Small Business Tax Solutions
The Ornelas Firm is a small business tax and business formation law firm in El Paso serving entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and foreign investors across West Texas and Southern New Mexico. As tax attorneys licensed in Texas and New Mexico with deep accounting experience, we help owners structure, grow, and exit their companies in tax-efficient ways—from entity selection and startup planning to worker classification, acquisitions and reorganizations, and succession planning. By analyzing your financials, tax returns, and corporate structure, we work to reduce your federal, Texas, and New Mexico tax burden, improve cash flow, and help you avoid costly problems with the IRS, the Texas State Comptroller, and the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.
- Financial/Tax Analysis.
- Business Startup and Formation.
- Strategic Planning.
- Worker Classification
- Business and Asset Acquisitions and Sales.
- Reorganization.
- Succession Planning.
Financial/Tax Analysis
Do you feel that your company is always struggling to make ends meet, or could be using its cash flow more efficiently? Do you think that your company is paying too much in taxes or not taking advantage of as many benefits available to it under federal and state tax laws? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then one of our professionals can assist you in reviewing your company’s financial statements, tax returns and corporate structure to help you identify opportunities to save or make better use of your company’s financial resources.
Business Startup and Strategic Planning
Should you form a corporation, limited liability company, or partnership? What’s the difference? The way in which your business is structured (or not structured) has an important impact on your exposure to litigation risks and claims from creditors, how business profits and company distributions are taxed, and how your business can continue once you decide to retire. Answers to these questions should drive your decisions about what type of entity to use for your business, not the other way around. Before investing time and money into creating a business entity, let one of our professionals analyze your plans and goals so you can make an educated choice on how best to structure your business now and into the future.
Worker Classification
Are your workers employees or independent contractors? The answer is not always simple but the consequences are dramatic: your business may be responsible for paying your workers overtime, providing your workers with employment benefits and withholding payroll taxes. More importantly, your company may end up being responsible for your worker’s actions. Are your records properly documented if the Texas Workforce Commission or Internal Revenue Service should start a worker classification audit of your business? Our professionals can provide your business with guidance on how your workers should be classified and assist you with securing the documentation needed to prove that your workers are properly classified.
Business and Asset Acquisitions and Sales
You’ve been offered the opportunity to buy another business. Does it make sense to buy the existing business or only its property? How do you know whether the offered price reflects the value of the business? Are there any hidden issues that could come back to hurt you in the future – and how do you address these problems? From documenting the terms of an offer to closing on the purchase of a new business opportunity, let us assist you in identifying the hidden benefits and avoiding the unknown traps in buying or selling a business.
Reorganization
Small businesses, like individuals, grow and change over time. Has your business outgrown its existing corporate or tax structure? Does it make sense to relocate a part of your business to another state, or isolate a part of your business to shield its other operations from business or tax risk? Are you considering offering others the opportunity to invest in your existing business? Reorganizing your business creates benefits, but also exposes you to certain risks – and could result in unplanned tax hits if not done correctly. We can help you analyze multiple options and guide you to choose the best solution that meets your current and long-term needs.
Succession Planning
You’ve invested time, effort and sweat into your business and have made it grow – and now it’s time for pass on the business to the next generation. Transferring shares or interests in your business can have consequences for income and estate tax purposes – and imposing restrictions on equity interests sold or gifted to others can also have adverse tax consequences. Don’t risk the IRS treating your business as having liquidated or terminated on the transfer of ownership interests. Let us help you navigate these issues to accomplish your long-term plans.
