RTW.ai · Resources
CPA-authored guides for healthcare practice owners. S-corp structure, quarterly tax planning, retirement strategy, cash flow — the specifics your current CPA probably hasn't explained.
By Askia Roberts, CPA · GA License #CPA038784
Professional Services
When you receive 1099 income from consulting, you owe income tax plus self-employment tax on every dollar of profit. Most new consultants are surprised by the total tax rate. Here is what you owe, when you pay it, and the specific steps that reduce the bill.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
If you're a 1099 contractor or sole-proprietor tradesperson, your tax burden is significantly higher than a W-2 employee's — but most of it is reducible with the right structure. Here is what you actually owe, five ways to reduce it, and when to make the move to an entity.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
Most consulting firm owners either pay CPA rates for bookkeeping work, or run without a CPA and miss the planning they actually need. Here is how the roles divide, when you need each, and what good coordination between them produces.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
Contractors typically either have one without the other — or pay CPA rates for bookkeeping work. Here is how the two roles divide for trades businesses, what each function costs and covers, and what the integrated model looks like.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
Most physician practice owners are either paying a CPA to do bookkeeping (expensive) or using a bookkeeper without CPA oversight (risky). Here is how the roles divide, when you need each, and what happens when the wrong person is in the wrong seat.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
A consulting firm billing $600K per year should not struggle to make payroll. But cash flow problems are common in professional services — and they have predictable causes that have nothing to do with how much you bill.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
The salary you pay yourself from your consulting S-corp is one of the most consequential tax decisions you make each year. Too low, and the IRS audits you. Too high, and you eliminate the tax benefit. Here is how to find the right number.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
Most consultants open a SEP-IRA and call it done. That leaves money on the table. A Solo 401(k) allows significantly higher contributions at the same income level — and a cash balance plan can shelter six figures. Here is how each option works.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
Consulting firm owners routinely miss deductions in the categories that require active decisions — retirement, home office, vehicle, and health insurance setup. This checklist covers every deduction available and which ones most consulting firms are leaving on the table.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
Most tax planning opportunities for consulting firms expire on December 31. By April, the year is over and you can only calculate what you owe — not reduce it. Here are the specific decisions that must be made before year-end, and when to make them.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
High revenue doesn't mean strong cash flow in contractor businesses. Retainage, slow-paying GCs, change order disputes, and tax payments create cash gaps that look like business problems but are actually billing and planning problems. Here is how to diagnose and fix them.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
Contractors can shelter $24,500 to $300,000+ in pre-tax retirement contributions depending on income and plan type. Here is which vehicle is right for your situation, contribution math at different income levels, and the deadlines that matter.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
Many contractors believe they can't claim a home office because they work on job sites. That's wrong. If you manage your business from home — scheduling, estimating, invoicing, client communication — you may qualify. Here is how the rules apply to trades businesses.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
Your S-corp salary as a contractor determines payroll taxes, retirement capacity, workers' comp premiums, and quarterly withholding all at once. Here is the framework for setting it correctly and the four variables it controls.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
Every deduction available to contractor and trades business owners — tools, vehicles, materials, insurance, home office, retirement, and the ones most contractors miss. With documentation requirements and year-end deadlines.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
The complete tax guide for contractor and trades business owners — plumbers, electricians, HVAC, roofers, general contractors, and more. S-corp structure, vehicle deductions, retirement accounts, quarterly taxes, QBI deduction, and year-end planning. Everything you need to keep significantly more of what you earn.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
Vehicles are one of the largest deductions available to contractors. Section 179, bonus depreciation, actual expense vs. standard mileage, and the specific rules for heavy SUVs and work trucks. Here is how to maximize the deduction and what documentation you need.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
Most contractor tax planning opportunities expire on December 31. Equipment purchases, retirement contributions, salary adjustments, and entity elections all have hard deadlines. Here is the Q3–Q4 sequence every contractor business should run.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
CPA fees for contractor and trades businesses range from $1,500 for a basic return to $10,000+ for full advisory. Here is what drives the cost, what you should expect at each price point, and how to evaluate whether your current CPA is delivering value.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
CPA fees for consulting firms vary widely — from $1,500 for basic compliance to $12,000+ for full advisory with S-corp and business return. Here is what drives the cost, what you should expect at different engagement levels, and how to evaluate whether you're getting value.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
Most consultants either skip the home office deduction (leaving money on the table) or claim it incorrectly (creating audit risk). The rules are straightforward once you understand the exclusive use requirement and how S-corp owners claim it differently than sole proprietors.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
Distributions from an S-corp are not the same as salary — and taking too much or too little has real tax and legal consequences. Here is the framework for calculating what you can safely pull from your practice each month.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
