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Answers
The questions clients actually ask, answered in full.
Every one of these came out of a real first call. Each is written out the way I would explain it across a desk: what the rule is, what it means for your numbers, and what to do about it before the deadline. No teasers, no gated PDF, no form to fill in first.
Eight answers
Start with the one closest to your situation.
The answers below cover the questions that come up most: entity elections, IRS notices, rental losses, credits, amendments, and moving between states. If yours is not here, it is a good first call.
If I switched my LLC to an S-corp in January, do I need to take a salary now or can I wait?
Start now. An S-election in effect means the IRS expects payroll-based salary across the whole year, not a December catch-up check.
Read the full answerI just got a CP2000 notice from the IRS. Is this serious or routine?
Usually routine. A CP2000 is an automated mismatch notice, not an audit. Often the IRS is simply missing your cost basis and you owe nothing.
Read the full answerI bought a rental in October. Can I use the short-term rental strategy to offset my W-2 income?
Possibly, and the timing is tight. If the average guest stay is seven days or less and you materially participate, the loss can reach your W-2 income.
Read the full answerMy company hit $2M ARR. Should I be doing R&D tax credits and how much could it save?
Almost certainly yes. Engineering wages, contractor costs, and cloud spend typically qualify, and a pre-profit company can take the credit as cash back.
Read the full answerMy current CPA missed the QBI deduction last year. Can I amend, and is it worth it?
Yes. You can generally amend within three years, and a missed QBI deduction is worth up to 20 percent of qualified business income.
Read the full answerWe are getting married in November. Should we file jointly or separately for 2026?
A November wedding makes you married for all of 2026. Joint wins for most couples, but medical bills or student loans can flip it.
Read the full answerI sold a chunk of my Bitcoin in February. What do I need to do before April?
Two things before April. Reconstruct every transaction cost basis and holding period, and check whether the gain triggers an estimated payment.
Read the full answerMy LLC is based in Texas and I have an offer to work remotely from Tennessee for six months. State tax implication?
Unusually clean on the personal side, since both states have no income tax. The real question is whether your LLC creates a nexus obligation in Tennessee.
Read the full answerHow to read these
General guidance, written honestly about its own limits.
Written by the person you would hire
Not a content agency and not a model. Each answer is the explanation I give on a first call, typed out, with the reasoning left in so you can check it against your own facts.
The rule, and then the exception
Where an answer turns on a threshold, a date, or a facts-and-circumstances test, it says so. A clean answer that hides the condition it depends on is worse than no answer.
Not a substitute for your return
These are general and they are dated. Your numbers, your entity, and your prior years change the outcome, which is the whole reason the first call is free.
Your situation, not the general case
These are the shape of the problem. Your numbers are the rest of it.
If one of these is close to something you are dealing with, the first call is free and we work from your actual situation rather than the general rule.