--- title: What's the Difference Between Tax Savings and Tax Deferral? description: A permanent tax saving never comes back. A deferral moves the tax to later. Marcus Mire, CPA on why small business owners should go after savings first. image: https://www.mire.group/hubfs/MireGroup-Hero-3-Tax-Savings-vs-Deferral.png --- [Skip to the main content.](https://www.mire.group/blog/whats-the-difference-between-tax-savings-and-tax-deferral#main-content) [![Mire Group CPAs](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/MireGroup%20CPAs%20White%20Logo.png?width=1003&height=497&name=MireGroup%20CPAs%20White%20Logo.png "Mire Group CPAs")](https://www.mire.group) [![Mire Group CPAs](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/1.png?width=1021&height=488&name=1.png "Mire Group CPAs")](https://www.mire.group) - [About Us](https://www.mire.group/about) - [Plans](https://www.mire.group/accounting-and-tax-plans) - [Articles](https://www.mire.group/blog) - [Newsletter](https://www.mire.group/newsletter-signup) Search *Search* [Work With Us](https://www.mire.group/work-with-us) Toggle Menu Search *Search* Toggle Menu [Work With Us](https://www.mire.group/work-with-us) - [About Us](https://www.mire.group/about) - [Plans](https://www.mire.group/accounting-and-tax-plans) - [Articles](https://www.mire.group/blog) - [Newsletter](https://www.mire.group/newsletter-signup) [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/miregroupcpa) [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/miregroup_cpas/) [*LinkedIn*](https://www.linkedin.com/company/miregroupcpas/) [*Youtube*](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_4dTVwJh9xStWdKY1bPn5Q) 3 min read # What's the Difference Between Tax Savings and Tax Deferral? [![Picture of Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/MireIconOnly.png?width=30&name=MireIconOnly.png) Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/blog/author/mire-group-marketing) : Oct 27, 2026, 11:11:43 AM ![](https://www.mire.group/hubfs/MireGroup-Hero-3-Tax-Savings-vs-Deferral.png) A permanent tax saving is a deduction you get to keep, like a legitimate business expense, a home office, or business mileage you can back up. A tax deferral moves the tax to a later year. Putting money into retirement is the classic example: you get the deduction now and pay the tax later. When we plan for clients, we go after permanent savings first and deferrals second. I'm Marcus Mire, CPA and founder of MireGroup CPAs in Lafayette, Louisiana. When I meet with a new client prospect, the conversation always turns to saving on taxes. I totally get that. Taxes are probably one of your biggest expenses. Now that we're in the fourth quarter, here's how I think about it. ## **What counts as a permanent tax saving?** Permanent savings are the things you could be deducting that you aren't. If your bookkeeping is bad, you miss things you simply could have deducted. A business charge on a personal credit card that isn't linked to your LLC or corporation. Expenses that never got recorded at all. You miss deductions just by not being organized. Take it a step further and you get to home office deductions, making sure your auto is done properly, and everything else that comes from documenting and substantiating your expenses. Quick caveat. One of the best tax planning strategies, honestly, is simply being organized. Once you unlock that, you can go to another level. But a lot of times people just don't have the organization to reap tax benefits they already qualify for. With our clients, we send automated forms to check how much they use their home office, how much mileage they're driving, how much they use a rental property, and whether they can qualify for [the short-term rental treatment](https://www.mire.group/blog/is-a-cost-segregation-study-worth-it-on-a-short-term-rental). ## **What is a tax deferral?** A deferral is a timing difference. Retirement contributions are the big one. You put money in now, you get a deduction now, and you pay the taxes later. You're playing the time value of money game, where a deduction today is worth more than one in the future. You don't know what future tax rates will be. But you're getting the deduction now. You're saving the money now and reaping that benefit now, only to someday pay tax on some level of income at a rate you can't be sure of. How you make those contributions matters too. For S corp owners there's often a better route than raising your salary. We cover it in [our complete guide to year-end tax planning](https://www.mire.group/blog/the-complete-guide-to-year-end-tax-planning-for-small-business-owners). ## **Why go after permanent savings first?