Wealth manager tax coordination
Business Owner Exit and Liquidity Event Tax Planning
Coordinate CPA tax projections and documentation before a sale, redemption, merger, equity payout, or other liquidity event changes the client tax picture.
Liquidity events can affect federal tax, state tax, estimated payments, basis, installment reporting, ordinary income, and capital gain. A CPA can review tax consequences and filing documentation while deal, legal, and investment decisions remain with the client and other advisors.
Best fit
Business owners, founders, partners, S-corp shareholders, and executives anticipating a sale, redemption, merger, earnout, asset sale, stock sale, or other liquidity event.
What we help clarify
Advisor and client questions this page addresses
- Is the transaction expected to be treated as a stock sale, asset sale, redemption, installment sale, earnout, or compensation event?
- What basis, debt, allocation, and historical tax records are available?
- Will federal, state, net investment income, or estimated-tax payments need attention before closing?
- What records should be retained for return preparation and future IRS or state questions?
Liquidity-event projection
Estimate tax impact from sale proceeds, basis, ordinary income, capital gain, state tax, and estimated payments.
Document request list
Identify the transaction, basis, depreciation, entity, and K-1 records needed for return preparation.
Post-closing tax coordination
Coordinate tax payments, filing items, and future-year reporting issues after the event closes.
Tax records
Information that usually matters before a filing position is reviewed
- Draft or final transaction documents, closing statement, allocation schedules, and earnout terms.
- Entity returns, K-1s, stock basis or partner basis schedules, debt schedules, and capital account records.
- Depreciation schedules, asset lists, goodwill or intangible allocation details, and payroll records when relevant.
- State residency, state source income, installment terms, and estimated payment history.
- Legal and broker summaries that explain the transaction without asking the CPA to provide legal, valuation, or investment advice.
CPA coordination process
How the review typically works
- Identify the transaction structure and tax records needed for a projection.
- Model federal and state tax impact using available documents and assumptions.
- Review estimated-tax, withholding, installment, and filing-position documentation needs.
- Coordinate questions with the client, attorney, wealth advisor, and transaction advisors before and after closing.
Frequently asked questions
Can Averkamp advise whether a client should sell a business?
No. Averkamp can review tax effects and filing documentation, but legal, valuation, transaction, and investment decisions belong with the client and appropriate advisors.
Why should a CPA be involved before closing?
Pre-closing review can identify estimated-tax needs, missing basis records, state issues, installment reporting questions, and records needed to prepare the return.
Can transaction tax projections change?
Yes. Projections can change when final documents, allocations, closing statements, earnouts, K-1s, state facts, and final income are known.
Authoritative tax references
IRS resources commonly used in this review
These IRS resources are starting points for the tax rules and forms involved. A client-specific filing position still depends on the client records and full facts.
Related advisor resources