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Tax Planning & Strategy
The IRS Doesn't Have a Tip Jar.

Stop Overpaying.
Start Planning.

We help business owners and high-income earners design a year-round tax strategy so April becomes boringly predictable - and you keep tens of thousands of dollars you'd otherwise hand to the IRS.

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Tax Planning Clients
NOW BOOKING 2026 PLANS

"They found $38,200 in deductions our last CPA missed - in our first meeting."

M. REYES - FOUNDER, COHORT

AVG. ANNUAL SAVINGS

$42,600

across our 2024-2025 advisory clients with revenue over $2M

Tunstall
Tax Planning
By the Numbers

$8.4M

Documented client tax savings, 2022-2025

14×

Typical year-one ROI on our planning fee

97%

Of strategies fully implemented within 12 months

0

IRS examinations adjusted upward since 2018

The Strategies We Run

Five categories. Dozens of moves. One plan that fits you.

We don't sell a one-size-fits-all "package." We build you a written, year-round tax plan drawing from the strategies below — sized to your business, your bracket, and your goals.

Optimize Your Business Foundation

Choosing the right entity type is the bedrock of tax planning. It can save you thousands in self-employment taxes and position you perfectly for future growth, asset protection, and eventual exit.

01

S-Corp Election & Salary Optimization

Minimize self-employment taxes by splitting income between reasonable W-2 compensation and passive shareholder distributions.

Typical savings: $5K-$15K/yr
02

Multi-Entity Structuring

Separate high-liability operations from valuable real estate or IP using a parent-subsidiary or sibling LLC structure.

Typical benefit: Risk Mitigation & Scale
03

Holding Company Strategy

Consolidate ownership of multiple operating businesses or real estate assets for streamlined tax reporting and capital allocation.

Typical benefit: Admin & Tax Efficiency
04

Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS)

Structure early-stage C-Corp equity to qualify for Section 1202, potentially excluding up to $10M or 10x basis in capital gains upon sale.

Potential savings: 7-8 figures
This category is right for you if

You recognize yourself in any of these:

  • Your net business income exceeds $100K
  • You operate as a Sole Proprietor or basic LLC
  • You are planning to acquire real estate or other businesses
  • You anticipate a future exit or liquidity event
See if it fits

The Most Powerful Deduction Is the One You Get to Keep

Every dollar through a properly designed plan is one the IRS waits decades to tax — often at a lower rate, sometimes never. Done right, this is the largest single line on the planning page.

01

Solo 401(k) + Mega Backdoor Roth

Stack employee deferrals, employer contributions, and after-tax conversions to move up to $69K into tax-advantaged accounts annually.

Typical savings: $16K-$28K/yr
02

Defined Benefit / Cash Balance Plan

For high-earning owners 45+: shelter $150K-$300K+ annually with an actuarially-funded pension layered on top of your 401(k).

Typical savings: $60K-$120K/yr
03

Roth Conversion Laddering

Use low-income years (post-sale, sabbatical, early retirement) to move pre-tax balances into Roth at the bottom of the bracket.

Lifetime savings: 6-7 figures
04

Family Employment + Roth IRA for Kids

Pay your teenager a legitimate, documented wage. Fund their Roth IRA. Compound for 50 years tax-free.

Typical savings: $3K-$7K/yr
This category is right for you if

You recognize yourself in any of these:

  • Your net business income exceeds $200K
  • You're currently maxing only a SEP or basic 401(k)
  • You're within 20 years of retirement
  • You have a spouse or kids who could be on payroll
See if it fits

Stop Leaving Credits on the Table

Credits are a dollar-for-dollar reduction of tax owed — not a deduction against income. Most owners qualify for at least two they've never claimed.

01

R&D Tax Credit (Sec. 41)

Software, formulation, process improvement, even significant CAD work can qualify. Available federally and in most states.

Typical credit: $20K-$250K
02

Augusta Rule (Sec. 280A)

Rent your home to your business for legitimate meetings up to 14 days/year. Deductible to the business, tax-free to you.

Typical savings: $4K-$12K/yr
03

Accountable Plan Reimbursements

Move home office, mileage, and cell phone out of the gray zone and onto the books, properly.

