Industries
The trades of western Queens, and what each one gets wrong
Every industry has one or two tax questions that decide most of the outcome. Here is what we spend our time on in each of the ones we see most.
✓ Queens small business focus✓ Multi-state where the work travels✓ Industry-specific compliance
Restaurants and food service
Tip reporting and the FICA tip credit, the taxable-versus-exempt food line, third-party delivery platforms that report gross while you receive net, and the sales tax audits this sector attracts more than any other.
Construction and the trades
Job costing, percentage-of-completion, certified payroll for public work, the capital-improvement versus repair distinction that decides whether you charge sales tax, and 1099 versus employee classification.
Retail and bodegas
Point-of-sale reconciliation, inventory and shrinkage, cigarette and beverage taxes, and the markup analysis a New York sales tax auditor will run against your purchases.
Medical, dental and professional practices
Entity structure for licensed professionals, equipment purchase timing, retirement plan selection where the contribution limits are large, and associate compensation.
Salons, barbers and personal services
Booth rental versus employment, which is the classification question this sector gets wrong most often, along with product sales and the sales tax that attaches to them.
Transportation, freight and car services
Owner-operator versus employee, per-diem and mileage substantiation, vehicle depreciation, and the multi-state filings that follow anyone driving across the Hudson.
Real estate and landlords
Depreciation and cost segregation, passive activity limits, Section 1031 exchanges, and the basis records that decide your tax bill years later when you sell.
Freelancers and consultants
Quarterly estimates, the home office deduction taken defensibly, the S corporation break-even, and retirement plans that let a one-person business shelter a great deal.
General information, current for the 2026 filing season and not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Tax law changes, and the answer for your situation may differ. Speak to us before acting on anything you read here.
If your trade is not listed
The work is more similar than the labels suggest
Underneath the industry, most small businesses need the same six things: books that close, payroll that files on time, sales tax charged correctly, an entity that still fits, a return that is right, and somebody to call before a decision. The industry changes which of those is hardest, not which of them you need.
Come in and describe what you do. Twenty minutes is usually enough for us to tell you where the risk sits in your particular trade, and whether anything you are currently doing is likely to draw a letter.
The first conversation is free
Talk to a CPA before you decide anything
Twenty minutes on the phone or across a desk on Roosevelt Avenue. Bring last year's return if you have one — most of what we need in order to quote you is already in it.