Free guides on Florida taxes, S-Corp elections, bookkeeping, and small business accounting from a licensed CPA in Mount Dora, Florida.
I publish in-depth guides for Florida small business owners on taxes, S-Corp strategy, bookkeeping, and home office deductions. Every article is written by me, a licensed Florida CPA (#AC62625), and updated regularly.
I also publish a tax strategy library: reference pages on how a specific tax provision actually works, who it applies to, what it requires, what you have to document, and where it goes wrong. Each one lists the primary sources behind it. Index: timcpa.com/resources/strategies
Form 1099-K Threshold for 2026 Guide, What the Form 1099-K reporting threshold is for 2026 and why it kept changing. A payment app or online marketplace (PayPal, Venmo for business, Etsy, eBay, Amazon, Stripe) has to file a 1099-K only when your payments through it exceed both $20,000 in gross amount and more than 200 transactions in the year, the pre-2021 threshold the One Big Beautiful Bill retroactively restored after the American Rescue Plan $600 rule and the IRS Notice 2024-85 phase-in ($5,000 for 2024, $2,500 for 2025). Payment card (credit and debit) transactions have no minimum and are reported from the first dollar. A 1099-K is an information return, not a tax bill: it reports gross payments before fees and refunds, you owe tax on your net profit whether or not a form arrives, and personal transfers (gifts, splitting a meal, a roommate paying rent) do not belong on it. Florida has no separate 1099-K threshold because it has no state income tax, but federal income tax and self-employment tax still apply. Read: timcpa.com/resources/form-1099-k-threshold
Trust Fund Recovery Penalty Guide, How the IRS collects unpaid payroll taxes from a person instead of just the business. When a company withholds federal income tax and the employee's share of Social Security and Medicare and then fails to remit it on Form 941, IRC section 6672 lets the IRS assess 100% of that trust-fund amount personally against any responsible person, piercing the corporation or LLC. Trust-fund taxes are the withheld income tax plus the employee's 7.65% FICA only; the employer's matching 7.65% and federal unemployment tax (FUTA) are not reachable. A responsible person is anyone with significant control over the money and the authority to decide which bills get paid, and willful means simply knowing the taxes were due and paying rent, suppliers, or payroll first, no fraud or bad motive required. The IRS proposes the penalty on Letter 1153 with Form 2751 and gives 60 days (75 if addressed outside the US) to protest to IRS Appeals before it assesses. Florida has no state income-tax withholding, so the state side is lighter, but the federal trust-fund exposure is identical, and handing payroll to an ordinary outside service does not by itself remove your personal liability. Read: timcpa.com/resources/trust-fund-recovery-penalty
Florida Depreciation Rules Guide, How Florida handles depreciation, and why for most owners the answer is "it doesn't." Florida has no personal income tax (Article VII of the Florida Constitution), so for a sole proprietor, single-member LLC, partnership, or S-Corp owner, Section 179 and bonus depreciation are a purely federal calculation with no Florida adjustment. Florida's own depreciation rules live inside the corporate income/franchise tax (Form F-1120, 5.5% for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, after a $50,000 exemption), which applies to C corporations. There Florida decouples from federal bonus depreciation: under s. 220.13(1)(e), F.S., the bonus deducted federally (for assets placed in service before January 1, 2027) is added back, then subtracted one-seventh a year over seven years, a timing difference, not a lost deduction. As of 2026 (ch. 2026-137, Laws of Florida) Florida also kept Section 168(k), Section 179, Section 174(a), Section 163(j), and Section 274 at their January 1, 2025 pre-OBBBA versions, so a C corporation recomputes federal taxable income and attaches a pro forma federal return rather than assuming the federal 100% bonus or higher Section 179 limit carries over. Read: timcpa.com/resources/florida-depreciation-rules
Payroll Taxes for Your First Employee Guide, What hiring your first employee triggers and how not to get burned by it. You become a tax collector: you withhold federal income tax plus the employee's 6.2% Social Security (on the first $184,500 of wages for 2026) and 1.45% Medicare (no cap), and you pay a matching 6.2% and 1.45% yourself plus federal unemployment tax (FUTA, 6.0% on the first $7,000, a net 0.6% after the state credit) and Florida reemployment tax (2.7% new-employer rate on the first $7,000). On a $50,000 hire the employer's own payroll tax runs about $4,056, roughly 8% on top of the wage. You report on Form 941 quarterly (April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31) and Form 940 annually, and deposit the money electronically, usually monthly by the 15th, with a next-day rule once you hit $100,000. The critical distinction: the tax you withhold is a trust-fund tax that was never your money, and spending it instead of remitting it triggers the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty, 100% of the unpaid trust-fund tax assessed personally against a responsible person under IRC 6672, piercing the corporation or LLC. Florida has no state income tax to withhold, so the state side is lighter than most, but reemployment tax on Form RT-6 and new-hire reporting still apply. Read: timcpa.com/resources/payroll-taxes-first-employee
