Paid course · Applied · 100 min
Tax Strategy for Owners & High Earners
How the big levers actually work — entity and salary, retirement plans, depreciation, charitable giving and state taxes — so you can plan the year with your CPA instead of reacting in April.
Who it's for: Business owners, self-employed professionals and high-earning W-2 households who want to understand the strategies before they pay for them.
You will be able to:
- Explain how your tax bill is built and which deductions move it most
- Compare entity, salary and retirement-plan levers for an owner
- Understand depreciation and charitable limits — including carryforwards
- Walk into a CPA meeting with a written annual plan and the right questions
Includes 7 lessons, a 8-question quiz, a certificate of completion with a verification link, a LinkedIn-ready link, a printable workbook and Monet course coaching.
What the course covers
Lesson 1: How your tax bill is really built
Gross income to AGI to taxable income, marginal vs. effective rates, and why the order of deductions matters.
Lesson 2: Entity and salary decisions
Sole proprietor vs. S corp, reasonable salary, payroll taxes and the qualified business income deduction.
Lesson 3: Retirement plans: the biggest lever
Solo 401(k)s, defined benefit and cash balance plans — how much they can shelter and what they cost to run.
Lesson 4: Depreciation and Section 179
Bonus depreciation and Section 179 move deductions earlier; they do not make tax disappear — and loss limits still apply.
Lesson 5: Charitable strategies that hold up
Appreciated assets, donor-advised funds, the AGI percentage limits and five-year carryforwards.
Lesson 6: State taxes, PTE elections and the SALT cap
How pass-through entity elections work around the state and local tax cap, and when they do not help.
Lesson 7: Building your annual tax plan — and spotting schemes
A calendar for the year, the documents your CPA needs, and the red flags of promoter tax shelters.
End-of-course quiz
8 questions. You need 6 right to pass. Answers are graded on our server.
Sign in to take the quiz.
Course coaching with Monet opens with access to this course.
Related free tool: The free Tax Savings Calculator
Educational content only. Nothing here is tax, legal, investment or insurance advice. Speak to a CPA, attorney or licensed adviser before acting.