Frequently Asked Questions

Preparing an accurate tax return begins with complete and reliable information. We review the documents you provide, identify information that may be missing, answer questions before the return is filed, and explain issues that could affect your tax reporting.

While tax software can prepare a return using the information entered, it cannot ask follow-up questions, explain how tax laws apply to your specific circumstances, or discuss how today's financial decisions may affect future tax years. Working with an experienced tax professional provides the opportunity to receive guidance tailored to your individual situation.

Since 1950, TaxMaster, Inc. has prepared tax returns for generations of New York families. Many of our clients return year after year because they value working with local tax professionals who understand their financial history, answer questions throughout the year, and remain available as their tax needs evolve.

Changes such as starting a new job, retiring, welcoming a child, receiving an inheritance, selling investments, purchasing a home, or becoming self-employed can all affect your tax obligations. If your financial situation changes during the year, discussing those changes early often provides more planning opportunities than waiting until tax season arrives.

Good tax planning happens throughout the year — not just when it's time to file a return. We work with clients to review estimated tax payments, retirement distributions, investment transactions, charitable contributions, and other financial decisions that may affect future tax liability.

Most individual appointments go faster with your prior-year return, W-2s and 1099s, mortgage and investment statements, records of any major life events (marriage, home purchase, a new child), and documentation for deductions such as charitable contributions or medical expenses. If you're unsure what applies to your situation, call either office and we can tell you what to gather.

The cost of professional tax preparation depends on how complex your return is — a straightforward W-2 return costs less to prepare than a return with rental property, investment sales, or self-employment income. We scope the work to your actual situation rather than charging a flat package price, so the most reliable way to get a number is to call and describe your situation.

Most New York residents who file a federal individual income tax return also need to file a corresponding New York State return. We prepare both together so that your federal and state filings are consistent with each other.

Missing the filing deadline can result in penalties and interest on any balance due, even if you eventually file and pay in full. If you know you won't be ready in time, an extension can push back the filing deadline, though any tax owed is still due by the original deadline. If you've already missed a deadline, it's worth calling us to discuss your options rather than waiting.

For a genuinely simple return, software can work fine. But even returns that look simple can involve a decision — a first home purchase, a new dependent, a side job — where a quick conversation with a preparer catches something software won't ask about. If you're ever unsure whether your return is as simple as it looks, that uncertainty is usually a sign it's worth a consultation.

The structure of a business affects which tax return is filed, how income reaches the owners, and what additional reporting obligations may apply. We explain the federal and New York tax consequences associated with sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, S corporations, and C corporations.

A review may be especially useful when a business is adding or removing an owner, experiencing a significant increase in profits, reconsidering owner compensation, evaluating an S corporation election, expanding into new operations, or preparing for succession or a future sale.

A business return can only be as reliable as the records used to prepare it. If bookkeeping is incomplete, accounts are unreconciled, or expenses have been classified inconsistently, those issues should be identified before the filing deadline.

Business owners should not have to explain their company from the beginning every tax season. Since 1950, TaxMaster, Inc. has provided year-round tax and accounting services to New York individuals and businesses, so our team already understands how each company operates.

Employers may be responsible for payroll withholding, employer taxes, federal tax deposits, quarterly employment tax returns, and year-end wage reporting. Businesses that sell taxable goods or services in New York may also need to register with the state, collect the correct sales tax, and file returns on an assigned schedule.

An LLC is a legal entity structure, not a federal tax classification — depending on its ownership and any elections made, it may be taxed as a disregarded entity, partnership, S corporation, or C corporation. An S corporation election, by contrast, is a tax status that can apply to an LLC or a corporation and changes how owner compensation and profit are reported. Which makes sense depends on your specific numbers, so it's worth reviewing with us before making the election.

Deadlines vary by entity type — partnership and S corporation returns are generally due earlier in the year than C corporation and individual returns, and each has its own extension rules. Because missing a deadline can mean penalties for the business and complications for the owners' personal returns, we track these dates as part of preparing your return.

