Cindy Krischer Goodman | 11/14/2011

For Businesses

Accounting

Take a hard look at your methods of accounting for tax purposes to make sure you're using the most advantageous approach for computing taxable income. For example, scrutinize whether you should use a cash or accrual method of accounting. If you have deferred revenue, look at whether you could defer for tax purposes the recognition of that income to a later year. "You can end up paying less taxes and you can use the cash to reinvest in your business," says Leo Chomiak, an international tax partner at Grant Thornton in Fort Lauderdale.

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Seeking Opportunities

If you have a Florida business with plans to expand into other cities, states or international markets, you may have opportunities for tax credits incentives and/or tax holidays. Check with state and local government to see whether they offer credits or other incentives for hiring and training of employees. There are tax credits and grants offered for using alternative fuel or implementing energy-saving initiatives. If you have operations abroad, you may be eligible to get a preferential income tax rate. "There are some tax savings there that companies sometimes don't realize are available," Chomiak says.

Investing

Tae Shin

You can reap a tax benefit by investing in an environmentally friendly technology business such as a solar power company or a wind farm. If structured as a sale-leaseback or partnership flip arrangement, the investment could yield a significant tax benefit in form of credits, accelerated depreciation or special allocations of income. "In addition to the return on investment, the tax benefits are especially attractive to business investors with income from other sources," says Tae Shin, a business taxation attorney at Roetzel & Andress in Orlando.