Typical savings: $2K-$8K/yr
04

Energy Credits (45L, 179D, EV)

Real estate, construction, and fleet operators: the IRA-expanded credits are significant and stackable.

Typical credit: $5K-$80K
This category is right for you if

You recognize yourself in any of these:

  • Your business builds, develops, or improves anything
  • You hold meetings at home or own commercial property
  • You haven't reviewed your reimbursement plan in 3+ years
  • You've added EVs or solar in the last 24 months
See if it fits

Real Estate Is Still the Last Great Tax Shelter

Used intentionally, depreciation, 1031s, and the Real Estate Professional Status can wipe out W-2 and active business income — legally, and at scale.

01

Cost Segregation Studies

Accelerate 20-35% of a building's basis into 5- and 15-year property. Pair with bonus depreciation for an outsized year-one loss.

Typical year-one shield: $50K-$400K
02

Real Estate Professional Status (REPS)

Convert "passive" rental losses into active losses that offset W-2 or business income. Strict tests — we keep contemporaneous logs.

Typical savings: $25K-$120K/yr
03

1031 Exchanges & Opportunity Zones

Defer gain on appreciated property indefinitely (1031) or wipe it after 10 years (QOZ). We model the holding-period math.

Defers: 6-7 figures
04

Short-Term Rental Loophole

Average rental period under 7 days, with material participation, sidesteps passive-loss rules without REPS qualification.

Typical savings: $20K-$80K/yr
This category is right for you if

You recognize yourself in any of these:

  • You own (or are about to buy) commercial or rental property
  • You or your spouse can document 750+ hours in real estate
  • You're sitting on a property with significant appreciation
  • You're building a short-term rental portfolio
See if it fits

Plan the Next Generation Before You Need To

With the federal estate exemption set to drop in 2026, the window for low-friction gifting and trust funding is closing fast. We coordinate with your attorney; we don't replace them.

01

Annual Exclusion + Lifetime Gifting

Move appreciating assets out of your estate at today's discount. Strategic use of the 2025 exemption before sunset.

Estate savings: 6-8 figures
02

Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT)

Lock in the higher exemption now while retaining indirect access to assets through your spouse.

Estate savings: 7-8 figures
03

Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT)

Convert a concentrated, appreciated position into a diversified income stream — without paying gain on the sale.

Typical savings: $100K-$1M
04

Donor-Advised Fund & Bunching

Front-load 3-5 years of charitable giving into one tax year. Itemize big, take the standard deduction the rest.

Typical savings: $6K-$22K/yr
This category is right for you if

You recognize yourself in any of these:

  • Your net worth exceeds $5M (or will, with a sale)
  • You've never reviewed your estate plan, or it's 5+ years old
  • You give meaningfully to charity each year
  • You hold appreciated stock you'd like to diversify
See if it fits
Savings Estimator

What Could a Real Tax Plan Save You?

Move the sliders. This isn't a quote — it's a directional read based on the average outcome across our 2024–25 planning clients.

Annual business net profit $150,000
Household W-2 income (optional) $50,000
Current entity
Where you are right now
Estimated Annual Savings

$0

per year, when fully implemented

  • Entity & comp structure
    $0
  • Retirement deferrals
    $0
  • Deductions & credits
    $0
  • Multi-state / other
    $0
Total 5-year impact $0
Get my real plan

Illustrative estimate. Your actual plan will depend on entity type, state, dependents, and prior-year filings. Numbers reflect typical implementation, not maximum theoretical savings.

How it works

From "I think I'm overpaying"
to a plan you trust in 30 days.

01 Discovery

A 30-minute conversation, not a sales pitch

We look at your last two returns, your entity, your goals. You leave knowing whether planning is worth your time.

Week 1
02 Diagnostic

The deep-dive: 60+ strategies, scored against your situation

We score every strategy in our library on fit, savings, and effort — then narrow to the 8–15 worth running.

Weeks 2–3
03 Plan

A written, year-round plan you actually understand

You get a plain-English roadmap with timing, responsibilities, and projected savings — not a stack of jargon.

Week 4
04 Implement

We run point. You sign things and live your life.

Quarterly check-ins, mid-year adjustments, year-end execution. Nothing slips through the cracks — that's the job.