If your business doesn't have taxes withheld the way an employee's paycheck does, you may need to make quarterly estimated payments to the IRS and New York State to avoid an underpayment penalty. We review this as part of year-round planning, particularly after a strong sales year or a change in how you're paid.

Ordinary and necessary business expenses — things like rent, wages, supplies, business insurance, and equipment — are generally deductible, though some categories have specific rules or limits. Because the details depend on your entity type and how an expense is classified in your books, we review this as part of preparing your return rather than answering it in the abstract.

That decision usually comes down to liability protection, how you want to be taxed, and where the business is headed — a significant increase in profit or bringing on a partner are common triggers to revisit it. We can walk through the tax side of that decision with you, and coordinate with your attorney on the legal formation itself.

A reliable nonprofit tax return begins with records that clearly explain where funds came from and how they were used — distinguishing contributions from earned revenue, tracking donor-restricted funds, and reconciling grants and related-party activity.

Year-round support is often useful when an organization receives a new grant, adds a fundraising program, expands its services, hires employees, changes leadership, begins a revenue-producing activity, or receives a federal or state tax notice.

Since 1950, TaxMaster, Inc. has provided tax and accounting services to individuals, businesses, and organizations throughout New York. Our local team helps nonprofit clients organize their records and avoid reconstructing an entire year of activity at the deadline.

Tax-exempt organizations may still owe tax on income from a regularly conducted trade or business that is not substantially related to their exempt purpose — advertising, certain commercial sales, or other revenue-producing activities outside the organization's primary mission.

Federal tax-exempt status does not automatically resolve every state-level requirement. Depending on the organization's activities and registrations, New York reporting or tax filings may also apply, including sales-tax exemption matters and payroll obligations.

Late or incomplete filings may result in penalties, and an organization that fails to satisfy its required annual federal filing obligation for three consecutive years generally loses its federal tax-exempt status automatically. If your organization has fallen behind on filings, it's worth addressing sooner rather than later, since the consequences compound the longer a filing goes missing.

Yes — most tax-exempt organizations have an annual federal filing requirement even if they're very small, though the specific form depends on the organization's size and financial activity. There is no general exemption from filing just because an organization is small; there's simply a shorter, simpler form available for the smallest ones.

Form 990 is the standard annual return filed by most public charities, Form 990-EZ is a shorter version available to qualifying organizations below a certain size, and Form 990-N is a brief e-Postcard filing for the smallest tax-exempt organizations. Which one applies depends on your organization's classification, financial activity, and filing thresholds.

Yes — contributions and fundraising revenue are part of what a Form 990-series return reports, and larger organizations may also need to disclose information about major donors and grants on supporting schedules. Keeping donor-restricted and unrestricted funds clearly separated in your books makes this part of the filing much easier to prepare.

It depends heavily on how organized your financial records, grant documentation, and governance information are going into the process — organizations with current books and readily available records move much faster than those reconstructing a year of activity from scratch. Starting the conversation well before your deadline gives us more room to work through it carefully.

Whether you're launching a new business or managing an established company, we help keep your books current, accurate, and organized so you always know where your business stands.

We prepare financial statements, including profit and loss statements and balance sheets, that provide insight into your company's financial performance. These reports can help you monitor expenses, evaluate profitability, and support financing or lending applications when needed.

Whether you're implementing an accounting system for the first time, improving an existing process, or using software such as QuickBooks®, TaxMaster, Inc. can help you establish an accounting system that fits your business.

Our role is to provide financial information that's accurate, understandable, and useful. We help business owners identify financial trends, stay current with recordkeeping, prepare for tax season, and better understand the numbers that drive their business.

Our bookkeeping services can be customized to your business's needs and may include monthly, quarterly, or annual bookkeeping, bank and credit card reconciliations, general ledger maintenance, income and expense tracking, and financial record organization.

