Dentaltown September 2017 - 58

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Nothing against the CPAs that are here on DT, but my ex-wife always told me that the
conservative nature of most in the accounting and tax preparation business result in too conservative tax positioning, resulting in people not taking full advantage of all the legal deductions
and their interpretations. After we separated and divorced, I have found that to be true. (Mainly
because she won't do my taxes anymore. Go figure.)
Someone posted recently alluding to the fact that they choose to play it safe so they don't risk
an audit. I've been audited several times; I have never lost, and never had to pay more taxes. My
ex always said so much of taxation is open to interpretation.
I think the fearful and conservative nature of most in the dental profession coincides with
the conservative nature of people in the accounting business. If a dentist wants to get aggressive
in minimizing taxes, he or she needs to find someone who knows and understands taxes and
will be aggressive. I would recommend finding an attorney or someone who is enrolled so if you
get audited, they will meet with the IRS in your behalf. The person you hire needs to be very
dedicated to saving you as much money as possible.
And for all the people here on DT who are much, much more ethical than I am and feel we
each need to pay our fair share of taxes, please ignore this post. ■
6/24/2017

tpetersen
Member Since: 02/01/11
Post: 123 of 207

Seems like people are missing the point. You don't have to sell your soul to the devil or do
anything "unethical" to see the tax benefits realized as an owner. Depreciation and interest
deductions are probably the two biggest deductions from a total-dollar standpoint. Nothing
unethical about either, and neither is available to W-2 associates. ■
6/25/2017

babysilvertooth
Member Since: 09/16/02
Post: 128 of 207

If you can't see the tax benefits in being an owner, then it is not for you. Forget the taxes.
What about control of your destiny? I don't ask anybody for time off or whether I can go home
early to see my kids' presentations. I don't have to go the office to recement a temp crown; I can
delegate that and keep my Saturday morning free for kiddos' soccer games. I can tell patients to
eff off if I don't like them. I could go on. The list of cons is just as long. Don't get me wrong, but
only you can decide which column you like better. ■
6/25/2017

rundoc
Member Since: 07/05/10
Post: 139 of 207

There are some legit ways to save taxes as an owner. As was mentioned maybe the biggest
one is employing your spouse legitimately, meaning they do exactly what a staff member would
be doing anyway. That helps when it comes to retirement plan calculations.
Things like the home office-we played with that. What it came down to is, really, are we
lying? If you can legally claim a deduction without actually lying (either before or during an
audit), cool. If the home office is really dedicated to that purpose 100 percent or XX percent and
you don't have to lie about it, cool. Take the deduction! If you actually are lying about it but it's
a defensible lie ... well, no.
If you're comfortable with lying because "the government," or it's not fair and whatever-
well, that's someone I wouldn't trust. That's the litmus test. Creating a fake job for your kid so
you can keep money in-house, no. Having your kid actually do the job, to a level you'd expect
and at a pay rate that you'd be paying, cool. If you have to lie about any of that, no.
Passing gold through the lab or other money-laundering schemes (offshore) ... I too have
seen dentists brag about it over the years. Are you kidding me? I have no idea why people think
it's fine to lie about these things. Take all the deductions you can without lying. That's what
professionals help you do. The lying, the wink-wink, that's all on you, not them.

SEPTEMBER 2017 // dentaltown.com

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