Pre-close · Home Services

State Tax Planning for Home Services Independent Sponsors

Independent sponsor counsel for home services, focused on State Tax Planning and the deal mechanics that protect sponsor economics and LP alignment.

EV range $8M to $80M EV EBITDA $2M to $15M Audience Buy-side / Sponsor
The deal context

An independent sponsor closing home services transactions in the $8M to $80M EV range has a defined set of moves at the State Tax Planning stage. Most of them are not in a generic M&A textbook.

The typical home services platform sits at $8M to $80M EV with EBITDA in the $2M to $15M range. The thesis runs on regional roll-ups of HVAC, plumbing, and electrical operators. The cleanest home services deals close in 60 days from LOI. The mess is almost always in the licenses, not the financials.

The moves

How State Tax Planning actually gets structured.

  1. Map nexus exposure in every state the target operates in, including remote workers.

  2. Plan sales tax succession liability, particularly in California, New York, and Texas.

  3. Address pass-through entity tax (PTET) elections where federal SALT cap matters.

  4. Document state-by-state qualification for the new entity post-close.

  5. In home services, layer in working capital peg that survives a slow February as part of the State Tax Planning workstream.

The common mistake

Assuming state tax is a closing-mechanics issue. It is a valuation issue when the historic liability is large.

Jason's take
"State tax is where the seller's lawyer forgot to look. The buyer always pays for it."
Jason Powell · State Tax Planning
Capital after close

The deal is one thing. The capital that opens up after close is another.

After close, the call list for refinancing, recapitalization, and growth equity gets short and known. Jason carries that list.

MONTH 18
Senior refi
MONTH 24
Dividend recap
MONTH 36
Growth equity
YEAR 4–5
Strategic exit
WORK WITH JASON

Bring the home services deal. Get State Tax Planning done right.

Direct counsel from a securities and M&A attorney with billions in structured transactions, the independent-sponsor-native playbook, and the capital markets network that opens up post-close.