Business owner tax advisory
Plan your taxes while your business is growing, not after the year ends.
For high-income solopreneurs and owners of closely held businesses. You work directly with Angel Zhen, CPA, EA, MST, to review your projected taxes, your structure, and the options available while there’s still time to act.
Start the Fit CheckWho this is for
This is a good fit if you:
- Run a profitable business on your own or with a small team, as a sole proprietor, LLC, S corporation, or partnership
- Expect your income to change meaningfully this year or next
- Are weighing a specific decision, such as an S corporation election, a retirement plan, or a new partner
- Keep books that are reasonably current and can upload them with your recent returns to TaxDome
It’s probably not the right fit if your books need a cleanup first. Bookkeeping isn’t offered as a service.
Decisions I help you work through
Entity and S corporation election
Whether an election makes sense for your profit level, and what it adds in payroll, filings, and California entity tax.
Owner pay
How to set and document a reasonable salary, and how salary interacts with distributions, retirement contributions, and the qualified business income deduction.
Estimated payments
What to pay federal and California, and when, after a jump in income. California’s installments are uneven, and very high earners lose the prior-year safe harbor.
Retirement plans
Which plan types fit your business, and the deadlines for setting one up and contributing.
California elections
Whether the elective pass-through entity tax is worth considering for your business.
Changes coming up
Hiring, adding a partner, buying equipment or a vehicle, or moving into or out of California.
What you receive
- A review of your question, your prior returns, and your year-to-date numbers
- A written explanation of your options and the tradeoffs, federal and California
- A clear list of next steps and the records each one requires
- A written proposal before any work begins
How engagements work
Start the Fit Check.
Tell me about your business and the decision you’re facing.
Upload your documents to TaxDome.
Your last two years of returns, year-to-date profit and loss, and payroll reports if you have them.
Receive a written proposal by email.
I review your documents and email you the scope and fee before any work starts.
The whole process is virtual: the Fit Check, TaxDome, and email.
Articles for business owners
Questions
How are fees set?
We agree on the scope and how the fee works before work begins, in a written proposal. It depends on the question, the number of entities, and whether your books are current. You’ll receive the fee in a proposal after I review your documents.
Is year-round planning included with return preparation?
Not automatically. Advisory work and return preparation are scoped separately, so you know what each covers. You can have both, and the proposal says exactly what’s included.
Do I need my prior returns?
Yes. I ask for your last two years of federal and state returns, personal and business, uploaded to TaxDome. If you elected S corporation status, include the IRS acceptance letter.
Can you work with me if I’m not in California?
Yes. The practice is virtual and serves clients nationwide, with federal, California, and other state returns as your situation requires.
What happens after I submit the Fit Check?
I review every Fit Check myself. If it looks like a fit, you’ll get a secure TaxDome request for your documents. Once they’re in, I review them and email you a written proposal.
Have a decision coming up?
I take a limited number of clients, so everyone starts with the Fit Check.
Start the Fit CheckThe information on this page is general and isn't advice for your situation. Reading it or submitting the Fit Check doesn't establish a CPA-client relationship.