Stop Overpaying: The S-Corp Owner's Guide to Paying Less Tax Legally — book cover

FREE 135-PAGE BOOK · BY TOM WOOLLEY

The S-Corp tax strategies your CPA isn’t telling you about.

Most service-based S-Corp owners overpay $6,000 to $30,000+ in federal tax every year. Not because the strategies are hidden — because their CPA files returns instead of planning them. This book closes the gap.

  • The 23 strategies the tax code actually lets you use — with real dollar ranges and IRC citations (not generic tips)
  • A 10-minute diagnostic quiz that points you straight at the chapters where YOUR unrealized savings are largest
  • The same playbook our $5K–$25K/yr clients run — three live case studies modeled at $850K, $1.4M, and $4M revenue
  • A 4-move year-end plan + implementation checklist you can actually run before December 31

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$6K–$30K+

Average federal tax most readers find on their first pass

23

Strategy chapters with real dollar ranges and IRC citations

10 min

Diagnostic quiz routes you to the chapters where YOUR dollars are

THE THESIS, IN ONE PICTURE

Two kinds of CPAs.
Most S-Corp owners hire the wrong one.

THE TAX PREPARER

What 90% of S-Corp owners hire

  • Engages in February and March
  • Files what already happened
  • Reasonable comp set “years ago”
  • QBI calculated when the return is filed
  • Never mentions Augusta, accountable plan, profit-sharing

“Great year. Big tax bill.”

THE TAX PLANNER

What this book teaches you to be (or hire)

  • Engages on a year-round calendar
  • Models the year before it happens
  • Reasonable comp documented & revisited
  • Mid-year QBI projection with planning moves
  • Stacks accountable plan, family, Augusta, retirement

“Four moves before December 31.”

Tax preparation happens after the year is over.
Tax planning happens before.
The dollars live in the difference.

10 STRATEGIES, REAL DOLLAR RANGES

No “potential six-figure savings” handwaving.
Each chapter opens with a structured strategy box: What it is / Who it’s for / Savings / Difficulty.

PART 4 · THE BIG THREE

Reasonable Compensation

$5K – $15K/year

Defensibly correct S-Corp salary. Not too high (overpay payroll tax). Not too low (audit bait). Ch. 6.

PART 4 · THE BIG THREE · HIGHEST IMPACT

QBI Deduction Preservation

$15K – $40K+/year

For SSTBs near the $484K joint phaseout. Often the single highest-dollar move in the entire code. Ch. 7.

PART 4 · THE BIG THREE

Retirement Vehicle Selection

$10K – $25K/year

Solo 401(k), profit-sharing, defined benefit. Direct fed tax savings, still your money. Ch. 8.

PART 5 · ACCOUNTABLE PLAN STACK

The Reimbursement Stack

$15K – $40K+/year

Health + admin home office + vehicle + cell + internet. Stacked under one written plan. Ch. 9-12.

PART 6 · FAMILY STRATEGIES

Hire Your Spouse

$5K – $15K/year

Unlocks a second retirement contribution, expands accountable plan reach. Ch. 13.

PART 6 · FAMILY STRATEGIES

Hire Your Children

$3K – $8K/year

Shift income to their lower bracket. Fund a Roth IRA at 12. Tax-deductible. Ch. 14.

PART 6 · FAMILY STRATEGIES

The Augusta Rule

$3K – $15K/year

Rent your home to your S-Corp 14 days/year. Tax-free in. Deductible out. IRC §280A(g). Ch. 15.

PART 7 · ADVANCED PLAYS

Prepaid Expenses

$10K – $30K/year

12-month safe harbor. The December move that pulls you back below QBI phaseout. Ch. 17.

PART 7 · ADVANCED PLAYS

Self-Rental + Grouping

$10K – $50K+/year

If you own the building. Cost segregation + grouping election + real estate equity. Ch. 18.

PART 6 · QUICK WIN

Meal Categorization

$1.5K – $8K/year

Pure bookkeeping. Most teams under-claim 100% deductible team meals. No structural change. Ch. 16.

Stack three or four of these and you’re inside the $20,000 – $40,000+ band most readers find on their first pass.

REAL OWNERS · REAL NUMBERS

Three reference cases.
Find the one closest to your situation.

SC

Sarah Chen

SOLO FOUNDER

Brand consultant · $850K rev · $450K net

  • Solo 401(k) deferring $58,875 → $18,840/yr
  • Right reasonable comp → $5,575/yr
  • Augusta @ 4 days → $1,536/yr tax-free
  • Plus accountable plan + meal categorization

~$28,000+annual fed tax saved

DR

David Rodriguez

TEAM OWNER

Denver agency · $1.4M rev · 8 employees

  • Prepaids drop income below QBI → $28,800/yr
  • 401(k) + profit share $69K → $22,080/yr
  • Self-rental + cost seg → $18,000/yr
  • Augusta 12 days → $5,760/yr tax-free

~$70,000+annual fed tax saved

MP

Marcus Patel

SCALED OWNER

Chicago agency · $4M rev · 32 employees

  • Augusta full 14 days → $11,200/yr tax-free
  • Formal team event program → $18,880/yr
  • Defined benefit add-on
  • Family hires + meal categorization

~$45,000+annual fed tax saved

Every strategy in the book is modeled with Sarah, David, and Marcus’s actual numbers so you can map your situation onto whichever profile is closest. Different sizes. Different playbooks. Same pattern: the dollars are sitting there.

