A profitable practice can shelter more of its income.
Cash balance plans, practice real estate, and entity tax planning can shelter six figures a year for older, high-income owners. Summer Associates models the federal and Connecticut result for each owner before you adopt a plan, buy a building, or elect PTET.
Or call (203) 327-4311 to talk with our Stamford office.
Enrolled agents
Our practitioners are enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service.
Federal and Connecticut
We model federal and Connecticut tax together, so you see the state effect of a federal move before you make it.
Local to Fairfield County
Based in Stamford and serving clients for over 35 years.
Planning, not just filing
We focus on the decisions you can still change: elections, timing, and year-end moves.
Where practice owners find the largest deductions
Specified service businesses face extra limits, which makes retirement plan design and real estate ownership more important.
Cash balance plan plus 401(k)
Older owners can often deduct $150,000 to $300,000+ a year, plus 401(k) contributions that combined-plan limits may trim.
How it works →Real estateOwn the building and lease it to the practice
Hold real estate in a separate LLC, charge fair-market rent, and add cost segregation.
How it works →QBIManage income around the SSTB threshold
Retirement contributions and timing can bring taxable income below the point where QBI disappears.
How it works →State taxElect pass-through entity tax (PTET)
Pay state income tax at the entity level and deduct it federally, bypassing the SALT cap.
How it works →StructureStructure partner compensation deliberately
Guaranteed payments, distributive shares, and S corp salary each change tax, QBI, and plan contributions.
How it works →ExpensesUse an accountable plan
Reimburse owners for home office, mileage, CME, and phones tax-free through the practice.
How it works →In-depth guides
Plain-English explainers covering the rules, the numbers, and the common mistakes.
Cash balance plans for professional practices: how older owners can deduct $200,000+ a year
How cash balance plans work alongside a 401(k), the 2026 limits, what employees must receive, and how to size contributions by owner age.
Read the guide · 9 min →Connecticut taxes for professional practices: the PET, New York income, and practice real estate
Connecticut's 6.99% PET and 87.5% credit under the 2026 SALT cap, New York income for Fairfield County owners, PCs, and practice real estate, with examples.
Real estateShould your practice own its building? Structure, rent, and the self-rental rules
Holding practice real estate in a separate LLC: fair-market rent, cost segregation, and how the self-rental and grouping rules treat income and losses.
QBIThe QBI deduction for specified service businesses: thresholds and planning
Which professions are SSTBs, the 2026 $403,500 / $201,750 thresholds and phase-in ranges, and how retirement contributions can preserve the 20% deduction.
How working with Summer Associates starts
The first consultation is free, with no obligation. From the first call to a plan, the process has three steps.
Start with a conversation
Call (203) 327-4311 or send us a note. Tell us what you are working on and what you want to solve.
We review the details
We look at your practice and personal returns, owner compensation, and staff payroll to see which strategies fit and what they could be worth.
You get a plan
We model the options on your numbers, federal and Connecticut, and set out the steps and the deadlines that apply.
Summer Associates Tax Services, 48 Union St, #1C, Stamford, CT 06906. Convenient to clients throughout Fairfield County, including Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk, Westport, and Fairfield.
Book a free consultationThe 2026 numbers that matter
The federal limits practice owners use most in retirement and entity tax planning, plus the Connecticut PET and conveyance tax rates.
| Item | 2026 figure | Notes & source |
|---|---|---|
| Defined benefit annual benefit limit | $290,000 | Basis for cash balance plan funding (IRS) |
| Defined contribution limit | $72,000 | 401(k) plus profit sharing per participant |
| Compensation limit for plan formulas | $360,000 | Highly compensated employee threshold $160,000 |
| SSTB QBI threshold (joint / single) | $403,500 / $201,750 | Phase-in range $150,000 / $75,000 |
| SALT cap (individual) | $40,400 | PTET elections can bypass it for owners |
| Social Security wage base | $184,500 | Relevant to S corp salary and guaranteed payments |
| Connecticut PET rate / owner credit | 6.99% / 87.5% | Elective entity-level tax with a refundable credit (Source) |
| Connecticut conveyance tax, commercial property | 1.25% + 0.25% | State plus town share, paid by the seller (Source) |
Common questions
How much can I contribute to a cash balance plan?
It depends on age, compensation, and plan design. The 2026 defined benefit limit of $290,000 drives the annual ceiling. Owners in their 50s and 60s can often deduct roughly $150,000 to $350,000 a year, plus 401(k) deferrals and an employer contribution that combined-plan deduction limits often hold to about 6% of pay.
Do doctors and lawyers get the QBI deduction?
Health, law, accounting, consulting, and similar fields are specified service trades. Owners can take the 20% deduction only if taxable income is below $403,500 joint or $201,750 single for 2026, with a partial deduction across the next $150,000 of income, or $75,000 for single filers.
Is it better to own my practice's building?
Often, if you plan to stay 7–10 years or more. You build equity, rent becomes a deductible expense to the practice and income to your LLC that depreciation shelters, and the building can be sold or kept separately from the practice.
Is the PTET workaround still allowed?
Yes. The final 2025 legislation did not restrict entity-level state tax elections, so partnerships and S corps in states with PTET regimes can still deduct state taxes federally.
Should my Connecticut practice elect the pass-through entity tax for 2026?
Usually, if the owners' federal SALT deduction is already capped. Connecticut's PET is elective. The practice pays 6.99%, and owners get a refundable credit for 87.5% of it. Owners don't add the PET back, so it also lowers their Connecticut taxable income and recovers part of the uncredited 12.5%. For owners in the 6.99% bracket, the net Connecticut cost is about 5.5% of the tax, and the federal deduction has to exceed that cost. It typically does for owners with MAGI above about $606,000, whose 2026 SALT cap is $10,000. To elect, the practice checks the box on a timely filed Form CT-1065/CT-1120SI, due March 15, 2027 for calendar 2026, or September 15, 2027 if extended. The election can't be made on an amended return.
I live in Fairfield County but work some days in New York. Who taxes that income?
Both states tax it, but you get a credit. New York taxes nonresidents, who file Form IT-203, on income from work performed in New York and on a partner's share of a firm's New York income. Connecticut taxes residents on all their income and allows a credit for the New York tax, limited to the Connecticut tax on that same income. Fees from New York residents you treat or advise in a Connecticut office aren't New York-source income.
Find out what your practice could be deducting for 2026.
In a consultation, we look at your practice and personal returns, owner compensation, and staff payroll, estimate what PTET and other entity tax planning could be worth to each owner, and tell you whether a cash balance plan makes sense to model with your actuary and TPA.