Bookkeeping is the day-to-day recording of transactions — categorizing income and expenses, reconciling accounts, and keeping the ledger current. Accounting takes that data and turns it into financial statements and insight — profit and loss reports, balance sheets, and the analysis that supports decisions. Most small businesses need both, and we can provide either or both depending on where you are.

Software like QuickBooks handles the mechanics of recording transactions, but it doesn't review your chart of accounts for accuracy, catch misclassified expenses, or turn the data into a financial statement you can act on. Many of our accounting clients use QuickBooks themselves — we help make sure it's set up correctly and that what comes out of it is reliable.

Monthly is standard for a business that wants a current, reliable picture of where it stands, though some smaller businesses work on a quarterly cycle. The right frequency depends on how actively you're using the numbers to make decisions and whether you have financing or lending relationships that require regular reporting.

A profit and loss statement (also called an income statement) shows your revenue, expenses, and resulting profit or loss over a specific period. It's one of the clearest ways to see whether your business is actually profitable, and it's often required when applying for financing or a loan.

Common triggers are simply not having the time to keep up with it, feeling uncertain whether the numbers are right, needing financial statements for a lender, or realizing tax season keeps arriving with disorganized records. There's no fixed size a business needs to reach — it's more about whether the bookkeeping is keeping pace with what the business needs to know.

Well-maintained bookkeeping makes tax preparation more efficient and helps reduce last-minute surprises. Current financial records make it easier to prepare accurate tax returns, locate supporting documentation, and provide your tax professional with complete financial information.

If your bookkeeping has fallen behind, you're not alone. We can organize overdue bookkeeping, reconcile accounts, identify and correct bookkeeping errors, and bring your records up to date.

Reconciling your bank and credit card accounts is one of the most important parts of maintaining reliable financial records. Regular reconciliations help identify missing transactions, duplicate entries, recording errors, and discrepancies before they become larger problems.

Our bookkeeping services may include monthly or quarterly bookkeeping, transaction categorization, bank and credit card reconciliations, general ledger maintenance, accounts payable and accounts receivable tracking, and financial record maintenance.

When bookkeeping falls behind, simple financial questions become difficult to answer — how much cash is available, whether all expenses have been recorded, and which customers still owe payment.

Monthly reconciliation is the standard for catching errors and discrepancies before they compound, though a very active business may benefit from reconciling more frequently. The longer accounts go unreconciled, the harder it becomes to track down what caused a discrepancy.

Bookkeeping is recording and organizing the day-to-day transactions — categorizing expenses, reconciling accounts, keeping the ledger current. Accounting builds on that record to produce financial statements and analysis. Bookkeeping is the foundation; accounting is what you build on top of it.

Yes — catch-up and cleanup bookkeeping is one of the most common reasons businesses come to us. We organize the backlog of transactions, reconcile accounts, correct errors along the way, and bring your records current so you're prepared for tax season.

Even a small business benefits from current books — it's what lets you answer basic questions like how much cash is available or which invoices are still outstanding. Many small business owners start by doing it themselves and come to us once it starts taking evenings away from running the business, or once the records fall behind.

Cost depends on transaction volume and how much cleanup the books need to get current — a business with straightforward monthly activity costs less to maintain than one with a high transaction volume across multiple accounts. We scope bookkeeping engagements to the actual business rather than a flat package, so the most accurate answer comes from a quick conversation about your situation.

Estate and trust tax planning focuses on understanding the tax consequences of financial decisions before they create unexpected obligations. We work with clients to evaluate the tax implications of estate and trust matters and identify planning opportunities available under current federal and New York tax laws.

Estate tax and estate income tax are often confused, but they serve very different purposes. Many estates never owe federal estate tax, but they may still have income tax filing responsibilities during the administration process.

We help fiduciaries organize financial records, identify the tax documents needed to prepare required returns, understand filing responsibilities, and address the accounting aspects of estate and trust administration.

