1st Chicago Accounting

07/23/2026

Family Management Company - Simplified Tax Savings Example (2026)

Assumptions:

2 children under 18 employed by the FMC.
Children each paid $16,100/year (equal to the 2026 Standard Deduction = no federal income tax due).
Parent(s) in a 35% tax bracket.
Monthly board meetings held at home, charged to the company at FMV (less than 14-day rental rule).
Excludes other optional deductions like medical reimbursement for simplicity. If you have a lot of medical expenses, we have a plan for you.

Annual Tax Strategy Breakdown:

Strategy Amount Notes Wages paid to children $32,200, $16,100 × 2. Fully deductible by FMC. No Federal Income tax for children. No Social Security and Medicare tax on these payrolls.

Home office rent (14-day rule) $15,000 $1,250/month × 12 meetings (must meet fair market value).

Total Deductions $47,200 Tax Bracket 35% Estimated Tax Savings $16,500 $40,000 × 35%

Conclusion:

By using this strategy:

The family legally shifts $32,200 to children (zero tax).
NO Payroll tax on Children Payroll. ($3,000 Payroll Tax Savings)
Gains an additional $15,000 in home rental deductions.
Achieves $16,500/year in total federal tax savings.
Plus, the children can invest or save their income—building wealth tax-free.

Let me know if you want more information on this excellent strategy.

10/14/2024

Congratulations to my daughter Paige for completing the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours and 56 minutes and 14 seconds, ranked 158 in the all Females.

07/31/2024

Trump wants to eliminate tax on Social Security benefits. They started taxing Social Security in the 1980s. You get taxed if your combined income Married Joint exceeds 32k. This 32k was established in the 80s IT HAS NEVER BEEN INDEXED TO INFLATION! Today if indexed to inflation would be over 100k. Secondly, you pay into SS after tax dollars, you get no basis, so you pay tax on income you already paid tax on.

SENIORS SHOULD NOT PAY TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY!

07/19/2024

06/20/2024

Board of Directors - How to Expense Travel and Meals the Smart and Fun Way

Make Travel and Dining Part of Your Business Strategy

You can appoint your spouse as a Board Member of your company even if they are not shareholders. This is particularly beneficial for medical or legal firms where non-licensed spouses cannot be shareholders. Additionally, older children can also serve as board members. This strategic move allows you to include travel and dining expenses for board meetings as legitimate business expenses.

Imagine renting a cabin by the lake or planning a week-long trip to Disneyland. If your spouse and children are board members or employees of your corporation or Family Management Company, holding a board of directors or advisors meeting in such locations can qualify the travel as a business expense.

Maximize Your Deductions

When attending a Board Meeting, you can deduct the following expenses:

Plane Ticket: 100% deductible
Hotel: 100% deductible
Auto Rental: 100% deductible
Cabs/Uber: 100% deductible
Meals: 50% deductible

By integrating business meetings with family travel, you not only create valuable family memories but also optimize your business expenses. Make the most of your travel and dining by planning smartly and leveraging these tax benefits.

06/10/2024

Have you ever wondered why we've structured your company as an S-Corp? It's all about saving on Social Security and Medicare taxes.

We aim to keep your Salary/Officer Compensation at a minimum. By minimizing payroll, we can lower the associated taxes. We implement this strategy not only to benefit the current year but also to leverage future opportunities for our clients.

One significant drawback of payroll taxes is that they're non-refundable. If your salary is too high, you won't recoup the excess. Hence, consistent and effective management remains crucial.

Consider the silent increase in Social Security tax over the years. Back in 1980, the maximum taxable earnings were $25,900, costing taxpayers $3,848.74. Fast forward to today, and Social Security maxes out at $160,200, with Medicare having no limit. At this threshold, the Social Security and Medicare tax amounts to $25,023.24. Plus, beyond $160,200, you're still subject to a 2.9% Medicare tax with no limit.

That's why we diligently strive to keep your salary below $100k. For instance, if you make $160,000 we might set your salary at $80,000 this will save you a significant $12,511.62.

However, maintaining a low salary does pose a limitation on the amount of profit sharing available for your retirement. For S-Corps, profit sharing is capped at 25% of your salary.

Rest assured, we're committed to minimizing your tax burden to the fullest extent possible.

Book a free initial consultation https://go.oncehub.com/BradFilmanowicz

Warm regards,

Brad

01/05/2024

Today the BLS reported a gain of 216k jobs, they get this data from the Household Survey. The Household Survey actually reported in December the number of full-time jobs plunged by 1.531 million and a increase of part-time jobs of 762k. November saw a loss of 800k full-time jobs and 1.1 million new jobs.

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

08/04/2023

Finished a 3 day Tax Marketing conference in Scottsdale

06/26/2023

Tax Planning is Fun!!
Let me explain,
I have a tax conference in Scottsdale AZ in August. My wife is a board member of my firm. I go to the tax conference during the day, and she sits at the pool. Then we go out to dinner, and we discuss what I learned today and how to implement it into my business. Since she is a board member, everything is deductible. The airfare, rental car, hotel, and even meals are legitimate write offs.

I own 3 rental properties in the Fort Myers area. I have to leave Chicago in the middle of winter when there is 2 feet of snow and 10 degrees outside and go visit my rental properties. I stay at a nice hotel drive by my properties on the way to the beach, I might stop and look around. Of course, I will look at a couple of other properties listed for sale. Oh, forgot to mention my wife owns a percentage of the properties, so now when we discuss our properties and the ones we looked at, over lunch/dinner, we get to deduct our meals. The airfare, rental car, hotel, and even meals are legitimate write offs.

Since my kids are in this picture, which is a marketing ad, I can deduct their expenses on the trip or pay them a modeling fee.

Typically, when I look at a self-employed physician’s tax returns, I can save on average $31,245 in Federal and State Taxes.

Tax Planning in 3 Simple Steps
1. 20–25-minute FREE zoom conversation with me. I find out what you are looking for and I ask some questions.
2. Based on the call, I give you an amount I can save you in your taxes.
3. If you like what you hear, then I will do a full-blown tax plan for you for $2,500. Click the link to see all that is involved.
Brad Filmanowicz, CPA, EA, MBA is a member of Mark J Kohler Main Street Tax Pro.