It’s rarely about income.
Most of the difference comes down to decisions made before filing season:
How the business is structured
How expenses are tracked and categorized
When income and expenses are recognized
How owners compensate themselves
Where state tax exposure is triggered
I see businesses with identical revenue end the year with very different tax outcomes simply because one planned throughout the year and the other didn’t.
Question for the room:
Which of these do you think impacts taxes the most in your business right now?
No right or wrong answers, curious to hear different perspectives.