In part, it depends on whether you are an LLC, a C Corp, an S Corp, Proprietorship... No one can answer too much more without knowing a lot more about your situation. You need to contact a CPA that specifically knows about such issues. Just like with other professions, not all CPAs are able to give the best advice on those kinds of specialized issues. We dealt with one Seller that was getting very little usable information from his Accountant. The Accountant was great at doing monthly reports and annual Tax Returns, but had never dealt with the actual sales of large companies. So, we referred the Seller to one of the big Investment Companies, who in turn contacted a specialized Accounting firm. That was five years ago. I spoke to the Seller this past spring and he was loving life! He said that he never dreamed he would be living as well as he is, because of the tax savings and the way the Investment Company had arranged the proceeds of the sale. But the key is that YOU CANNOT WAIT UNTIL SETTLEMENT TO GET THIS DONE!!! These kinds of issues need to be established, well in advance. Waiting until you have an offer does not allow you sufficient time to put things in place, before you have to make the structural decisions that need to be made.

Web reference: www.bafgroup.com