The Tax Savings Guarantee That's Never Been Paid Out: Why We're That Confident

What the Guarantee Actually Covers

The guarantee is simple: within 90 days of starting a TodayCFO engagement, we will identify at least $10,000 in annualized tax savings opportunities for your business. If we do not, we refund our fees for that period. No questions asked.

The word "identify" is important. Tax savings cannot always be fully realized in the first 90 days — some strategies like entity restructuring or retirement plan setup require time to implement properly. But the $10,000 in opportunities will be documented, explained, and presented to you within that window. You will see exactly what we found and what it is worth.

What the Guarantee Is Not

• It is not a promise of aggressive or borderline strategies — everything we recommend is legal, defensible, and IRS-compliant
• It is not a guarantee of $10,000 in cash back in 90 days — it is $10,000 in annual savings that, once implemented, reduce your ongoing tax liability
• It is not available to every business — qualifying requires minimum income thresholds and a review of your current situation
• It is not a trick to get you on a retainer — if we find the savings, you decide whether to engage further; the guarantee period stands on its own

Why It Has Never Been Paid Out

There is a reason I am comfortable making a $10,000 guarantee: the baseline tax situation for most contractors and small business owners is terrible. Not because they did anything wrong — but because the typical CPA or tax preparer is focused on filing, not planning. They report what happened. They rarely tell you what you should have done differently.

The result is that the average contractor earning $250,000 or more per year is leaving $30,000 to $60,000 per year on the table in completely legal deductions and tax strategies they simply were not told about. The $10,000 guarantee is not a stretch — it represents the floor of what I expect to find, not the ceiling.

This is not about finding loopholes. It is about using the strategies Congress built into the tax code for business owners — and actually using them, instead of leaving them on the shelf. For more on the difference between a filing CPA and a planning CPA, read: Is Your CPA Actually Planning Your Taxes — or Just Filing Them?

What We Find in the First 90 Days

The first 90 days of a TodayCFO engagement follow a structured process. Here is what a typical discovery and diagnostic phase looks like for a contractor client:

Week 1–2: Tax Diagnostic

• Review of prior two years of tax returns (personal and business)
• Assessment of current entity structure (sole prop, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp)
• Review of current bookkeeping and expense categorization
• Analysis of retirement plan status (current contributions vs. available limits)
• Vehicle and equipment inventory review

Week 3–4: Opportunity Analysis

• S-Corp election analysis: calculate SE tax savings at current income level
• Retirement plan gap analysis: what you contributed vs. what you could have contributed
• Equipment and vehicle deduction audit: what was deducted vs. what qualifies
• Income splitting opportunities: spouse employment, children on payroll, management structures
• Missed deductions: home office, health insurance, professional development

Days 30–90: Strategy Presentation and Implementation Planning

• Present documented savings opportunities with specific dollar amounts
• Prioritize strategies by impact and implementation complexity
• Begin implementation: entity elections, payroll setup, retirement plan establishment
• Create a 12-month tax planning calendar

The 5 Sources of Most Tax Savings

In nearly every contractor engagement, the bulk of identified savings comes from the same five categories. These are not obscure strategies — they are mainstream tax planning tools that most business owners simply are not using.

1. S-Corp Election

This is typically the largest single savings opportunity. A contractor earning $250,000 operating as a sole proprietor pays self-employment tax (15.3%) on their entire net income. An S-Corp election allows them to pay a reasonable salary (say $80,000) and take the rest as a distribution — avoiding SE tax on the distribution amount. Savings: $15,000–$30,000+ per year for many contractors. See our full analysis: LLC vs. S-Corp for Contractors: Which Structure Saves More?

2. Retirement Plan Setup or Maximization

A contractor with no retirement plan is contributing $0 tax-deferred. A Solo 401(k) or SEP IRA allows contributions of $66,000–$76,500 (2023 limits), generating $23,000–$27,000 in annual tax savings at a 35% rate. Most contractors have no plan or a modest one — this is frequently the second-largest savings opportunity.

3. Equipment and Vehicle Deductions

Contractors who are not using Section 179 and bonus depreciation on equipment, or who are not properly deducting business vehicle use, frequently leave $10,000–$40,000 per year in unclaimed deductions. See our guide to contractor equipment deductions: Contractor Equipment Depreciation: The Complete Tax Guide.

4. Missed Business Deductions

Home office deduction, self-employed health insurance, professional development, tools and materials, cell phone, software — contractors frequently miss 5–10 legitimate deductions that cumulatively add up to $5,000–$15,000 in additional write-offs.

5. Income Splitting and Family Employment

Paying a spouse for legitimate bookkeeping, administrative, or site coordination work — or hiring children for real tasks — can shift income to lower tax brackets and generate additional retirement plan contributions. A spouse on payroll who contributes to their own Solo 401(k) can add $23,000–$30,000 in family retirement savings and reduce the contractor's business income simultaneously.

Real Examples: What Contractors Actually Save

Here are representative examples of what a TodayCFO diagnostic typically uncovers for contractors at different income levels. Names and details are composites, but the numbers reflect real patterns.

In every case, the savings identified far exceeded the $10,000 guarantee threshold. The $10,000 guarantee is designed to give you confidence, not to represent the ceiling of what we find.

Who Qualifies for the Guarantee

The guarantee is not available to every business owner — that would not be a responsible offer. Here is what makes someone a qualifying candidate:

Qualifying Criteria

• Net business income of $150,000 or more — below this level, the strategy options narrow significantly and a $10,000 guarantee becomes harder to justify responsibly
• No current proactive tax planning relationship — if you already have a fractional CFO or tax strategist actively managing your taxes, the low-hanging fruit may already be captured
• Based in the United States — we focus on US tax law; international situations require specialized expertise
• Willing to share tax returns and financial data — we cannot identify savings without visibility into your actual situation
• Business type: contractors, tradespeople, dental and medical practices, consultants, and other service-based small businesses are ideal candidates

Who Is NOT a Good Candidate

• Employees with W-2 income and no significant side business income
• Businesses with complex international structures or offshore issues
• Anyone currently under IRS audit (we can refer you to appropriate counsel)
• Businesses in severe financial distress where tax planning is secondary to cash flow survival

What a TodayCFO Engagement Looks Like

The guarantee is tied to the first 90 days, but most clients continue with an ongoing engagement after seeing what we find. Here is what a full TodayCFO engagement typically includes:

• Initial tax diagnostic and strategy presentation — months 1–3; the guarantee period
• Entity restructuring support — S-Corp elections, payroll setup, operating agreement review
• Retirement plan establishment — Solo 401(k), SEP IRA, or defined benefit plan setup with a recommended TPA (third-party administrator)
• Quarterly check-ins — estimated tax review, year-to-date income tracking, strategy adjustments
• Year-end tax planning session — equipment timing, income deferral or acceleration, last-minute retirement contributions
• Ongoing access — answer questions, review major decisions (equipment purchases, new hires, contracts) through a tax lens before you commit
• Coordination with your CPA — we work alongside your existing tax preparer or can refer you to one; we focus on strategy, not filing

The fractional CFO model means you get the strategic benefit of a full-time CFO at a fraction of the cost. For more on what that looks like, read: 6 Tax Planning Strategies Every Small Business Owner Should Be Using.

Frequently Asked Questions