Tax Planning
A written, year-round strategy: entity structure, owner compensation, retirement design, and timing moves, reviewed every quarter and executed before deadlines pass.
Learn moreWhat we do
A tax planning firm first. The return executes the plan.
We are not a preparer that also plans. Proactive planning is the practice, and the return exists to carry out decisions made while the year was still open. For California businesses from $500k to $10M in revenue.
Book Your Free ConsultationWhy the order matters
Most firms sell planning and preparation as separate line items that never talk to each other. A preparer files the return, nobody connects it to a strategy, and the result is accurate paperwork attached to a tax bill nobody tried to lower.
We run them as one system. The plan finds the savings your numbers make possible, and the return locks them in. When the same firm does both, the elections a strategy depends on actually get made on time.
Pick the piece you need, or the whole tax plan.
The strategy, and the filing that carries it out.
Tax Preparation
Business and individual returns, prepared to execute the plan rather than just report the past. Digital, e-signed, and reviewed by a CPA.
Learn moreComplex tax situations are the specialty, not the exception
If one of these describes your return, the decisions that move your tax bill happen months before anyone opens a form.
- 01Multi-entity structures
Holdcos, related operating entities, and the intercompany and allocation questions that come with more than one set of books.
- 02S-corp reasonable compensation
A defensible owner salary, re-tested against actual profit each year rather than set once when the election was made.
- 03Partnership K-1s and basis
A K-1 reports your share of a partnership’s profit, which is rarely the cash you actually received. Basis is the running tax value of your stake, and it decides how much of a loss you can deduct. Both get tracked properly, or neither does.
- 04Multi-state filings
Hiring, selling, or holding property in another state can create nexus there - a connection that obliges you to file. We work out which states apply, and whether a composite return, filed by the business on the owners’ behalf, beats filing individually.
- 05Professional corporations
Entity rules set by the State Bar and other licensing boards, handled natively rather than worked around at filing time.
- 06Real estate holdings
Depreciation, cost segregation (splitting a building into shorter-lived components to accelerate deductions), the passive-activity rules that decide whether losses are usable now, and the timing of a sale.
- 07Equity compensation and QSBS
Grant, exercise, and sale each have their own tax consequence, and QSBS - qualified small business stock - can change the outcome on a sale substantially if the shares and the holding period qualify. All of it is decided beforehand.
Who we work with
Our clients are business owners typically between $500,000 and $10M in revenue - the range where entity structure, owner compensation, and timing decisions start producing real money rather than rounding errors. Most are in Torrance and the wider South Bay, and many are elsewhere in California. Every engagement runs virtually, so where you are in the state rarely changes the work. We handle the owner’s personal return alongside the business, because the two decide each other.
Every meeting is virtual, over Zoom or Google Meet, with a secure portal for documents and signatures. We also work extensively with attorneys and law firms, where partner K-1s, professional corporations, and contingency-fee planning raise their own questions.
Not sure which service fits? Start with a discovery call. We look at your situation and tell you honestly where the opportunity is, before you commit to anything.
A specialty practice: attorneys and law firms
Law practice income is taxed like almost nothing else, so we handle it as a specialty rather than an exception. Both services above run for law firms, with the parts that only apply to them built in.
Tax planning & preparation for attorneys
Partner K-1s, California professional corporations and State Bar entity rules, contingency-fee spike years, and multi-state filings, handled natively rather than as an afterthought.
Learn moreSix mistakes California law firm owners make
The gaps we see most often in law practices, from tax-time-only accountants to an S corporation that was formed but never actually implemented.
Learn moreThe shape of the firm
4xPlanning checkpoints a year
$500k–$10MTypical client revenue
TorranceHome base, serving all of California
VirtualEvery meeting by Zoom or Google Meet
One firm for the plan and the return.
Book a discovery call. We will look at your structure and tell you honestly whether planning will pay for itself in your situation.
Book Your Free Consultation No pressure, no obligation. Just clarity.Questions we hear most.
01Which service should I start with?+
Most owners start with tax planning, because that is where the savings come from. Preparation then executes it. If your records are behind, we will tell you what we need to get the plan onto reliable numbers.
02Do I have to buy both services?+
No. Each service stands on its own. They simply work better together, because the same team builds the plan and files the return, so nothing gets lost between them.
03Does Astute Advisors work with clients outside Torrance and the South Bay?+
Yes. We are based in Torrance and serve clients throughout California. Every meeting is virtual, so location within the state is rarely a constraint.
04Does Astute Advisors work with attorneys and law firms?+
Yes, extensively. Partner K-1s, professional corporations, and contingency-fee planning come up often enough that we handle them as a specialty rather than an exception.