{"id":313454,"date":"2026-08-04T15:02:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/313454\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T15:02:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:02:05","slug":"accountants-emphasize-year-round-tax-planning-benefits-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/313454\/","title":{"rendered":"Accountants emphasize year-round tax planning benefits in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

While tax preparation may happen once a year, tax planning<\/a> is becoming increasingly proactive. Accountants say working with clients year-round helps identify opportunities, minimize tax liability and avoid costly surprises before filing season arrives.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cTax work used to be mostly \u2018rearview mirror compliance\u2019 \u2013 we\u2019d gather documents, prepare the return, file it, and everyone moved on until next season,\u201d said Mario Di Luigi<\/a>, CPA, AEP, partner, tax & business services, EFPR<\/a>, a Springline company. \u201cToday, the role has evolved into a year-round planning<\/a> and advisory function.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Di Luigi said the shift has been driven by increasingly complex tax laws, evolving reporting requirements and clients seeking guidance before making major financial decisions. Advances in technology have also made it easier for accountants to share timely information and stay connected with clients throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can stay in closer contact through newsletters, articles, blogs and timely updates from the IRS<\/a> and state taxing authorities,\u201d Di Luigi said. \u201cAs a result, clients increasingly see their tax professional as a resource before they make major financial decisions, not after.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

That ongoing relationship has become even more important as IRS and state tax agencies have expanded their own technology. Di Luigi said clients are receiving more notices and correspondence questioning return items, increasing the need for accountants to respond quickly and navigate issues after tax returns have been filed.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with a tax advisor throughout the year delivers two major advantages: fewer surprises and better decisions,\u201d Di Luigi said. \u201cInstead of discovering issues after the fact when the return is being prepared, you can make proactive moves while there\u2019s still time to influence the outcome \u2013 maximizing tax savings before deadlines close and before transactions are finalized.\u201d<\/p>\n

For individuals, Di Luigi said year-round planning helps coordinate tax strategy with investment and financial decisions that may otherwise have unintended consequences.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, a portfolio rebalance may trigger unexpected capital gains and a larger tax bill than anticipated,\u201d he said. \u201cReviewing those moves in advance can help manage the tax impact, adjust timing and avoid penalties by fine-tuning withholding or estimated tax payments.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Businesses see similar benefits when tax planning is integrated into broader operational and strategic decisions rather than treated as an annual compliance exercise.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThat includes evaluating business structure, planning for the tax implications of equipment or property purchases, forecasting the timing and payment of taxes, and assessing opportunities to acquire another business or prepare for a sale,\u201d Di Luigi said. \u201cThe result is more confident decision-making, better cash-flow planning and a smoother, less stressful tax season\u2014because the return becomes the final step in an ongoing plan, not a once-a-year scramble.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Waiting until tax season, however, often means those opportunities have already passed.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the best tax-saving \u2018levers\u2019 are timing-dependent, so the most common missed opportunities show up when clients wait until the W-2s and 1099s arrive because by then, a lot of decisions are already locked in,\u201d Di Luigi said.\n<\/p>\n

Those missed opportunities often involve retirement contributions, estimated tax payments, withholding adjustments, capital gains planning, charitable giving and business purchases\u2014decisions that generally must be made before key deadlines have passed.\n<\/p>\n

Di Luigi cited New York<\/a>\u2018s Pass-Through Entity Tax<\/a> (PTET) election as one example of why timing matters.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked with clients well ahead of tax season who were anticipating major transactions, such as the sale of a business or the sale of a building,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause we knew the transaction was coming, we were able to evaluate whether the PTET election applied, model the impact and get the election filed on time \u2013 before the deal was already in motion.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Di Luigi said the greatest benefit wasn\u2019t simply reducing taxes but preserving options and improving cash-flow visibility before major financial decisions were finalized.\n<\/p>\n

Kristina Stamatis<\/a>, CPA, partner at MMB+CO<\/a>, said one of the biggest misconceptions is that tax planning happens when a return is prepared.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest benefit is that many of the most valuable tax planning opportunities are only available before a transaction takes place, not after the year has ended,\u201d Stamatis said. \u201cThe key is to be proactive rather than reactive.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

For businesses, year-round planning can help maximize deductions and credits, improve cash flow and revisit business structure, succession plans and growth strategies as circumstances change.\n<\/p>\n

For individuals, ongoing planning helps coordinate retirement contributions, investment decisions, charitable giving, estate planning, and withholding strategies.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can also reduce surprises at tax time, improve financial predictability, and provide greater confidence in decision-making throughout the year,\u201d Stamatis said.\n<\/p>\n

She recalled working with a growing business that was planning significant capital investments while also evaluating future ownership and succession strategies.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than waiting until year-end, we met with management throughout the year and prepared multiple tax projections under different scenarios,\u201d Stamatis said. \u201cThose projections helped the owners determine the optimal timing of equipment purchases, evaluate available depreciation incentives and coordinate compensation strategies with projected business income.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The result, she said, was meaningful tax savings, stronger cash-flow forecasting and greater confidence in several important business decisions.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cMore importantly, ownership was able to evaluate multiple scenarios and make strategic decisions based on projected outcomes rather than reacting after the fact,\u201d Stamatis said.\n<\/p>\n

Stamatis said that\u2019s the real value of year-round tax planning. Rather than simply reducing taxes, proactive planning gives clients the clarity and insight needed to make better business decisions before critical decisions are finalized.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cA tax return tells the story of what happened last year,\u201d she said. \u201cTax planning focuses on what happens next.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Caurie Putnam is a Rochester-area freelance writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While tax preparation may happen once a year, tax planning is becoming increasingly proactive. Accountants say working with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313455,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,118429,23410,118430,118431,118432,9,24,63,118433,3573,129,131,130,118434],"class_list":["post-313454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-efpr","tag-irs","tag-kristina-stamatis","tag-mario-di-luigi","tag-mmbco","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-pass-through-entity-tax","tag-tax-planning","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-year-round-planning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}