** A permanent saving stays saved. A deferral comes back around someday, at a rate nobody can predict. So we start with the deductions you're missing and then look at what makes sense to push into the future. Timing can also run the other way. Sometimes the right move is to pay more tax this year because a deduction is worth more in a future year when you're in a higher bracket. That's question 11 in [our year-end playbook](https://www.mire.group/blog/the-year-end-playbook-13-questions-to-answer-before-december-31). ## **Where do savings and deferrals fit in year-end planning?** If you want to do better with your taxes this year, here are the three things to do, in order: - **Get your books straight.** You cannot plan with bad data. You can't strategize, forecast, or make good plans with bad accounting. [Here's why that matters so much](https://www.mire.group/blog/why-cant-your-cpa-do-tax-planning-without-good-bookkeeping). - **Make plans to meet with your tax advisor.** Your CPA, enrolled agent, or tax preparer, if they do planning. Get on their calendar now for a planning session with an agenda. [Here's how ours run](https://www.mire.group/blog/accounting-advisory-meetings). - **Optimize your savings.** Permanent savings first. Deferrals second. ## **Frequently asked questions** ### **What's the best tax planning strategy for a small business?** Honestly, one of the best is simply being organized. A lot of business owners miss deductions they already qualify for because their books aren't current. Get organized first, and the bigger strategies open up from there. ### **Is a retirement contribution a tax savings or a tax deferral?** A traditional pre-tax contribution is a deferral. You get the deduction now and pay tax on the money when you take it out later, at whatever the rates are then. ### **Can I deduct business expenses I paid with a personal card?** Often yes, if it's a legitimate business expense and you can back it up. The problem is that when the card isn't connected to your books, the charge never gets recorded and the deduction gets missed. ### **When should I start year-end tax planning?** Now. Once you're in the fourth quarter, get your books caught up and get on your advisor's calendar. The moves that matter have to happen before December 31. If you don't have a tax planning engagement, that's what we specialize in. We get your bookkeeping up to date and accurate, then use it for real planning. [We'd love to help](https://www.mire.group/work-with-us). - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.mire.group/hubfs/MireGroup-Hero-3-Tax-Savings-vs-Deferral.png)](https://www.mire.group/blog/whats-the-difference-between-tax-savings-and-tax-deferral) 3 min read #### [What's the Difference Between Tax Savings and Tax Deferral?](https://www.mire.group/blog/whats-the-difference-between-tax-savings-and-tax-deferral) ![Picture of Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/MireIconOnly.png?width=30&name=MireIconOnly.png) [Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/blog/author/mire-group-marketing): Oct 27, 2026, 11:11:43 AM A permanent tax saving is a deduction you get to keep, like a legitimate business expense, a home office, or business mileage you can back up. A tax... [Read More](https://www.mire.group/blog/whats-the-difference-between-tax-savings-and-tax-deferral) [![how often should you meet with your CPA](https://www.mire.group/hubfs/MireGroup-Hero-2-How-Often-Meet-CPA.png)](https://www.mire.group/blog/how-often-should-you-meet-with-your-cpa) 3 min read #### [How Often Should You Meet With Your CPA?](https://www.mire.group/blog/how-often-should-you-meet-with-your-cpa) ![Picture of Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/MireIconOnly.png?width=30&name=MireIconOnly.png) [Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/blog/author/mire-group-marketing): Oct 27, 2026, 11:03:29 AM If you own a business, plan on meeting with your CPA at least quarterly for taxes and at least twice a year for strategy, with quick questions in... [Read More](https://www.mire.group/blog/how-often-should-you-meet-with-your-cpa) [![short term rental](https://www.mire.group/hubfs/MireGroup-Hero-STR-Loophole.png)](https://www.mire.group/blog/how-does-the-short-term-rental-tax-loophole-work) 5 min read #### [How Does the Short-Term Rental Tax Loophole Work?](https://www.mire.group/blog/how-does-the-short-term-rental-tax-loophole-work) ![Picture of Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/hs-fs/hubfs/MireIconOnly.png?width=30&name=MireIconOnly.png) [Mire Group Marketing](https://www.mire.group/blog/author/mire-group-marketing): Oct 20, 2026, 10:26:55 AM The short-term rental loophole lets a loss from a rental offset your W-2 or business income when two things are true. Your average guest stay is... 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