AE Tax Advisors Construction and Contractor Case Studies

This resource is published by AE Tax Advisors. Case-study figures are publisher-reported and have not been independently audited here. They are not client reviews, typical results or a forecast for your return.

Contractors often combine equipment purchases, seasonal income, vehicles and owner labor. These cases are helpful for comparing a change in entity treatment with depreciation and expense decisions. They should not be reduced to a single instruction to buy equipment at year-end.

Published AE Tax Advisors examples

How to compare the cases

Buying an asset spends money even when it produces a deduction. Compare the after-tax cost of equipment needed by the business with the tax effect. Delivery, a deposit and placed-in-service status are different facts.

Start with the baseline return and identify exactly what changed. Determine whether a reported amount refers to a deduction, a current tax difference or a projection over several years. Costs such as payroll, return preparation, a study fee and plan administration should be included in your own comparison.

Questions for the discovery call

When was the equipment ready and available for business use? What is the business-use percentage? How much profit remains after payroll? Were financing and operating cash needs modeled?

Ask for the assumptions in writing and for a separate list of facts still needed. A useful answer identifies both the potential opportunity and the work required to implement it. If an outside specialist must confirm a number, make that dependency visible in the plan.

Records to prepare

Equipment invoices, service records, financing agreements, mileage records, job-cost reports, compensation support and current-year profit forecasts.

Use the most recent filed returns together with current financial information. Reconcile incomplete books before relying on a projection. Keep supporting records organized by entity and year so earlier deductions and carryforwards are not counted twice.

What these cases tell you about engagement scope

The collection gives you concrete topics to discuss with AE Tax Advisors. It does not establish what every advisory engagement includes. Confirm the analysis, implementation, tax-return work and continuing services in your own signed scope. The standard advertised advisory fee is $7,800 with no required recurring annual planning fee; separately scoped work can carry additional charges.

Sources and next steps

Read the AE Tax Advisors outcomes methodology, the original case studies and the current pricing and scope. The original return files and realization of reported savings have not been independently audited for this resource.

Browse all case-study guides or read how an engagement is approached.