Tax Planning Attorney Serving the DMV
Thienel Law structures income, business, and transaction decisions to control the tax cost before it locks in, across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. Free consultation.
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Thienel Law structures income, business, and transaction decisions so the tax cost is known and controlled before it locks in, for clients across Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, by one attorney with an LL.M. in Taxation.
The largest tax number on most returns was not set in April. It was set months earlier, when a business was sold, an entity was chosen, or equity was exercised, and by filing season it is already fixed. Tax planning is the work that happens while those choices are still open. Thienel Law advises individuals and business owners on how to arrange the decision before the tax result hardens, as part of the firm’s broader tax practice. Because Stephen Thienel holds an LL.M. in Taxation and prepares returns in-house, the plan and the filing that reports it come from the same attorney, not two offices that never speak.
What is tax planning, and who needs it?
Tax planning is the practice of arranging your income, business, and transactions in advance so the tax consequences are deliberate rather than discovered. It is legal work: reading how the tax rules apply to your specific facts, then structuring the decision to fit them. That is different from tax preparation, which reports what already happened after the year is closed.
The people who gain the most are the ones facing a choice with a large or lasting tax effect. Business owners selecting a structure or planning an exit, professionals and executives with equity and multi-state income, and families moving wealth to the next generation all benefit from advice that ties the tax question to the decision underneath it. If your income or business touches more than one DMV jurisdiction, the case for planning is stronger still.
What does it cost to skip tax planning?
The price of no plan is rarely a single bill. It is the same avoidable cost, repeated. An entity elected without tax advice carries its penalty into every filing year until someone unwinds it.
A one-time event is worse, because the treatment usually sets the moment the documents are signed. The sale of a company, a large distribution, the exercise of stock options: once the ink is dry, the tax outcome is mostly locked, and the questions left are smaller and more expensive. Planning after the fact means paying for a result you could have shaped, instead of shaping it.
What does tax planning with Thienel Law include?
Tax planning is built around your actual decisions, not a generic checklist. The work commonly covers:
- Entity selection and tax elections, so a business is taxed the way its owners intend from the start.
- Structuring the sale or purchase of a business to manage the tax on the proceeds.
- Timing and structuring equity compensation, distributions, and large one-time income events.
- Coordinating income across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia when you live in one and earn in another.
- Aligning tax planning with the estate and succession plan, so a transfer does not create a tax surprise.
- Building the tax analysis into contracts and deals before they are signed, rather than after.
What is it like to plan with Steve?
Every engagement begins with a free 30-minute consultation. It is a fit conversation for people who are ready to hire a tax attorney: you describe the decision in front of you, and you and Steve decide together whether working with him makes sense. From there you work directly with Stephen Thienel, not an associate you never met.
The practice runs online. Secure document sharing, electronic signatures, and video meetings let you send over the deal, talk it through, and move forward from wherever you work. You get clear terms agreed up front, so you know what the planning work will cost before it begins.
How does where you live or do business change your DMV tax bill?
The DMV reads like one market, but it is three tax systems, and a plan built only around federal tax can miss what the states and the District add on top. The differences are real and they move money.
The District reaches business income directly. Washington, D.C. levies a franchise tax on the taxable income of unincorporated businesses, subject to statutory exemptions, so a sole proprietorship or single-member LLC operating in the District can owe an entity-level tax that the same business would not face across the river. Maryland taxes residents at the local level as a matter of course: each county imposes a county income tax on its residents’ Maryland taxable income, collected on top of the state tax, so where you keep your home changes the bill. Virginia is the third system with its own rules, which means a resident who crosses a state line, or a business that operates in more than one, can change total tax without changing a dollar of income. Because Stephen is licensed in all three jurisdictions and works with the IRS, one attorney can plan for the whole picture instead of a single slice of it.
Where does tax planning fit with your other legal needs?
A tax plan rarely stands alone. It connects to the business you run, the estate you are building, and any tax matter already in motion.
What clients say about working with Steve
I have worked with Steve Thienel for more than 20 years now and the experience has been amazing. Steve and his team are very thorough, they review all sides of a situation, and are very measured in how they approach a solution. They are 100% client focused and a pleasure to work with!
Throughout years, Steve has been my go to guy for business, real estate, and legal work. Steve works fast and is highly reliable. I would recommend Steve to anyone.
Received expert advice including options when applicable. Filings were timely and I was kept informed each step of the way. First class service!!!
I have been receiving services from Mr. Thienel for over 15 years. I have found his legal services to be of exceptionally high value and quality. His services are always timely, professional and thorough!
Reviews are published as given. Thienel Law does not offer compensation for reviews.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between tax planning and tax preparation?
Tax planning happens before a decision, while you can still shape the outcome; tax preparation reports it afterward on a return. Planning structures a sale, an entity, or an equity event so the tax cost is controlled; preparation records what already occurred. Stephen does both, so the plan and the filing that reports it stay consistent.
Do I need a tax attorney for planning if I already have an accountant?
They do different jobs, and many clients keep both. A tax attorney interprets how the law applies to a specific decision and structures it, with the protection of attorney-client privilege, and can build the plan into contracts and deals. When you already have an accountant, Stephen works alongside them, and because he also prepares returns, he can handle the filing side as well.
When is the best time to do tax planning?
Before the decision is final. Tax treatment is usually fixed the moment documents are signed, so the options are widest before a sale closes, an entity is chosen, or equity is exercised. Planning early costs less and preserves choices that disappear once the transaction is done.
Can one attorney handle tax planning across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia?
Yes. Stephen Thienel is licensed in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, so he can plan for income, a business, or a transaction that touches one jurisdiction or all three. That matters because each has its own rules, and a plan that saves federal tax can still create a state cost if the differences are ignored.
Does tax planning cover both my business and my estate?
It can, and often should. A business decision and an estate transfer both carry tax consequences, and they interact. Because Stephen practices business, tax, and estate law in one office, a plan can account for the deal and the succession at the same time instead of treating them as separate problems.
Ready to plan before the tax cost locks in?
Stephen Thienel builds tax planning into the decisions that set your tax bill, for individuals and business owners across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, with the return prepared by the same attorney who designed the plan. If you are ready to hire a tax attorney, schedule a free 30-minute consultation and find out whether the fit is right.
- Tell Steve about your matter
- Pick a time that works