Planning
- Federal, State and Local Tax Planning and Consulting
- Corporate and Entity Structural Review & Reorganizations
- Income Tax Nexus Analysis and Minimization
- Sales Tax Nexus Analysis and Minimization
- Personal Income Tax Residency Planning
- Telecommunications Compliance and Nexus Review
- Refund Analysis
- Credits and Incentives Representation and Analysis
- Advisory Opinions
- Voluntary Disclosures
Audit Defense and Appeals
- Income/Franchise Tax Audit Defense & Appeals
- Sales, and Gross Receipts Tax Audit Defense & Appeals
- Department of Labor Audit Defense and Appeals
- Personal Income Tax Audit Defense, Residency Audits and Appeals
- IRS Audits, Summons Response and Defense
Offer In Compromise and Payment Plan Services
- Assist with Federal, State and Local Tax Offer in Compromise (OIC) for both Individuals and Businesses
- Installment Payment Plan Services
Tax Liens and Levies
- Assist with Appealing and/or Removing Federal and/or State/Local Tax Liens and/or Levies
Compliance and Reporting Solutions
- Corporate, Partnership and Individual Tax Compliance
- Sales Tax and Telecommunication Tax Compliance
- ASC 740 (FIN 48) and ASC 450 (FAS 5) Reporting and Position Analysis
- Schedule UTP Documentation and Position Analysis
- Reporting & Withholding Requirements for Foreign Payments
- Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program
- Foreign Bank Account Reporting
Planning Services
We can assist you with the day to day tax issues of your business, and understand the tax ramifications of the business decisions that you make. You never let the tax tail wag the business dog, but a bit of planning can save a lot of headaches, and save your business money down the road.
Here at Sullivan & Associates we provide innovative and creative solutions to multifaceted and routine federal tax problems. We are tax counsel of choice for numerous domestic and international corporations, closely held businesses, partnerships and high net worth individuals. We formulate strategic tax strategies for creating and buying business entities, selling, restructuring and liquidating operations of all types and sizes.
The state and local taxing jurisdictions are always seeking new revenue streams and they usually go after out of state businesses to accomplish their revenue goals. With the ever expanding reach of these jurisdictions you have to ensure that you fully understand your filing responsibilities. States are enacting economic nexus provisions for income tax filings and “Amazon,” or click through nexus laws, to further expand their jurisdictional sales tax reach. We can help you understand the maze that is state taxation and help you plan accordingly.
We can also analyze your business from a functional and structural standpoint, along with your filing footprint and determine if there’s a better way to organize your entities. We will analyze your entity choices and ownership structure, where you file your tax returns, and your nexus, to ensure that you have the most tax efficient structure for your business while ensuring that you are only filing income/franchise and sales tax returns, and where applicable, gross receipts tax returns, where legally required.
We will look for any tax savings and possible refunds throughout this process and help you obtain any income tax refunds available to you. If there is a possible tax exposure we will discuss with you how to best handle it, and come up with a game plan to cure any back periods, and make sure that the issue does not exist in the future. If possible, we can enter you into a state or city’s voluntary disclosure program or draft an advisory opinion, if a tax position needs clarification from a state taxing body.
We also can analyze your records to determine if you have overpaid sales & use taxes. It is quite common for businesses to overpay sales tax and not even be aware of it. Taxpayers are surprised to find out that states won’t help them uncover these overpayments when being audited. We look at you records with a jaundiced eye making sure that you have not paid more than your fair share of sales taxes. We work with you to uncover these refunds and compile the necessary documentation to secure your refund claim.
We also help telecommunications providers understand their filing responsibilities and make sure they are only filing where they are required. Over-compliance, for the lack of a better term, can cut significantly into your bottom line and cash flow.
Lastly, if your company is expanding into a new state or city or going to be hiring new employees, or building out your physical space, we can help you understand if the jurisdictions at issue offer any relocation, retention, or employment based or capital investment credits and incentives programs. These credits and incentives can come in many forms including tax abatements, exemptions, refundable credits, and incentivized payroll withholdings, to name a few. You generally have to approach a jurisdiction before you expand to utilize these programs, so it’s best to come to us first so we can help you obtain these benefits.
Audit Defense and Appeals
We will assist you with any tax notices that you receive and act as your representative throughout any audits and manage the process so there is no interruption to your business, and seek the best outcome possible. We have extensive experience with audits at the federal, state and local level, and we will challenge an auditors findings to the full extent of the law to mitigate any unfavorable findings. Further, we will advise you throughout the audit process of any possible issues, and determine whether any audit changes should be appealed.
The Federal Appellate process can be confusing and at times appears byzantine, but it is often the best opportunity to resolve your tax dispute. The appeals process now includes not only traditional paths, but also alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options. The path to take is not always clear, but we can help you navigate the process, and develop a strategy to ensure the best result.
The Appeals process at the state and local level is as varied as the jurisdictions themselves, but it still can be the best route for you and your business. The first tier of appeals can be as informal as a sit down discussion or as rigid as a formal hearing at the state capital in front of a board of tax examiners. We will help you understand your options, and let you know how to obtain the best result possible. We have handled appeals throughout the country and know the best approach to resolve your dispute
Compliance and Reporting Solutions
In this new era of tax reporting, you may just have to explain your tax position before the return is even filed, and we can help you analyze your various federal and state uncertain tax filing positions (UTPs), and go through the required analysis. In the past it was one thing to go through a UTP analysis, but now with the inception of Schedule UTP, Uncertain Tax Positions, you have to announce these positions on your return. These schedule(s) must be handled deftly, and we understand what needs to be done. We can advise you on the consequences of your positions before filing these schedules with your return.
Tax compliance is a necessary evil and it is unfortunately an unavoidable part of business. At Sullivan and Associates we will not only ensure that you are taking the best filing position available and that you have a sound corporate structure, we will also assist you with your tax filings. We have extensive experience with corporate, pass-through, and individual tax filings and will prepare these returns for you, and take this inescapable nuisance off of your hands. We can help you with your transactional taxes as well, and help you with your monthly, quarterly, or annual sales and/or gross receipts tax filings too. We understand that these filings can be a drain on your time and the resources within your company, and we are here to here to help.
In this ever more transparent and interconnected global marketplace, the federal and state governments continue to crack down on unreported offshore bank accounts and overseas assets, and noncompliance can be costly. The individual Foreign Bank Account Reporting (FBAR) requirements, and Form 8938 as required by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), are filings that must be addressed and properly handled, otherwise penalties may be imposed. We can help you understand your filing obligations and ensure that you are in full compliance.