Business advisory & entity support
Built on trust
Full service tax, accounting, and advisory services tailored to individuals and businesses. We combine technical expertise with personalized attention to deliver exceptional results.
Guidance behind your next move.
Most of the decisions that change a tax bill are business decisions: how the entity is structured, how owners are paid, when equipment is bought, whether to hire.
This is the work of being asked before the decision rather than after it: structure, elections, and the numbers underneath whatever you are weighing up.
The numbers behind the decision
- Entity selection and formation, with the tax consequences laid out
- S corporation elections, including late elections where relief is available
- Reasonable compensation analysis for owner-employees
- Cash flow forecasting and break-even work
- Buy, sell, and succession planning
- California registration, franchise tax, and ongoing filing obligations
Who it's for
- People forming a company and unsure which entity to choose
- Owners paying themselves without a clear rationale
- Businesses adding partners, owners, or a second location
- Anyone preparing to sell, buy, or wind down
How it works
We start with the decision
What you are weighing up, and what happens either way.
We model the options
Including the tax outcome, which is usually not the only factor.
We handle the filings
Elections, registrations, and forms, with the deadlines met.
Common questions
When is the deadline to elect S corporation status?
Form 2553 is generally due no more than two months and 15 days after the beginning of the tax year the election takes effect, or any time in the preceding tax year. Miss it and relief is often still available under Revenue Procedure 2013-30 if the reason is reasonable and everything else was handled consistently, so a missed deadline is worth asking about rather than assuming it is lost.
Should my LLC elect to be taxed as an S corporation?
It depends on profit, what you would pay yourself, and the cost of running payroll. The saving comes from the portion of profit not subject to self-employment tax, but it only exists above a certain level of earnings, and it comes with payroll obligations and a reasonable salary requirement. It is worth modelling for your numbers rather than following a rule of thumb.
What does California cost each year just to exist?
Most entities owe California's $800 minimum annual tax regardless of profit, and LLCs can owe an additional fee based on total California income. Those amounts should be in your forecast from the start rather than appearing as a surprise in year one.
What counts as reasonable compensation for an owner?
There is no single formula. It is what the role would cost to hire for, given your duties, hours, and industry. Paying too little is the most frequently examined feature of an S corporation, and the position is much easier to defend when there is written reasoning behind the number.
Often needed alongside
Tax planning & compliance
Year-round planning and accurate filings for individuals, businesses, and multi-entity structures.
Read more about tax planning & complianceAccounting & bookkeeping
Clean books, dependable closes, and useful reporting, organized for better decisions and smoother tax work.
Read more about accounting & bookkeepingTalk to a partner
Tell us what you are weighing up and we will come back within one business day.