Be Curious: Finding Specialty Tax Opportunities in Any Size Business

Specialty tax opportunities are not limited to billion-dollar corporations. Closely held manufacturers, contractors, healthcare practices, software startups, exporters, and family businesses may also benefit—if their advisors know what to look for.

In this episode of Let’s Talk Tax, Dave McGuire sits down with Mike Hammel, MAcc, to explore why a company’s activities often matter more than its revenue or size. Growth plans, hiring, equipment purchases, facility investments, exports, acquisitions, and ownership transitions can all signal potential tax planning opportunities.

Through real-world scenarios, Dave and Mike discuss opportunities involving R&D tax credits, cost segregation, property tax appeals, location advisory incentives, and international tax considerations such as IC-DISC, compliance, and transfer pricing. They also address common misconceptions, including the belief that credits should correlate directly with revenue or that cost segregation must be completed when a property is first placed in service.

The conversation reinforces a valuable mindset for CPAs and business advisors: remain curious, ask better questions throughout the year, and understand where each client is headed before determining which strategies may fit.