Your biggest tax advantage of an LLC is that 50% of the income within the LLC should be shielded from self employment tax (FICA and SSA). That is only if you and your wife are both 50% owners of the LLC. Ideally you should be classified as a non participating member of the LCC. (you can still work on houses etc.) How and who did you have setup your LLC and what do you know about the membership rules?

Here is my cliff note version of advice.

1. Have an attorney who knows about LLC's set up your articles of incorporation and by-laws. You can get an LLC from the state very easy by yourself, but the real value of the LLC is in those articles and your by-laws which are usually specific to what you are doing and trying to accomplish. The boiler plate version from the internet or Legal Zoom isn't a good choice.

2. Use a CPA who deals with small business's and understands LLC's. Use Turbo Tax to do your teenagers taxes.

3. Get a checking acount and credit cards in the LLC's name and NEVER use either of them for personal use. Make sure you classify any money that comes to you as a capital distribution. This is the first place any attorney will look if you ever run into a liability issue. Your personal assets WILL NOT be shielded by the LLC if you have ever used any of the funds in the LLC for personal use. Be very nerdy and accountant like with your money. Quicken or Quickbooks is a MUST.

4. Have an annual LLC meeting and record the minutes of that meeting.

5. Don't forget to annually renew your LLC certificate with the state.

6. If your business grows big enough or has significant assets, have an attorney that deals with estate planning work that into your will. It becomes complicated when deeds become involved. You want the LLC to "live" after any owners for tax purposes. You do not want it to be probated.

7. Pay people for advice. APC and Google can a bad thing for advice on an LLC.

thanks Rocky!! great advice! the main point of this post was to bring some ideas to our tax guys. the guys ive talked to seem not too dimensional, and each has given different advice.

Good Luck! Business stuff is fun for me, but it isn't easy. Finding a good accountant that knows taxes can be tough. Some of them will seem not too dimensional when talking about a small LLC because there isn't much dimension to it when it comes to "lowering" your taxes. Anyone who sells themselves as a tax guy who can "lower" your taxes is probably doing stuff the IRS won't like.

Find a guy that will listen to you and not act like you know nothing about taxes. I call my guy all the time with stuff like, "Hey I want to put in a sprinkler system for my yard. How should I do it so I can write off half of it as a farm expense?" He'll tell me to tie it into the irrigation system for a field and to replace or do needed upgrades on the farm system while I'm at it. I'm sure with a house flipping business there are lots of business expenses that could benefit you personally.....just be able to justify them to the IRS.

This is just trashy to be honest. Just make your money and pay your taxes. You're not winning bonus points by deducting your new sprinkler system as an irrigation upgrade.

Not trying to win bonus points, just trying to lower the tax bill. If you have ever spent time running a business and dealing with other business owners and CPA's you would be surprised to see what people write off as a business expense. Trashy isn't a legal term. If it fits within the IRS guidelines and tax law rulings, you write it off. Why wouldn't you?

Probably just does a 1040EZ. C'mon....why use itemized deductions? They merely "cheat" the system out of what is owed to Caesar. 😁

Have you chosen to get taxed as a corporation, as opposed to just letting income flow through to your personal return and taxed at your rate?

1031 exchange may help, it allows you not to pay capital gains tax if you roll money into another investment within 6months.

You need to find a tax guy that’s a investor