One Big Beautiful Bill Act Small Business Guide, What the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 2025) changed for small business owners, and when each change takes effect. Most provisions are retroactive to January 1, 2025, so they land on the return filed in 2026: the standard deduction rose to $15,750 single / $31,500 married filing jointly / $23,625 head of household for tax year 2025, above the $15,000 / $30,000 / $22,500 previously announced. The Section 199A qualified business income deduction is now permanent at 20%, with wider phase-in ranges and a minimum deduction for active business income, which removes the expiration risk that had hung over S-Corp and LLC planning. Bonus depreciation returned to 100% and is permanent for qualifying property placed in service after January 19, 2025. Section 179 expensing rose to a $2.5 million limit with a $4 million phaseout for property placed in service after December 31, 2024. The business interest limitation reverts to an EBITDA basis from 2025. Two new deductions are temporary, covering tax years 2025 through 2028: up to $25,000 of qualified tips and up to $12,500 of qualified overtime ($25,000 joint), both phasing out above $150,000 of modified AGI ($300,000 joint), and neither exempts the income from payroll tax. The Form 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC filing threshold rose from $600 to $2,000, but only for payments made after December 31, 2025, so 2025 filings still use $600; the Form 1099-K threshold is permanently back to $20,000 and 200 transactions. A higher reporting threshold does not make income tax-free. Read: timcpa.com/resources/one-big-beautiful-bill-act-small-business
Business Vehicle Tax Deduction Guide, The two ways to deduct a business vehicle and which one saves more. The standard mileage rate is one flat amount per business mile (72.5 cents for January–June 2026, then 76 cents from July 1, 2026 after an unusual mid-year fuel adjustment in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29; 70 cents for all of 2025) and folds in gas, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. The actual expense method deducts the business-use percentage of every real cost. Standard mileage tends to win for efficient, high-mileage vehicles; actual expenses win for expensive vehicles or low-mileage years. The first-year rule is decisive: use standard mileage the first year a car is in service to keep the option to switch, because claiming Section 179 or accelerated depreciation year one locks you out of standard mileage for that vehicle for life; a leased car chosen for standard mileage must keep it the whole lease. Commuting is never deductible, but a qualifying home office converts former commuting into deductible business miles. Passenger autos at or under 6,000 lbs face luxury-auto depreciation caps ($20,200 first-year in 2025 with bonus); heavy vehicles over 6,000 lbs escape them. S-Corp owners should reimburse via an accountable plan, not deduct personally. A mileage log is the document the IRS asks for first. Read: timcpa.com/resources/business-vehicle-tax-deduction
Florida Sales Tax for Service Businesses Guide, Whether a service business owes Florida sales tax, and where the traps are. Florida taxes tangible goods at 6% state plus a county discretionary surtax (Lake County adds 1%, for 7% total in 2026), and taxes only a short enumerated list of services, nonresidential (commercial) cleaning, commercial pest control, and detective/burglar/security services; most professional and personal services are not taxed. Service owners get caught three ways: an enumerated taxable service, selling physical products alongside the service (parts, prints, retail goods, or fabricated items), and use tax on their own untaxed purchases. Major 2025 change: Florida repealed its sales tax on commercial rent effective October 1, 2025 (the rate had dropped 4.5% to 2% on June 1, 2024 before repeal), but transient rentals of six months or less stay taxable. Out-of-state sellers with over $100,000 of Florida sales must register. Register free via Form DR-1; returns are late after the 20th; late filing costs 10% with a $50 minimum even on a zero return. Read: timcpa.com/resources/florida-sales-tax-service-business
