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Veterinary Specialists in Short Supply

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According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, veterinary specialists are in short supply and resulting from a lack of residency training programs.

The sheer growth of pet ownership has outstripped the supply.  By all means, veterinary specialists are growing at a faster rate than veterinarians overall, but specialists remain a small portion of the veterinary profession.  Data from the American Pet Products Association illustrate that pet ownership is on the rise everywhere, with 68% of US households owning a pet in 2018, vs just 50% in 1988.

As those pets are “treated” like a member of the family, the willingness to spend more on pet care and expensive medical procedures are increasing and extending the lives of pets.

Below are a few articles which illustrate the shortage:

Veterinary Specialists in Short Supply – JAVMA

DVM Needed – Veterinary News

Veterinarian Shortage Is Bad for Animals and Humans – Fortune

In the baby boomer days, a pet was added to the family after getting married and having kids.  Today, millennials are getting a pet before getting married.  And some are getting pets while in college.

 

New Interim CEO for NAVC

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Eugene (Gene) O’Neill, NAVC’s deputy CEO and CFO has been appointed by the organization’s board as interim CEO.  Thomas Bohn is resigning from NAVC and the end of 2019.

Bohn, who joined NAVC in January 2013, helped diversify the nonprofit, tripling its customer base and expanding its portfolio, according to the release. The release credits Bohn for growing the NAVC from hosting a single event—now named the Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX) in Orlando, Florida—to a diverse portfolio with magazines, an online news station, a Human-Animal Bond certification program, a service group supporting smaller veterinary associations and an online recruiting tool for veterinarians.

VET CPA’s Participate in Best Selling Book

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Writeoffs to the Rescue is a book written by top CPA’s and tax professionals about proactive strategies to legally lower your tax obligations.  The book is available on Amazon and was released right after tax season in April 2019.

Below is more information on three VET CPA members who contributed to writing this book.

Peter Freuler – Florida CPA – Peter is a licensed CPA in Florida and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and Master’s degree from University of Central Florida.  He is also a founding member of the VET CPA Association.  Click to learn more about his CPA practice focused on veterinary practices and animal hospitals.

Luke Gheen – Colorado CPA – Luke is a licensed CPA in Colorado and holds a Bachelor’s degree from University of Colorado.  He also has an MBA from University of Colorado.  He is also a founding member of the VET CPA Association.  Click to learn more about his CPA practice focused on veterinary practices and animal hospitals.

Mike Manoloff – Texas CPA – Mike is a licensed CPA in Texas and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University.  He is also a founding member of the VET CPA Association.  Click to learn more about his CPA practice focused on veterinary practices and animal hospitals.

VET CPA Summit

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The VET CPA Association met recently in Chicago to hold our annual summit.  Each year, our group meets for a couple days to hash out emerging trends, collaborative initiatives, and identify issues that we need to address to better serve veterinarians, animal hospitals and the broader pet care industry.

Clearly, the pet care industry continues to grow faster than nearly all segments of our economy.  This sentiment was echoed in the discussions along with the impact that tax code changes had upon more successful businesses.  The growth is undeniable.

  • pet care ownership over the last 30 years has gone from 56% to 68%
  • millennial and gen Z are embracing pet ownership to a higher degree than baby boomers
  • pet food owners are requesting better ingredients (Blue Buffalo growing double digits, premium food growth)
  • online private label brands are being created (Amazon and Chewy.com)
  • direct-to-consumer trend growth for pet owners
  • expensive medical procedures are more common as pets become part of the family

Given the success that many animal hospitals and veterinary clinics are having, particularly in large metro areas, our VET CPA Association doubled down on the path needed to become the best in class providers for tax reduction, and educational needs well beyond the current CPA requirements so a higher level of tax reduction coaching can be provided.  To accomplish this, a series of technologies were identified to reduce the amount of time that bookkeeping tasks were consuming so time could be reallocated towards tax and profit coaching, which is what most successful businesses want.

 

VET CPA Summit in Chicago

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The VET CPA Association is heading to Chicago for our VET CPA Summit.

On May 23rd, the VET CPA Association will meet as a group in our one day annual session.  Each year, the VET CPA Association meets as a group for a full day of topics ranging from best practices, tax strategies, and related topics for veterinary practices, pet hospitals and animal lovers of all kinds.

On Thursday evening, we will let off some steam with a boat tour along the Chicago River (better known as Chicago’s Architecture River Cruise) and get a chance to learn about the stories behind more than 50 buildings and how Chicago grew from a small settlement into one of the world’s largest city.

For this year’s VET Summit, we are welcoming three new members into our association bringing our membership up to fourteen members nationwide.  Our newest members are:

Jon Bell CPA – New Mexico

Matt Leonard – Charlotte NC

Brian Basinger – Utah

The VET CPA Association is comprised of fourteen independently owned CPA Firms covering veterinary practices, animal hospitals and pet lovers across the country.  The VET CPA Association members collaboratively work together to share best practices in an effort to elevate the quality of care to the industry.

If you are a licensed CPA and would like to be considered for membership, complete this form and we will follow up.

Big Tax Savings in Office Space

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The animal health industry is a broad field encompassing many different types of professionals and care centers. The term animal health means the broader health ecosystem to some and pet care to others.  While the clientele may differ in each setting, the goal is always the same; to help the patient heal and feel better regardless of how many legs they have!  Another commonality of all animal health professionals is the desire to pay less in taxes legally.

If you’d like to pay less in taxes, then read on…

 

What is cost segregation and what does it have to do with me?
Cost Segregation is the reclassification of assets in order to accelerate depreciation. This method can be used on buildings that are acquired, newly constructed, and even (on a look back basis) for buildings that have been owned and operated for many years!

What if you don’t own your building? No problem, Cost Segregation can be performed on the interior improvements that you have undertaken as a tenant as part a buildout.  This strategy allows you to “front load” your depreciation at tax time, freeing up significant cash flow which can be reinvested into your building or practice. You will not get more money back, you will simply expedite the time frame of your depreciation allowing your money to work for YOU rather than pay our government! This is a particularly good time to consider a Cost Segregation Study with the newly implemented 100% bonus depreciation regulation as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. This legislation is different from the past version because it now includes acquisition where previously bonus only applied to newly constructed buildings.

In addition, the bonus rate (as mentioned earlier) is now 100% for certain assets!

 

What is my tax benefit?
The benefits of a Cost Segregation Study vary depending on the details of your property.

For example, a newly constructed pet hospital with a cost basis of $1,540,000 can expect to see around 30% accelerated, and with the new bonus depreciation, the first-year tax savings could be in excess of $180,000!  A rented two story veterinary office with recent tenant improvements totaling over $290,000 was able to accelerate over 91,000 or roughly 60%!

Again, the results are heavily based on the facts and circumstances surrounding your property, but on average veterinary facilities can expect to see between 20-50% accelerated depreciation! If you have bought, built or renovated your office (even if you rent) please let us determine your estimated return!

 

If you’d like to pay less in taxes legally and think cost segregation might fit your situation, then complete this form and we will have a VET CPA contact you immediately.

 

 

VET CPA Association

All members of the VET CPA Association are licensed CPA’s and have been vetted.  In addition, each firm is provided with advanced training in proactive tax planning which is well beyond the state requirements for being a licensed CPA.  This advanced training is designed to find loopholes, credits, deductions and strategies to lower your effective tax rate.  While these methods are perfectly legal, they often require extra work that a local generalist would never consider to offset the incremental time demands.  Cost segregation is one example of proactive tax planning designed to maximize tax credits and loopholes.  The VET CPA Association works with a leader within the cost segregation industry to provide ethical ways to lower your taxes.