term Capital Gains on equity are tax-free up to ₹1.25 lakh per financial year. If you do not book those gains, that exemption simply expires. It does not carry forward. It does not accumulate. It disappears. That makes it a pure “use it or lose it” opportunity. How it works: 1. Tax Gain Harvesting Sell equity or mutual funds to realise gains up to ₹1.25 lakh. Reinvest the amount immediately. You reset your cost price higher and reduce future tax liability. Completely legal. Completely strategic. 2. Tax Loss Harvesting Sell underperforming stocks or funds to realise losses. Use those losses to offset realised gains. This reduces your overall taxable capital gains. Same portfolio. Better tax efficiency. But here is the catch. Settlement timelines matter. Last-minute transactions can get tricky. And March 31 does not wait. Tax planning is not just about saving tax. It is about optimising decisions. Before this financial year closes, ask yourself: Have I reviewed my unrealised gains and losses? Or am I focusing only on deductions and ignoring my investments? Smart wealth creation is not just about returns. It is about what you keep after tax. Are you harvesting this year, or hoping recovery will fix everything? Let’s discuss. #TaxPlanning #PersonalFinance #WealthManagement #Investing #IncomeTax #March31 #FinancialYearEnd