Personal services
Tax planning, before the year closes
By April everything is history. Planning is the work we do in October and November, when a decision can still change what you owe.
✓ Autumn projection✓ Written action list✓ Estimates recalculated
Tax preparation reports the past. Tax planning changes the future, and almost every lever that matters has to be pulled before December 31. That is the whole argument for this service, and it is why the fee is usually the least expensive thing about it.
A planning engagement is a projection of where the year will land, a written list of what to do about it, and revised estimated payments so the April number is not a surprise in either direction.
What a planning session covers
For individuals, for business owners, and for the very common case of somebody who is both.
A projection of the year
Where taxable income will land, at what marginal rate, with which phase-outs in reach.
Retirement contributions
Solo 401(k), SEP-IRA, SIMPLE, and the traditional-versus-Roth question answered with your bracket rather than a rule of thumb.
Timing of income and deductions
Accelerate or defer — which one helps depends entirely on which side of a threshold you are on.
Capital gains and loss harvesting
Including the wash-sale trap that catches people who sell and rebuy too quickly.
Entity and compensation decisions
Salary versus distribution for S corporation owners, and whether the entity choice still fits.
Equipment and vehicle purchases
Section 179 and bonus depreciation, and whether buying in December actually helps you or just moves cash.
Charitable giving
Bunching into alternate years, and appreciated securities rather than cash.
Estimated payments
Recalculated, with the safe-harbor position checked so penalties do not accrue.
Life events worth a call before you act
In every one of these, the phone call before is worth a great deal more than the phone call after.
Selling a property or a business
Installment sales, Section 1031, and the recapture nobody budgets for.
Exercising stock options
The alternative minimum tax on ISOs is the classic expensive surprise.
Taking a large retirement distribution
The bracket effect, the Medicare premium effect two years later, and the withholding decision.
Marrying, separating or divorcing
Filing status, dependents, and the treatment of transfers between spouses.
Receiving an inheritance
Basis step-up, inherited IRA distribution rules, and what is and is not taxable to you.
Moving into or out of New York
Residency, domicile, and the part-year allocation.
Planning fees
Credited in part against your tax preparation fee for the same year.
| Individual planning session Projection, written action list, revised estimates |
$450 |
| Business owner planning session Entity, compensation and personal position together |
$850 |
| Quarterly estimate calculation Per quarter, standalone |
$125 |
| Transaction consultation A specific decision, in writing, hourly |
$285 / hour |
| Multi-year projection Retirement, sale or succession modelling |
from $1,200 |
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.
Questions
Tax Planning — the questions we are asked most
When should we do tax planning?
October or November for most people. Late enough that the year is largely known, early enough that there is still time to act on it. Business owners with a strong or weak year should call as soon as they know.
Is planning worth it if my income is steady?
Sometimes not, and we will tell you. It earns its fee when something changed — income moved materially, a property or business was sold, options vested, or you crossed into a new bracket or out of a credit.
Can you help me lower my quarterly estimates?
Yes, if the safe-harbor rules allow it. Many people overpay estimates all year on a projection that stopped being true in March, which is an interest-free loan to the government.
Do you give investment advice?
No. We are not investment advisers and do not sell financial products. We advise on the tax consequences of decisions you and your adviser make, which we think is the more useful half of that conversation anyway.
Related
Often needed alongside this
Personal
Personal Tax Returns
Individual federal, New York State and New York City returns prepared and e-filed by a CPA — including the complicated ones.
Personal
IRS Representation
Audits, notices, back taxes, liens and payment plans — we deal with the IRS and New York State so that you do not have to.
Personal
Estate & Trust Tax
Estate, trust and fiduciary returns — and help for an executor who has been handed a role nobody trains for.
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.