Something that I learned on my daddy's knee. When incorporating, leave all physical assets in a sole-prop or partnership & lease it to the corp at a “fair market rate”.
As you said, equipment purchases are timed to the tax year. Which entity buys new equipment depends on which one will get the best tax benefit. Also, the corp can buy from or sell to the sole-prop.
Great care must be taken to prove you haven't pierced the corporate veil & all of your transactions, meaning they have to be done in a way that protects the corporation's interest. You do this by making sure you “pay” fair market value in all transactions.
Thanks for the info on the corporation tactics. Will be dealing with that next year. I am actually in a position where one of my General Partnership Companies (50 %) is occasionally leasing equipment to my Sole Proprietorship Company. In fact, I talked my partner into buying the equipment out of the General Partnerships Gains because we could make money in the long run leasing it out. I can just imagine how complex things can get in the future when incorporation is done. And I do understand how the best way to avoid potential conflicts is to use Fair Market Values in all situations.