Social media posts for accountants

Self-employed? Your last estimated tax payment for 2026 is due Friday, January 15. Send us your income and expenses through December by January 8 and we’ll tell you what to pay.

Corporations: the fourth estimated tax payment for 2026 is due Tuesday, December 15. If profit came in higher than planned, let’s look at the number this week.

What has to happen by December 31 to count for 2026: donations, retirement contributions through payroll, and business purchases you want to deduct this year. IRA contributions can wait until April 15.

Employers: 2026 W-2s and 1099-NECs are due Monday, February 1, because January 31 falls on a Sunday. Send us your payroll report and contractor W-9s by January 15.

S corporations and partnerships: your 2026 returns are due Monday, March 15. If your books aren’t closed yet, book a review with us before February 19 so there’s time to file, or to extend.

Second estimated tax payment for 2027: Tuesday, June 15. If your income went up this year, tell us before then and we’ll adjust the amount.

Wednesday, September 15: the third 2027 estimated payment is due, and so are S corporation and partnership returns on extension.

Filed an extension in April? Your 2026 return is due Friday, October 15. We’re booking final reviews for the first two weeks of October.

Paying contractors next year? Ask each one for a W-9 before the first payment. Chasing them in January is how 1099s end up late.

Closing the year? Send us your December bank and card statements, loan statements, an inventory count if you hold stock, and a list of unpaid invoices on both sides.

Switching accountants mid-year is simpler than it sounds. We need your last two returns, this year’s payroll reports and read-only access to your bank. We’ll handle the handover from there.

An extension gives you more time to file, not to pay. Tax owed for 2026 is still due April 15, and interest runs from then. If you can’t pay it all, file anyway and ask us about a payment plan.

Who pays estimated tax? Usually anyone who expects to owe $1,000 or more when they file: freelancers, landlords, business owners. Employees with a side income can raise their withholding instead.

You can still put money into an IRA for 2026 until April 15, 2027: up to $7,500, or $8,600 if you’re 50 or older. Ask us whether a traditional or a Roth IRA fits you better.

A business lunch isn’t a free pass. Meals are generally 50% deductible, and only with the receipt and a note of who you met and why.

First year freelancing? Besides income tax, you’ll owe 15.3% self-employment tax on most of your profit. Set aside about a quarter of every payment until we work out your number.

“Should I become an S corp?” It can save self-employment tax once profit is steady, but it means payroll, a reasonable salary and a separate return. Bring last year’s numbers and we’ll run both versions.

Starting a business? Open a separate bank account the same week. It’s the one habit that makes your first return simpler.

Call us before, not after: buying a building, hiring your first employee, selling the business, moving to another state. Twenty minutes before saves a lot of cleanup after.

Invoice the day the work is done. Every week you wait is a week added to when you get paid.

Close your books every month, not every April. Matching 30 transactions takes 20 minutes. Matching 360 takes a weekend.

Hiring your first employee? Get a W-4 and an I-9 before the first payday, and file your state’s new-hire report, usually within 20 days. Give us a week and payroll is ready.

Meet Ana Ortega and Erik Lind. They started the firm in 2014 at a kitchen table. Today there are seven of us, at 18 Maple Avenue.

You’ll never see a client’s name or numbers on this page unless they said yes in writing. Your return stays between you and us.

412 returns filed, and the coffee machine survived. Thank you to every client who sent their papers early. We’re closed Friday, April 16, and back on Monday.

Welcome, Priya. She joins us from a regional firm and will look after our payroll clients. Say hi if you call this week.

We’re hiring a staff accountant. Full time, two days a week from home after the first three months, and no Saturdays outside March and April. Send us a message.