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The PTE Deductions: Don’t Miss Out!
If you're a dental practice owner in a state with state-level income taxes—this episode with is for you. Host Wes Read CPA, CFP dives deep into the Pass-Through Entity (PTE) Tax Election, a tax-saving strategy that can turn your state tax payments into a federal tax deduction.
This is especially important for dentists in high-tax states like California, New York, or any state with a 4%+ income tax. Wes breaks down what the PTE is, why it matters, and how to use it properly—so you’re not leaving money on the table.
Takeaways:
• Who needs to listen: Dentists in states with income taxes—especially high-tax states like CA, NY, NJ, etc.
• What is the PTE (Pass-Through Entity) Tax?
• A way to bypass the $10,000 SALT deduction cap on federal returns by paying state income tax through your business entity.
• Why it matters:
• Allows for a significant federal tax deduction for taxes you already have to pay.
• The IRS SALT Deduction Cap:
• Since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, there's a $10,000 cap on how much state and local taxes you can deduct when itemizing.
• How PTE helps:
• Paying taxes at the entity level converts those state taxes into fully deductible business expenses on your federal return.
• Watch out:
• There are rules and deadlines, and not every CPA proactively elects this. Be sure to confirm your CPA is doing this correctly.
• Standard vs. Itemized Deduction:
• Wes breaks down how deductions work and why understanding them is crucial for maximizing the PTE benefit.
Wes knows what's best for dental practices. He's been doing this for a long time and he sees lots of practices. He can tell me how our practice is doing, and what we can do to increase our productivity. With past CPA's, there were no ideas. It was all coming from me, saying "I think I can do better, but I don't know how." I come in to meet with Wes and he says "You CAN do better, and I know how."
PracticeCFO is in hundreds of dental offices around the country. They know what numbers should look like. They know what percentages of payroll, rent and supplies should be, and they will hold you accountable to those numbers, which will really help you stick to your plan and your path of growth and savings. That is invaluable
Whenever something comes up, whether it's building or practice related and we weren't sure where the numbers would go, PracticeCFO has been instrumental in helping us figure that out. I can't say enough of how important that is - that it goes beyond that initial partnership. They make sure this business marriage works.
When I go home from work, I don't spend a whole lot of time stressing about what my books look like, or how much I owe in taxes. By using PracticeCFO, the burden of keeping track of a lot of the big financial numbers and metrics are taken off my plate.
PracticeCFO helped me develop a plan for the future. I have colleagues that work with other accountants that don't have a plan - they just look at the numbers of the practice and that's it. There's no plan for 10, 20 years from now. But with PracticeCFO, you get that. PracticeCFO makes you feel like you're they're only client.
(In reference to his practice sale) What could've been super stressful, wasn't! When picking John and Wes, it was from word of mouth recommendations and other people's experiences from the past that really did it for me. And it turns out that those recommendations were right on the line.
Wes knows the business side of dentistry. His comprehensive plan will organize your personal and professional finances so you can focus on taking care of patients. Massive ROI.
I can’t say enough good things about everyone at PracticeCFO. Everyone on the team is professional, organized, knowledgeable, helpful and kind. They also respond to emails and phone calls immediately and are always happy to help. They have helped me navigate year-to-year as a business owner. PracticeCFO gives me peace of mind that my business is in good hands.
I love Practice CFO! They have helped me obtain a practice and maintain a practice. They are incredible people who are on top of everything and make owning and running the business portion of a practice easy. They couldn’t be better for my business and my sanity. They have every detail of the business and taxes taken care of where all I have to do is show up and follow their easy steps to success!
Practice CFO has the best tools I’ve seen for personal tax and financial planning in addition to top-tier corporate tax and accounting services. I have been very pleased with the level of quality service. They manage my monthly bookkeeping and accounts payable. It is a great system and saves me a ton of time, and it allows us to have monthly financial statements within a week of month end.
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