Your business return
is only as good as
the books behind it.

Business returns start at $1,250, and most established operating companies land between $1,650 and $2,250. A single-owner entity in one state with tax-ready books runs $1,250 to $1,650. Two to four owners runs $1,650 to $2,250. Five or more owners, more than one state, or an ownership change runs $2,250 to $3,500. Multiple entities, a business sale, or books that need rebuilding first start at $3,500. When we also keep your books, the return is quoted inside that engagement and normally runs $300 to $400 less. You get a firm number in writing before we begin.

Tax-ready books: reconciled bank and credit card accounts, a profit and loss statement, a balance sheet, payroll that agrees with your 941s and W-2s, and last year's return. One owner, one state, no ownership changes, and a depreciation schedule that's intact. If something on that list is missing we can still do the return we'll just quote the cleanup separately first, so you can see what it costs before you decide.

Because the form isn't what makes the work. A one-shareholder S corp and a one-member C corp are close to the same job. A six-partner partnership with uneven allocations is a different job entirely. Pricing by owner count and book condition tells you something true about your own return. Pricing by form number just tells you which box got checked.

Not for a business return, no. Intuit currently charges around $1,550 for full-service S corporation preparation, and it still expects you to arrive with tax-ready books. We start at $1,250, we read the books before we file, we track your basis year to year, and you can reach us in July. The cheaper option turned out to cost more.

S corps and partnerships are due March 15. C corps are due April 15. Both are earlier than personal returns, which catches people out every year. An extension moves the filing deadline six months. It does not move a payment deadline.

Yes, and it's the right way to do it. Your business return produces the K-1 that goes on your personal return, so they have to be done in order. Splitting them between two firms is how people end up amending one to match the other.

Yes. We'll get them right first and quote that separately. We won't file a return built on records nobody trusts. What we will do is tell you honestly what shape the books are in and what it costs to fix them, before you commit to anything.

Yes, every year, carried forward. A lot of preparers stop tracking it. It doesn't matter until it matters a loss you want to deduct, a distribution, or the day you sell and by then reconstructing years of it is expensive and sometimes impossible.

We handle 1099s, and we work with Gusto for payroll. We refer Gusto at wholesale, so you pay less than going direct. Payroll has to be right for an S corp return to be right, so we'd rather it run through a system we can see.

Then we look at where the income was earned and where each owner files. Florida has no personal income tax, which is why this comes up constantly an owner living elsewhere may owe tax on Florida income in their home state. Multi-state work is quoted as an add-on so you can see what it costs.

Yes, though we take a limited number each season so returns don't get rushed. Earlier in the year is better. By late February we're prioritizing existing clients, and a new business return arriving then is more likely to go on extension.