Filing 1099-NEC Forms Guide, When and how a business files Form 1099-NEC for the independent contractors it pays. The reporting threshold rose from the long-standing $600 to $2,000 for payments made in 2026 (per the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the IRS 1099-NEC instructions), and is inflation-indexed after that; payments made in 2025 still used the $600 rule. Both the recipient copy and the IRS copy are due January 31 (February 1, 2027 for 2026 payments, since January 31 falls on a Sunday). Corporations are generally exempt, but attorneys get a 1099-NEC even when incorporated, and card or third-party-app payments are reported on a 1099-K instead. A W-9 collected before payment supplies the legal name, TIN, and entity type; a missing TIN triggers 24% backup withholding. Late or missing forms cost $60 to $340 each for returns due in 2026, and the penalty can apply twice per contractor. Florida-specific: no state income tax means no separate state 1099 filing, the obligation is purely federal. Read: timcpa.com/resources/1099-nec-filing-guide
QBI Deduction (Section 199A) Guide, How the qualified business income deduction lets most pass-through owners (sole proprietors, partnerships, S-Corps) deduct up to 20% of business profit before federal income tax. It is a below-the-line deduction available whether you itemize or not, and it cuts income tax only, never self-employment tax. Below the 2026 taxable-income thresholds ($201,750 single, $403,500 married filing jointly, per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32) you take the full 20% with no further tests. Above them, a non-service business is capped at the greater of 50% of W-2 wages or 25% of wages plus 2.5% of property, and a specified service business (health, law, accounting, consulting, financial services and similar) phases out to zero by $276,750 single / $553,500 joint. Reasonable compensation from an S-Corp and guaranteed payments to partners are excluded from QBI, which makes the S-Corp salary and the deduction a joint optimization. The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the deduction permanent, widened the phase-in ranges for 2026, and added a $400 minimum for $1,000+ of active QBI. Florida-specific: no state income tax means it is a purely federal break. Read: timcpa.com/resources/qbi-deduction-section-199a
S-Corp Reasonable Salary Guide, How to set an S-Corp officer salary the IRS will accept. There is no legal percentage (the "60/40 rule" is a myth); reasonable compensation is a facts-and-circumstances test built from the value of your services, per the nine factors in IRS Fact Sheet 2008-25. Covers the tax at stake for 2026 (Social Security wage base $184,500; 15.3% combined payroll tax below it), the three valuation methods (cost, market, income), the documentation a defensible file needs, the Watson v. United States case (a $24,000 salary recharacterized to $91,044 plus back FICA and penalties), and why the lowest salary is not always the smartest once retirement contributions and the Section 199A/QBI deduction are weighed in. Florida-specific: no state income tax means the whole decision is federal. Read: timcpa.com/resources/s-corp-reasonable-salary
Florida S-Corp Election Guide, When to elect S-Corp status for your Florida LLC. A Florida LLC netting $150,000 with a $70,000 reasonable salary saves approximately $10,484 per year in self-employment tax versus default LLC treatment. Covers the ~$50K-$60K profit breakeven threshold, reasonable compensation factors (Watson v. Commissioner), and the step-by-step Form 2553 filing process. Read: timcpa.com/resources/florida-s-corp-guide
Quarterly Estimated Taxes for Self-Employed Floridians, The four federal deadlines (April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15), the 90% current-year / 100% prior-year / 110%-if-AGI-over-$150K safe-harbor rule, underpayment penalty math (short-term federal rate + 3%, currently ~8% annualized, computed on Form 2210), and the S-Corp owner FICA-vs-estimated nuance most owners miss, S-Corp distributions have no withholding so income tax on the distribution portion still requires quarterly payments. Florida has no state income tax so this is federal-only. Read: timcpa.com/resources/quarterly-estimated-tax-guide
How Much Does a CPA Cost, Real pricing ranges by service: monthly bookkeeping $500-$800/mo, individual tax preparation $400-$1,200, S-Corp returns $1,500-$3,000. Compares hourly billing ($200-$500/hr typical) versus flat-rate monthly engagements, and how to think about where a quote should land. Read: timcpa.com/resources/how-much-does-a-cpa-cost
How Much Does a CPA Cost in Lake County, FL, Local 2026 pricing from a Lake County CPA: bookkeeper-only ($200-$500/mo) versus CPA-managed books (quoted per engagement), local tax-prep ranges ($400-$1,200 individual, $1,500-$3,000 business), why Lake County prices differ from Orlando, and the three questions that reveal a quote's true annual cost. Read: timcpa.com/resources/cpa-cost-lake-county
Bookkeeping for Startups, Setting up books from day one (EIN, business bank account, accounting software), DIY versus hiring a CPA, the six most common startup bookkeeping mistakes, and when to make the switch from spreadsheets to professional help. Read: timcpa.com/resources/bookkeeping-for-startups
Home Office Deduction Guide (Florida), Simplified method ($5/sq ft up to 300 sq ft, $1,500 maximum) versus actual method (Form 8829 with depreciation). Includes the exclusive-use rule and the S-Corp accountable plan strategy under IRC §280A(c)(6) most owners miss. Read: timcpa.com/resources/home-office-deduction-guide