TaxMaster, Inc. prepares fiduciary income tax returns (Form 1041) for estates and trusts, helping executors and trustees accurately report income, deductions, and distributions. When required, we also prepare related beneficiary tax reporting, including Schedule K-1 information.

Depending on the circumstances, we can also prepare the decedent's final individual income tax return in addition to the required estate or trust tax filings, helping ensure all applicable tax responsibilities are addressed.

Not every estate owes federal estate tax, but many still have income tax filing responsibilities during administration if the estate earns income — interest, dividends, or rental income, for example — before assets are distributed. Whether a return is required depends on the estate's specific income and value, which is something we help determine early in the process.

A fiduciary income tax return, filed on Form 1041, reports the income, deductions, and distributions of an estate or trust during administration — separate from the decedent's final individual income tax return. It's the mechanism by which income earned by the estate or trust itself gets reported and taxed.

Deadlines depend on the type of return and the estate's tax year, and they can differ from the deadlines individuals are used to for their own returns. Because these deadlines are easy to miss during an already difficult time, it's worth having a tax professional track them for you rather than trying to calculate them yourself.

Generally, beneficiaries do not owe federal income tax simply for inheriting money or property, but income that the estate or trust distributes to them — reported on a Schedule K-1 — may be taxable to the beneficiary. This is one of the areas where estate tax and estate income tax get confused, and it's worth reviewing with a professional rather than assuming either way.

An executor administers a deceased person's estate through the probate process, following the terms of the will. A trustee manages a trust's assets according to the trust document, which can begin during someone's lifetime and continue well after. The tax filings and responsibilities differ between the two roles, though both often need the same kind of financial organization and guidance.

Since 1950, TaxMaster, Inc. has helped individuals and businesses navigate changing tax laws and resolve tax matters with federal and New York State taxing authorities. Because we prepare tax returns year-round, we understand how many tax issues develop and how they can often be addressed before they become more complicated.

New York State tax matters can involve many of the same challenges as IRS issues while also requiring compliance with state-specific tax laws and procedures. We help prepare supporting documentation, communicate with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and guide you through the process.

Our process begins by reviewing your notice, related tax returns, and available financial records. We explain the issue in plain language, identify what information may be needed, obtain authorization when representation is appropriate, and prepare a response based on the facts of your situation.

Not every IRS notice results in an audit, and not every audit has the same scope. An audit is the IRS's examination of your tax return, books, records, and supporting documentation to verify that income, deductions, credits, and other reported information are accurate.

While receiving a notice can be stressful, it doesn't necessarily mean you've done something wrong. Don't ignore a tax notice simply because you're unsure what it means — early action often provides more options and can prevent a relatively simple issue from becoming a more complicated one.

Yes. Both Certified Public Accountants and IRS Enrolled Agents are credentialed to represent taxpayers before the IRS, once you've provided the appropriate authorization. Our team includes both a CPA and an Enrolled Agent, so we can represent you directly rather than simply helping you prepare your own response.

Most notices include deadlines that affect your available options, and ignoring one doesn't make the underlying issue go away — it typically narrows your choices and can add penalties or interest the longer it goes unaddressed. Even if you're not sure how serious the notice is, it's worth having someone review it early rather than waiting.

The deadline is printed on the notice itself and varies by the type of issue — some notices give 30 days, others less. Because missing that window can reduce your options, the notice should be reviewed as soon as you receive it rather than set aside.

As part of representation, we review your notice and financial situation and help determine the most appropriate response, which can include evaluating options like an installment agreement with the IRS or New York State. Every situation is different, so this is worked through as part of an actual engagement rather than answered in general terms.

A Certified Public Accountant is licensed at the state level and covers a broad range of accounting and tax work. An IRS Enrolled Agent is credentialed directly by the U.S. Department of the Treasury specifically to represent taxpayers before the IRS, regardless of which state they're in. Our team includes both, which is why we can handle both broad accounting needs and focused IRS representation.