HOW TO READ IT

Three paths from reading to doing

Strategies don’t save you anything until they’re implemented. The book is built so the path from page to paycheck is short, no matter where you start.

01

Cover to cover

Read in order. Strategies build on each other. Chapter 6 (Reasonable Comp) is the foundation everything else stacks onto. Plan on an afternoon for the read, then a quarter to implement.

02

Take the quiz first

Chapter 5 is a 20-question diagnostic across five sections (entity & compensation, QBI, retirement, deductions, family). Your score routes you to the chapters where your unrealized savings are largest. Skip anything that doesn’t apply.

03

Skip to the cheat sheet

For readers who already know the strategies. The appendix is a one-page reference of every strategy with the relevant chapter pointer. Useful for running an annual self-audit or briefing your existing tax advisor.

INSIDE THE BOOK

8 parts. 23 chapters. Plus the quiz, cheat sheet,
citations appendix, and annual planning calendar.

PART 01

Why Most S-Corp Owners Overpay

Ch. 1: Tax Planning vs. Tax Preparation · Ch. 2: Why This Book Is Different

PART 02

S-Corp Foundations

Ch. 3: What an S-Corp Actually Is · Ch. 4: Why Service Businesses Win Most

PART 03

The Quick-Start Quiz

Ch. 5: Which Strategies Apply to You? — 20 questions, 5 sections, 10 minutes.

PART 04

The Big Three

Ch. 6: Reasonable Compensation · Ch. 7: The QBI Deduction · Ch. 8: Retirement Vehicle Selection

PART 05

The Accountable Plan Stack

Ch. 9-12: Plan setup, health insurance, admin home office, personal vehicle

PART 06

Family and Lifestyle Strategies

Ch. 13-16: Hiring spouse, hiring children, Augusta Rule, meal categorization

PART 07

Advanced Plays

Ch. 17-20: Prepaid expenses, self-rental + grouping, entertainment facilities, cost remediation

PART 08

Implementation

Ch. 21-23: Implementation Checklist · Annual Tax Planning Calendar · Why Most People Still Don’t Act

+ The 1-page Cheat Sheet · Citations and Authorities appendix · About the firm

Tom Woolley, founder of Today CFO

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Woolley

Founder, Today CFO

Tom founded Today CFO in 2015 on a simple thesis: the traditional CPA relationship — compliance-focused, reactive, transactional — doesn’t serve growing service businesses. The firm runs proactive tax planning, ongoing accounting, and fractional CFO advisory on a year-round calendar for clients in the $500K to $6M revenue range.

The strategies in this book are the same ones the firm implements as a standard part of its engagements with marketing agencies, management consultancies, MSPs, professional services firms, staffing companies, and SaaS businesses. Today CFO clients pay $5,000 to $25,000 per year for the full service. The book is the playbook that engagement runs on.

Stop Overpaying book cover

GET THE BOOK

Free PDF. No payment. Just your email.

  • The full 23-chapter playbook
  • The 20-question Quick-Start Quiz
  • Three live case studies (Sarah, David, Marcus)
  • The phased Implementation Checklist
  • The annual tax-planning calendar
  • 1-page Cheat Sheet + Citations Appendix

Instant download. PDF emailed to you as backup. No credit card. Unsubscribe anytime.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Things people ask before they read it

Is this for me if I’m not technically running an S-Corp yet?

Part 2 (S-Corp Foundations) covers when an S-Corp election is appropriate and when a simpler structure makes more sense. If you’re running a sole prop or single-member LLC and your net profit is over roughly $80K, the book’s framework still applies. Below that, the structural complexity often outweighs the savings — the book will tell you that directly in Chapter 4.

I have a CPA already. Why would I need this?

Most CPAs are tax preparers: they file what already happened. A smaller number are tax planners: they manage the year-round calendar that shapes what shows up on the return. The book’s 20-question diagnostic in Chapter 5 will tell you in ten minutes which kind you have. If your reasonable compensation hasn’t been formally reviewed in the last 12 months, if no one has run a mid-year QBI projection this year, and you don’t have a written accountable plan, you have a preparer. The book covers what a planner would do.

Will I have to implement the strategies myself?

The book’s closing chapter lays out three approaches: do it yourself with the Implementation Checklist (4 to 6 hours of focused work spread over two or three sessions), direct your existing bookkeeper to handle the administrative pieces and keep the strategic decisions yourself, or hire a proactive tax planner to run the calendar. The book gives you everything you need to choose — and to know whether the planner you’re evaluating is actually any good.

What format is the book delivered in?

PDF. After you submit the form you can download it instantly, and we also email it to you as backup. Reads on phone, tablet, laptop, or e-reader. No DRM, no streaming app, no expiring access.

How current is the tax content?

Citations were accurate as of the 2026 publication date. The IRC, Treasury Regulations, and case law cited are stable, but contribution limits and phaseout thresholds adjust for inflation each year. The book’s citations appendix lets you (or your tax advisor) verify any specific number against current guidance before implementing.

Is this affiliated with Today CFO’s services?

Yes. The book was written by Today CFO and is the same playbook the firm runs for paying clients. Some readers eventually decide they’d rather have someone run their tax calendar for them — if you’re one of them, you’ll know exactly what to ask for. If you’d rather DIY forever, that’s also a great outcome — you stopped overpaying.

LAST THING

Stop overpaying.

Free PDF. Drop your email and start reading in 30 seconds. Read it once, keep it as reference, implement at your own pace. The book pays for itself the first time you use one strategy from it.

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