Every time tax season approaches, it’s common to have some anxiety when it comes to your business’s taxes. But, with a little planning and preparation, you can make any tax filing season less stressful and avoid unnecessary surprises. If you’re a business owner, right now presents a golden opportunity to make a few moves to ensure that you’re taking advantage of all possible tax benefits available to you at tax time. This article covers five business tax moves you should make now.
Keep Track Of Your Business Expenses
One of the best ways to minimize your business tax bill is by keeping track of all business expenses throughout the year. This includes everything from equipment purchases to office supplies, marketing costs, or rent payments, and even travel expenses or meals and entertainment expenses related to business. Make sure to keep receipts, invoices, and other documents to support every expense so that you can provide accurate records to your accountant.
Plan For Employee Benefits
Employer-sponsored benefits, such as health insurance or 401(K) contributions, are a great way to give your employees added incentive to stay with your company and increase employee loyalty. These benefits can also provide your business with a tax break as well. Plan ahead to ensure that you’re taking full advantage of tax benefits by offering employee benefits that qualify for tax deductions.
Invest In Depreciable Business Property
Depreciable property refers to equipment that wears out with time and use, so think forklifts or computers. The IRS offers tax breaks to businesses that invest in these types of assets by allowing for accelerated depreciation deductions. Known as “bonus depreciation” this deduction can reduce your taxable income and provide positive effects on your business’s cash flow.
In 2025, businesses can write off up to 40% upfront of the purchase price of an asset placed into service in the calendar year, and then depreciate the remaining 60% cost of the property over the course of several years. But, that percentage ramps down to 0% in 2027, so if you have plans to upgrade your office equipment or make other business vehicle purchased, now is the best time to make those purchases and take advantage of this valuable accelerated tax deduction.
Fully Fund Your Retirement and HSA Plans
If you don’t already have a retirement savings plan in place for yourself, now is a great time to set one up. There are several plans to choose from specifically for business owners, all of which offer tax benefits and are relatively easy to set up. Contributions to several of these plans are tax-deductible and are made with pre-tax dollars, meaning that any growth or profit on your investment is tax-deferred.
Another option to consider is an HSA, which lets you save money to pay out-of-pocket health care costs in a more tax-advantaged way. In 2025, you can contribute up to $4,300 to an HSA for yourself or up to $8,550 for a family. If you’re 55 or older, you can also contribute an extra $1,000. Setting up and contributing to retirement plan and an HSA now will not only benefit your financial future but also create a tax break on your business tax returns. So long as you make the contributions by the date your taxes are due, you’ll get the deduction.
Consult With A Tax Professional
If you’re not certain about the tax moves you should be making now, it’s best to consult with a tax professional who can guide you through the process. Tax laws can be complicated and change frequently, and it’s easy to make mistakes. At times, the cost of hiring a tax professional is less than the cost of making errors in your tax returns. A good tax professional can also provide you with advice on deductions, credits, and other tax savings opportunities, and can help you prepare and file your tax returns correctly and on time.
Conclusion
Making the right business tax moves can save you a lot of money by reducing your business’s taxable income, but the key is to plan ahead and work throughout the year. Waiting until tax time, is often too late. By keeping track of expenses, investing in depreciable assets, offering employee benefits, setting up a retirement plan and consulting with a tax professional, you can ensure that you’re prepared for tax season.
So don’t wait, there’s no time like the present to start planning and implementing these golden tax moves to help save on cash taxes and provide yourself with peace of mind. For tax strategies to be effective at tax time, you need to set them up during the year. ➹