CPA fees for physician practices range from $2,500 for a basic tax return to $80,000+ per year for full advisory. Most physicians are paying mid-market rates for compliance-only service — and don't realize there's a tier between the two.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
The S-corp election deadline is March 15 — or 75 days after entity formation. If you missed it, IRS relief procedures may let you elect retroactively. Here is what's available, what it costs, and when it's worth pursuing.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
Every consulting firm owner eventually faces the LLC vs. S-corp question. The answer is almost always: form an LLC, then elect S-corp taxation when income supports it. Here is the framework, the timing, and the specific situations where the standard answer doesn't apply.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
Most contractors who ask 'should I be an LLC or S-corp' are asking the wrong question. An LLC and an S-corp are not mutually exclusive — they answer different questions entirely. Here is the correct framing and the right structure for contractors at different income levels.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
Missed the March 15 deadline to elect S-corp status for your contractor business? In most cases, relief is available. Here is the IRS procedure for late elections, the requirements, and what happens when you qualify.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
Employed physicians who also moonlight, run a side practice, or work locum tenens face a tax situation most CPAs don't explain clearly. Here is exactly how the two income streams interact, why the penalty risk is higher than most realize, and how to fix it.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
Billing $1.2M and running short on cash is more common than most physician practice owners want to admit. Here is why it happens, what the actual levers are, and how to run the practice so the bank balance reflects what the business has actually earned.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
The IRS allows late S-corp elections up to 3 years and 75 days after the intended effective date. If your physician practice should have elected S-corp status and didn't, the fix exists — and it can recover years of overpaid taxes.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
Quarterly estimated taxes are the most common source of unexpected tax bills for physician practice owners. Here is the calculation framework, the safe harbor rules, and a reserve percentage by income range — so April never surprises you again.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
A Solo 401(k) is a good start. A cash balance plan stacked on top of it is where physicians over 45 find the largest single available tax deduction — often $150,000 to $275,000 per year. Here is how each option works and who should be using which.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
A comprehensive list of every deduction a physician practice owner should be capturing — from the obvious (retirement, health insurance) to the ones most CPAs miss (Section 199A, vehicle basis, home office safe harbor, continuing education timing).
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
Everything a physician practice owner needs to understand about taxes: entity structure, S-corp salary, quarterly payments, retirement accounts, distributions, and the gaps that cause most practices to overpay. With links to the full analysis on each topic.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
Most physicians either overpay FICA by setting their S-corp salary too high, or risk an IRS audit by setting it too low. Here is the framework — including specialty-specific benchmarks and the actual tax math — for getting this right.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
The complete tax guide for consulting firm and professional services firm owners. S-corp structure, salary optimization, retirement accounts, quarterly estimated taxes, QBI deduction, home office, cash flow — everything you need to pay significantly less than the default tax bill.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
Many consulting firm owners are told they can't take the QBI deduction because 'consulting is an SSTB.' That's often wrong. Whether your consulting firm qualifies depends on the nature of your work — not just the label 'consulting.'
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
The 20% qualified business income deduction is one of the most valuable tax breaks available to pass-through businesses — and most contractors qualify for it in full because construction and trades are not Specified Service Trades or Businesses. Here is how it works and how to maximize it.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
Medicine is a Specified Service Trade or Business, which means the QBI deduction phases out at higher income levels. But the phase-out is not a cliff, and retirement contributions can push many physicians below the threshold. Here is exactly how it works.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
Consultants who miss quarterly estimated tax payments face penalties and a large tax bill in April. The calculation isn't complicated — but most consultants are either overpaying safe harbor or underpaying because they're using the wrong income figure.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Professional Services
The S-corp election saves consulting firm owners real money on self-employment tax — but only above a specific income threshold. Here is the calculation, what it costs to run an S-corp, and how to know if the numbers work for your firm.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
Contractors with self-employment income or S-corp K-1 distributions have no employer withholding on that income. Here is how to calculate quarterly payments, when they're due, and how to avoid underpayment penalties when income is seasonal.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
The S-corp versus LLC decision comes down to one calculation: do the payroll tax savings exceed the compliance costs? Here is the actual math at different income levels, and when each structure makes sense for a physician practice.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Healthcare Practices
If your tax bill came back larger than expected, it is almost never random. There are five specific reasons physician practice owners overpay — and most of them were preventable before you filed.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Trades & Contractors
When does the S-corp election make financial sense for a contractor? Here is the break-even analysis, the costs you need to account for, and the situations where the standard advice doesn't apply to trades businesses.
· Updated July 14, 2026
Ready to stop overpaying?
15-minute intake. Scope review. Proposal in your Client Center.
