5 Year‑End Tax Moves That Saved One Owner $500,000+ (Before 12/31)

5 year‑end tax strategies every business owner should review before December 31. In a real case, a client showed up in October with a $1.7M surprise tax bill—we used these moves to save $500,000+ before 12/31.

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What we cover (and why it matters):

Bonus Depreciation + Short‑Term Rental (STR) Cost Segregation Create large first‑year deductions (case: ~$600,000 deductions → ~$200,000 tax saved).

Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deduction | §199A Use the 2/7 wage rule (~28.57%) to align W‑2 wages vs. profits and maximize the 20% deduction (~$100,000 saved in our example).

Augusta Rule | §280A(g) Rent your home to your business 14 days or less at fair market rate; business deducts it, income is non‑taxable to you (~$5,000 saved for our client).

Defined Benefit Plan + 401(k) Profit Sharing Supercharge deferrals (~$370,000 sheltered; potential over $100,000 tax saved; add spouse in the business to magnify).

Self‑Employment Taxes (S‑Corp Compensation Design) Pay reasonable wages and take distributions correctly to avoid paying both sides of FICA on every dollar (~$50,000 saved in our case).

Why act before 12/31: Entity elections, plan setup/actuary timelines, cost‑seg scheduling, and documentation windows are time‑sensitive. Year‑end planning beats April panic.

Keywords to help searchers find this video: year‑end tax planning, bonus depreciation, cost segregation, short‑term rental STR, QBI deduction 199A, Augusta Rule 14‑day, defined benefit plan, 401(k) profit sharing, S‑Corp wages vs distributions, self‑employment tax, small business taxes, entrepreneur taxes.

Education only—not tax, legal, or investment advice. Strategies depend on your facts and current law. Work with a qualified CPA/CFP/attorney to implement correctly.