Year-Round
Step 01 — Discovery

A 30-minute conversation, not a sales pitch

Before we charge a cent, we want to know whether we can actually move the needle for you. You'll get a candid read.

  • 1 Review of last 2 years of personal & business returns
  • 2 Walk-through of your entity structure and ownership map
  • 3 3–5 specific opportunities we spot in the data
  • 4 Honest answer: is planning worth it for you right now?
Step 02 — Diagnostic

The deep-dive: 60+ strategies, scored against your situation

This is where the planning fee earns itself back. We run your numbers through our full strategy library and assemble a candidate list with savings ranges attached.

  • 1 Quantitative score on each strategy: fit + savings + effort
  • 2 Multi-year projections under each candidate combination
  • 3 Coordination with your attorney, financial advisor, or insurance
  • 4 Draft plan delivered for your review — not a 100-page PDF
Step 03 — Plan

A written, year-round plan you actually understand

Plans should be operational documents, not trophies. Yours fits on a single screen, with the detail tucked behind it.

  • 1 One-page summary — what we're doing and what it saves
  • 2 Quarter-by-quarter timeline of moves and deadlines
  • 3 Clear split: what you do, what we do, what the attorney does
  • 4 Year-end projection and "what-if" scenarios baked in
Step 04 — Implement

We run point. You sign things and live your life.

Most "tax plans" die on the shelf. Ours don't, because we own the execution. Your only job is to read the email and click sign.

  • 1 Quarterly tax-projection & strategy-status calls
  • 2 Mid-year course corrections as your numbers change
  • 3 Year-end implementation sprint: contributions, distributions, gifts
  • 4 Annual tax return prepared by the team that built the plan
Common Questions

Tax planning, plainly explained.

The questions we hear on every discovery call. If yours isn't here, ask us directly.

Preparation is paperwork: someone fills out the return after the year is over. Planning is strategy: we decide, before the year ends, how each dollar flows so the return at the end records the lowest legal liability. Most CPAs do prep. We do both — the plan is the actual product.

We typically charge a flat planning fee of $4,500–$12,000, scaled to complexity (entity count, income level, real estate, multi-state). After year one, annual fees run $6,000–$24,000 for ongoing planning, implementation, and the return itself. We do not take a percentage of your savings. If we can't identify at least 3× our fee in year-one savings, we tell you that on the discovery call.

No. Every strategy in our library is grounded in published code, regulation, and current case law — never gray-area shelter language. We document contemporaneously and include full audit defense in our retainer (we represent you, at no extra cost, if the IRS asks questions about anything we planned). Since 2018, zero of our clients have had a Tunstall-planned strategy adjusted on examination.

Not necessarily. For ongoing planning, most clients consolidate to us because it's simpler and less duplicative. But we also run "planning only" engagements where your existing CPA continues to prepare the return and we hand off the implementation roadmap. Whatever works for you.

Yes — if there's leverage. If you're a pure W-2 earner under $400K with no side income, no real estate, and no equity comp, the honest answer is that a tax plan probably won't pay for itself. But if you have RSUs/ISOs, a spouse with a business, rental property, or are within five years of retirement, the math usually works.

Quick wins (entity election, accountable plan, retirement plan setup) usually land in the first 90 days. The bigger structural moves (cost-seg study, defined-benefit plan funding, multi-year Roth ladders) hit the return for the year we implement. By year two, you're running at full annualized savings.

Yes. We serve clients in every U.S. state. Tax planning is largely federal, and we're experienced with multi-state apportionment and remote-worker nexus issues. Everything runs over secure portals and scheduled video calls.

Book Your Strategy Call
The clock on 2026 deductions is already running.

Let's See What You're Overpaying.

30 minutes. No commitment. You leave the call with 3–5 specific opportunities we spotted in your last two returns — and a candid read on whether planning is worth your time.

  • We respond within 1 business day — usually same-day during business hours.

  • Your data stays yours. Secure document portal, NDA on request, no third-party sharing.

  • We'll tell you "no" if planning won't pay back. The discovery call is honest, not a pitch.

The Tunstall Organization, Inc.
15720 Brixham Hill Ave. — Suite 300
Charlotte, NC 28277
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