Question 1

Can I deduct my home office if my business is an S corporation?

Accepted Answer

Not on your personal return, but the company can usually cover it. If you work in your S corporation and take a salary, you are its employee, and employees can't deduct unreimbursed work expenses; the 2025 tax law made that permanent. Instead, the S corporation reimburses you under an accountable plan: you document the expense, return anything you were overpaid, and the company pays you back. The reimbursement is deductible to the business and tax-free to you. A home office qualifies only if you use the space regularly and exclusively for the business, for the company's convenience rather than just yours. We can help set up the plan and the records behind each reimbursement.

Question 2

Do I need to send 1099s to my subcontractors?

Accepted Answer

Usually, yes. If your business pays a subcontractor that isn't a corporation for services, and the year's total reaches the annual reporting threshold, you file Form 1099-NEC with the IRS and give the subcontractor a copy by January 31. Congress raised that threshold for payments made in 2026 and later, and it adjusts for inflation after 2026, so fewer small payments need reporting. Payments to corporations are generally exempt, though legal fees and medical services are not. Get a Form W-9 before the first payment: if a subcontractor won't give you a taxpayer ID number, you have to withhold tax from what you pay them. We can review your vendor list before year-end so January filing is routine.

Question 3

Can I qualify as a real estate professional?

Accepted Answer

The test is strict: more than half of your working hours, and more than 750 hours a year, in real property businesses, plus material participation in your rentals. If you qualify, rental losses can offset your other income. We help you decide whether you meet it and keep the records that prove it.

Question 4

Can I write off a restaurant buildout faster?

Accepted Answer

Often. Interior improvements to a building that is already in service generally qualify for faster write-offs than the building itself, which can mean deducting much of the cost up front instead of over decades. We plan the purchase so the deduction and the cash line up.

Question 5

Can you help us get bonded or raise our bonding line?

Accepted Answer

We prepare the financial statements sureties and banks ask for and keep your WIP schedule current, which is most of what underwriters look at.

Question 6

Do we owe tax in every state where we put on a show?

Accepted Answer

Often, yes. Many states tax income earned from performances there and require withholding or nonresident returns. We track where income was earned and file what each state requires.

Question 7

Do you work in QuickBooks Desktop or Online?

Accepted Answer

Both. We set up job costing in whichever version you run today, and we’ll tell you honestly if it’s time to move.

Question 8

Does a cost segregation study make sense for my building?

Accepted Answer

Often it does on larger purchases and major renovations, because it moves part of the cost into shorter depreciation lives. Whether it pays depends on the cost, your tax bracket and how long you plan to hold, so we run the numbers before you pay for a study.

Question 9

How much should I pay myself from my S corporation?

Accepted Answer

Enough to count as reasonable compensation for the work you do. The IRS expects S corporation owners who work in the business to take a real salary before taking distributions. We set a number you can defend, based on your role and what you’d pay someone else to do it.

Question 10

How should we price a partner buy-in?

Accepted Answer

There’s no single formula. Most buy-ins combine a share of the capital accounts with a value for goodwill or future earnings, and how it’s paid changes the tax for both sides. We help you set terms the incoming partner can afford and the senior partners can live with.

Question 11

Is New York sales tax due on repair work?

Accepted Answer

Generally yes. Repairs and maintenance to real property are taxable, while capital improvements are not when you hold a signed Certificate of Capital Improvement (Form ST-124). Where that line falls is where contractors get audited.

Question 12

Is the FICA tip credit worth claiming?

Accepted Answer

Usually, if your staff report tips. The credit gives back the employer’s share of Social Security and Medicare tax paid on reported tips beyond what is needed to bring pay up to the federal minimum wage. We make sure payroll is set up to capture it.

Question 13

Should our practice be an S corporation?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes. An S corporation can reduce self-employment tax on part of the owners’ income, but it requires profits to be split by ownership and adds payroll requirements. The answer depends on how many owners you have and how you want to share income, so we model both.

Question 14

What happens when we book a foreign artist?

Accepted Answer

Payments to foreign performers for U.S. shows are generally subject to 30% federal withholding unless a tax treaty or an IRS withholding agreement reduces it. We sort that out before the show, not after.

Question 15

When should I call you about a 1031 exchange?

Accepted Answer

Before you sign a sale contract. The exchange has to be set up with a qualified intermediary before the closing, and the 45-day identification and 180-day purchase deadlines start the day you sell.

Question 16

Which tax method should a contractor my size use?

Accepted Answer

Smaller contractors can often use the completed-contract method on jobs expected to finish within two years, which can defer tax on work in progress. Whether it fits depends on your gross receipts and job mix, so we model it first.

Questions owners ask us.

Real Estate

Construction, HVAC & Elevator

Restaurants

Entertainment & Live Events

Professional Services

Service Businesses

Running a small business

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