You Billed Millions.
Why Is the IRS Your Biggest Client?
If you're a high-earning attorney writing six-figure checks to the IRS every April, you are almost certainly overpaying — by tens of thousands of dollars.
BusyBee Advisors has helped attorneys just like you legally cut their tax bill by an average of 30% per year — without aggressive schemes, without audit risk, and without changing how you practice law.
Free. Confidential. No obligation. Takes 3 minutes.
High-Earning Attorneys Are the IRS's Favorite Taxpayers.
Not because they cheat. Because they're too busy practicing law to fight back.
You're Paying the "Busy Tax"
You bill $400, $600, $800 an hour. Every hour you spend thinking about taxes is an hour not billing. So you hand it to an accountant who files your return — and calls it a day. That's compliance. It's not strategy. And the difference is $30,000–$80,000 a year.
Your Entity Structure Is Probably Wrong
Whether you file as a Schedule C, 1065, 1120S, or 1120 determines everything about your tax exposure. Most attorneys are in the wrong structure for their income level — or have never had anyone model the difference. That mistake alone can cost $20,000–$40,000 annually.
Year-End Planning Is Too Late
If your accountant calls you in November to "do some planning," that's not proactive strategy — that's damage control. Real tax savings happen in January, not December. Every quarter you operate without a forward-looking plan is a quarter of unnecessary exposure.
"If you earned $500,000 last year and paid $175,000 in taxes, there's a strong chance $40,000–$60,000 of that was completely avoidable."
— BusyBee Advisors, based on average client outcomes for attorneys at this income level
The 3 Most Expensive Mistakes
High-Earning Attorneys Make
These three errors alone account for the majority of unnecessary tax overpayment we see in attorney practices.
Operating in the Wrong Entity Structure
Costs: $20,000–$50,000/yrFiling as a sole proprietor (Schedule C) or a simple single-member LLC when your income has grown past $200K.
Electing S-Corp status or restructuring as a professional corporation can dramatically reduce self-employment tax and open up salary-splitting strategies that are unavailable to sole proprietors.
For a $400K attorney, the difference between a Schedule C and a properly structured S-Corp can be $25,000–$40,000 in annual tax savings — every single year.
Leaving Retirement Sheltering Strategies on the Table
Costs: $15,000–$80,000/yrContributing only the standard 401(k) maximum ($23,000) or nothing at all, while paying full income tax on the remainder.
High-earning attorneys can often shelter $80,000–$200,000+ annually through defined benefit plans, cash balance plans, and profit-sharing combinations — legally reducing taxable income dollar-for-dollar.
A $600K attorney with a properly structured defined benefit plan can shelter $150,000+ from taxation annually. That's $50,000–$70,000 in actual tax savings — compounding every year.
Treating Tax Planning as a Once-a-Year Event
Costs: $10,000–$30,000/yrMeeting with your accountant in February to review last year's return, making no changes, and repeating the cycle.
Proactive, quarterly tax planning that adjusts estimated payments, times deductions, and responds to income fluctuations throughout the year — not after the fact.
Most of the strategies that save attorneys the most money require action before December 31. By the time you're sitting with your CPA in tax season, 90% of your options for that year are already gone.
What Our Attorney Clients Actually Save
What Your Accountant
Isn't Telling You
These are not loopholes or aggressive schemes. They are legal, IRS-approved strategies that most compliance-focused accountants simply don't implement — because their job is to file your return, not to minimize it.
S-Corp Salary Optimization
Up to $25,000/yrBy paying yourself a reasonable salary and taking the remainder as distributions, you eliminate self-employment tax on the distribution portion. For a $400K attorney, this alone can save $20,000–$25,000 annually.
Defined Benefit & Cash Balance Plans
Up to $200,000+/yr shelteredHigh-earning attorneys can contribute far beyond standard 401(k) limits using defined benefit or cash balance plans. These plans allow dollar-for-dollar deductions on contributions — legally eliminating tax on six figures of income.
Section 199A Pass-Through Deduction
Up to 20% of qualified incomeAttorneys operating as pass-through entities may qualify for a 20% deduction on qualified business income. Proper structuring is critical — many attorneys leave this deduction unclaimed due to incorrect entity setup.
Augusta Rule (Section 280A)
$3,000–$14,000/yrYour practice can rent your personal residence for up to 14 days per year for meetings and strategy sessions — tax-free to you personally, and fully deductible to the practice. Most attorneys have never heard of this.
Accountable Plan for Business Expenses
$5,000–$20,000/yrA properly structured accountable plan allows your practice to reimburse you for business expenses — home office, vehicle, technology, professional development — without those reimbursements being treated as taxable income.
Charitable Giving Strategies (DAF + QCD)
Varies — often $10,000–$50,000+Donor-Advised Funds and other charitable vehicles allow high-income attorneys to front-load charitable deductions in high-income years, reducing taxable income while maintaining control over when and where the funds are distributed.
These six strategies alone represent $50,000–$200,000+ in potential annual savings for the right attorney. The question is whether any of them apply to your practice.
Proactive Strategy,
Not Just Compliance.
BusyBee Advisors is not a tax prep firm. We are a tax strategy firm. There is a significant difference — and it's measured in tens of thousands of dollars per year for high-earning attorneys.
