How to tell if your accountant is doing tax compliance or tax strategy - Arvo Tech

Filing a return isn’t the same thing as building a plan to reduce what you owe.

Most business owners assume their CPA is “taking care of the tax stuff.” And to be fair, they probably are — at least the basics. Your return gets filed. The IRS stays off your back. You sign a few forms and move on with your life.

But here’s the truth: filing a tax return is not the same as having a tax strategy.

One is compliance — making sure the paperwork’s done. The other is proactive planning — making sure you’re not overpaying in the first place.

If you’re only getting the first kind, you’re leaving money on the table.

Let’s walk through the difference.

Tax compliance: Just the basics

Tax compliance is exactly what it sounds like — checking the boxes to stay in good standing with the IRS.

It includes:

• Preparing and filing your tax returns
• Meeting deadlines
• Making sure the numbers match up with your books
• Avoiding penalties

It’s necessary. But it’s also the bare minimum.

Compliance looks backward. It’s based on last year’s numbers. It doesn’t ask, “How can we reduce this next year?”

And that’s the difference that matters.

Tax strategy: The part that actually saves you money

Tax strategy is forward-looking. It’s about planning in advance so you pay less by making smart decisions throughout the year.

That might mean:

• Choosing the right entity type for your business
• Adjusting owner compensation
• Leveraging tax credits (like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, R&D credit, or other incentives)
• Timing purchases or investments
• Setting up retirement or benefit plans
• Making sure your bookkeeping supports your tax approach

Tax credits are one of the most powerful tools here, but many CPAs don’t even mention them. Why? Because they take time to research, document, and claim correctly. That’s strategy work — and not every accountant does it.

Five signs your CPA is only doing compliance

Most business owners don’t know what they’re missing. If any of these sound familiar, it’s a red flag:

1. You only hear from them during tax season.
   Strategy happens before year-end. If all your tax conversations happen in March, you’re too late.
2. They just ask for numbers, not context.
   A tax strategist should understand your goals: growth, exit, reinvestment, etc. If it’s just “send us your QuickBooks file,” that’s not enough.
3. They never explain why your tax bill is what it is.
   You should know how that number was calculated — and what, if anything, could’ve changed it.
4. They don’t bring you new ideas.
   If you’ve been in business for years and your tax plan hasn’t evolved, you’re probably overpaying.
5. You’re always scrambling at the last minute.
   Strategic tax planning is proactive, not reactive. If it feels rushed every year, strategy isn’t happening.

What a real tax strategist does

A tax strategist looks at the whole picture. They don’t just ask, “What did you make last year?”
They ask:

• “What are your goals for the next few years?”
• “Where is your business growing?”
• “How can we use the tax code to support that?”

What’s at stake?

When your tax advisor is only filing returns, you’re probably leaving money on the table.

We’ve seen business owners save tens of thousands of dollars per year—sometimes more—just by making the shift from compliance to strategy. That often means:

• Claiming credits like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) or the R&D credit that their previous CPA never mentioned
• Reorganizing their books to capture more deductions and make strategic decisions in real time
• Getting tax planning done before year-end, not after it’s too late to make a difference

In one case, a company with hourly employees unlocked over $90,000 in WOTC credits. Another saved nearly $50,000 using the R&D credit against payroll taxes. These results aren’t rare—they’re just the byproduct of having someone focused on strategy, not just filing.

If your advisor has never brought you a tax-saving idea, it’s time to ask: are they doing strategy, or just compliance?

Want to know what real tax strategy looks like?