Tax Efficient Sale of Your Business

So you’ve decided: you reached the point in your business growth to turn that lifetime of sweat equity into cash, financing your dreams of traveling around the world…or at least around a few golf courses.You’re convinced it’s worth millions, but when that first offer comes, you find at best, after a broker’s commission and income taxes, you’ll see a third or more evaporate before you even find a broker to invest those few remaining bucks.Consider these suggestions to make your business sale as tax efficient as possible:

• Allocate as much of the transaction to the sale of goodwill, not toward non-compete agreements or asset sales. This tactic maximizes the portion of the sale to be taxed at lower capital gains rates.
• Consider selling under an installment agreement: you hold a note from the buyer for a few years instead of taking the total sale amount in cash. This approach defers the income tax over the life of the note by keeping your annual income down.

Holding a note also pays you a rate of interest somewhat higher than you would get at a bank. It might even get you a better price, because the buyer can likely better afford to pay more over time than in a lump sum. The buyer could also save some closing costs over bank financing.

• If you aren’t ready to quit working, and you agree to an asset sale instead of a stock sale, keep the business alive for a few more years. You can continue taking a salary and add a robust retirement plan or other fringe benefits to shelter some of the sales-deferred proceeds.

In a few years, you can withdraw from that plan when your taxable income may be lower. If you agree to stay on to help the buyer for a few years, this strategy also works well by taking that compensation through your old corporate shell instead of as a W-2 employee from the buyer.

• For a larger business, look into selling all or part of your stock to an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Agreement). Selling to an ESOP can make some or all of your sales proceeds tax-deferred.

ESOPs keep your business going and your employees incentivized to make it succeed in the future. Banks generally love to fund loans to these plans for the purchase, giving you liquidity from the sale or an infusion into the business at a small financial cost (other than some dilution of your ownership share).Each sale is different and some financial retirement planning can be very worthwhile before committing totally to that first asset purchase agreement shoved in front of you. A few hours talking to some business profit consultants and financial planning advisors could yield large tax savings and/or better proceeds at closing.Our Patrick & Raines CPAs professionals can serve as your advisory team quarterback, coordinating the work of your wealth manager, banker, insurance agent, business broker and…CPA!Contact us at Office@CPAsite.com or 904-396-5400.