We analyze your entity structure, income level, and filing method — then build a custom, forward-looking plan that targets every legal deduction, retirement strategy, and structural advantage available to your practice.
How Much Could You Be Saving?
Based on average 30% savings. Individual results vary.
The estimator uses averages. Your actual number may be higher.
Savings Specific to Your Type of Practice
The strategies that work best vary by practice type, income structure, and how your firm is organized. Here's what we typically find for each.
Personal Injury / Trial
Contingency-fee practices have unique income timing opportunities that most accountants never leverage.
Family Law
Solo family law practitioners are among the most over-taxed attorneys in the country due to Schedule C filing.
Corporate / Business Law
Corporate attorneys often have the most complex income structures — and the most to gain from proper optimization.
Criminal Defense
Many criminal defense attorneys remain sole proprietors long past the point where restructuring would pay for itself many times over.
Real Estate Law
Attorneys who also own investment real estate have access to powerful passive loss strategies unavailable to most professionals.
Multi-Partner Firms
Every partner in a qualifying firm is a separate optimization opportunity. Savings compound across the entire partnership.
Three Steps to Keeping More of What You Earn
Apply in 3 Minutes
Complete a short, confidential application. We'll gather the basics about your practice structure, income level, entity type, and current tax liability. No tax returns required at this stage.
We Identify Your Savings
Our tax strategists review your situation and identify every available legal savings opportunity. For most high-earning attorneys, we find $20,000–$80,000 in overlooked deductions and structural advantages.
You Get a Custom Plan
We build a proactive, forward-looking tax strategy specific to your practice and walk you through exactly how to implement it — starting in the current tax year, not the next one.
The Tax Planning Calendar:
Every Quarter Has a Deadline.
Most of the strategies that save attorneys the most money require action before specific dates. Miss the window and the savings are gone — permanently.
Entity Review & Restructuring
- ›Elect S-Corp status for the current tax year (March 15 deadline)
- ›Set up and fund retirement accounts from prior year
- ›Establish accountable plan and reimbursement policies
- ›Review and adjust estimated tax payments
Mid-Year Income Planning
- ›Review YTD income and project full-year liability
- ›Maximize retirement contributions based on income trajectory
- ›Implement Augusta Rule meeting documentation
- ›Evaluate charitable giving strategy for the year
Strategy Implementation
- ›Finalize defined benefit plan contributions
- ›Review vehicle and home office deduction documentation
- ›Evaluate pass-through deduction eligibility
- ›Adjust Q3 estimated tax payments
Year-End Deadline Window
- ›Final retirement plan contributions and elections
- ›Accelerate or defer income and deductions
- ›Last chance for equipment purchases and Section 179
- ›Year-end charitable contributions and DAF funding
The sooner you start, the more options you have. Every quarter you wait closes another door.
This Is Specifically for You If...
Not a fit? If your practice income is below $200K or your tax liability is under $20K, our strategies may not generate enough savings to justify the engagement. We'll tell you honestly on the call — no pressure, no hard sell.
Takes 3 minutes · 100% confidential · No obligation
Attorneys Who Stopped Overpaying
"I'd been filing as a sole proprietor for 11 years. BusyBee restructured my practice as an S-Corp and set up a defined benefit plan. My tax bill dropped by $47,000 in the first year. I wish I'd done this a decade ago."
"My previous accountant was great at filing. BusyBee is great at strategy. The difference is about $38,000 a year. They found deductions and structures I'd never heard of — all completely legal and documented."
"As a partner in a three-attorney firm, I assumed our CPA had everything covered. BusyBee found $31,000 in savings for me personally — and similar amounts for each of my partners. That's over $90,000 across the firm."
"Extremely professional, excellent customer service, a family-owned business. They took the time to explain every strategy in plain English — which I appreciated as an attorney who likes to understand what I'm signing."
"I was skeptical. I've heard plenty of 'tax strategy' pitches that turned out to be aggressive schemes. BusyBee was different — every strategy was conservative, documented, and defensible. And the savings were very real."
"The quarterly planning calls alone are worth it. My old accountant called me once a year. BusyBee is proactive — they reach out before deadlines, not after. That mindset shift has been worth tens of thousands."
I've Helped Attorneys Keep
Millions More of What They Earn.
I'm Melissa Broughton, co-founder of BusyBee Advisors. My husband Eric and I started this firm because we were tired of watching hardworking professionals — people who had built something real — hand over a disproportionate share of their income to the IRS every year.
As small business owners ourselves, we know what it feels like to write that check in April. We also know that most of the pain is avoidable — if you have the right strategy in place before the year ends, not after.
Our team of accountants, tax advisors, and QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisors works specifically with high-income professionals — attorneys, physicians, business owners — who are ready to stop reacting to their tax bill and start controlling it.
"The attorneys I work with didn't get where they are by being passive. They fought for their clients. I fight for their money. That's the deal."
Attorneys Think in Objections.
Here Are the Answers.
You Didn't Become a Successful Attorney
to Hand It All to the IRS.
If you're earning $200K, $500K, or over $1 million from your practice, you have more to gain — and more to lose — than almost any other professional in America.
The analysis is free. The call is 30 minutes. And for the right attorney, the savings are very, very real.
Takes less than 3 minutes · No obligation · 100% confidential