CPA vs. Bookkeeper, The legal differences between the two roles (a bookkeeper records transactions; a CPA can also sign returns, represent you in audits, and advise on tax strategy), real cost comparisons across four setups, the handoff problem that makes bookkeeper-plus-CPA setups more expensive than a single CPA who does both, and the three-question decision framework for picking the right setup in Florida. Read: timcpa.com/resources/cpa-vs-bookkeeper
DIY Bookkeeping, The five conditions where DIY actually works, the seven specific triggers that mean it is time to switch (full month behind, missed quarterly estimate, S-Corp election, hiring, inventory, multi-state, due diligence), the hidden costs of DIY (your hourly value, missed deductions, cleanup fees, penalties, cash-flow blindness), and the four-step switch-over process. Read: timcpa.com/resources/diy-bookkeeping
Florida LLC Annual Report, The mandatory yearly Sunbiz filing every Florida LLC owes by May 1: $138.75 on time, $538.75 after the deadline ($400 late fee), administrative dissolution by the third Friday of September if still unfiled. Covers what data Sunbiz requires (document number, FEIN, registered agent street address, managing members), the common pitfalls (spam-filtered reminder emails, expired registered agents, attempts to change entity names on the report), the dissolution timeline, and three ways to never miss the deadline. Read: timcpa.com/resources/florida-llc-annual-report
How to Choose an Accountant, A Florida CPA's framework for picking the right accountant: what credentials matter (CPA state-licensed vs EA IRS-licensed vs unregulated tax preparer), how to verify any credential on the state board lookup, five questions that surface real fit (personal vs handoff, bookkeeping plus tax, pricing model, planning included, similar-client examples), red flags that mean walk away (unverifiable license, price before understanding the business, illegal refund guarantees, sole bank signatory requests), and which pricing models actually work for small business. Read: timcpa.com/resources/how-to-choose-an-accountant
1099 vs W-2, The real take-home math comparing $100K W-2 and $100K 1099 income in Florida: the 1099 worker is about $4,500 behind at parity before employer benefits, and needs roughly 7.65% more gross to match the W-2 take-home. Covers self-employment tax (15.3% on net earnings, with the 12.4% Social Security portion capping at $184,500 for 2026, up from $176,100 in 2025), the IRS three-category right-to-control classification test, when 1099 is genuinely better for the worker (multiple clients, deductible business expenses, S-Corp election above ~$60K net), and the misclassification risk for employers (back FICA, FUTA, SUTA, penalties up to 100% if willful under IRC §7202). Read: timcpa.com/resources/1099-vs-w2
Best Bookkeeping Services for S-Corp Owners, Eight services compared with verified July 2026 pricing: Collective ($349/mo, ~$297 on yearly billing, incl. 1120-S), Lettuce ($99-$525/mo), QuickBooks Live ($300-$700/mo + required QBO subscription), Pilot (from $99/mo, tax extra), Xendoo ($395-$995/mo), Bookkeeper360 (from $399/mo), 1-800Accountant ($299-$469/mo billed annually upfront), and a solo CPA practice (custom-quoted). Covers who actually does the work, whether the S-Corp return is included, data portability after the Bench collapse, and why S-Corp books need CPA-level judgment (reasonable compensation, payroll vs distributions, basis tracking, Schedule L). Read: timcpa.com/resources/best-bookkeeping-service-s-corp
Collective vs. a Real CPA, Honest comparison for S-Corp owners as of July 2026: Collective runs about $3,564/year on yearly billing including the 1120-S. What the lower price does and doesn't buy: a named licensed Florida CPA doing every monthly close personally versus AI categorization with pooled human review, year-round tax strategy, month-to-month terms, and full CSV export of your ledger versus a proprietary platform. Read: timcpa.com/resources/collective-vs-cpa
Bench Accounting Alternatives, What happened to Bench (abrupt December 27, 2024 shutdown locking 12,000+ businesses out of their books, Employer.com acquisition three days later, January 2025 Canadian bankruptcy filings showing $65.4M liabilities, D- BBB rating as of July 2026) and how to choose a replacement: require a data-export guarantee in standard formats and a named licensed human responsible for the books. Current-pricing comparison of QuickBooks Live, Pilot, Xendoo, 1-800Accountant, and a solo CPA practice. Read: timcpa.com/resources/bench-accounting-alternative
QuickBooks Live Real Cost, As of July 2026: $300/$500/$700 per month by average monthly expenses, reassessed quarterly, PLUS a required QuickBooks Online subscription ($35-$235/mo), a custom-priced first-month cleanup fee, and tax filing NOT included (separate paid product). Real all-in cost is $335-$935/month before tax prep. Work is done by QuickBooks-certified bookkeepers, not CPAs. Read: timcpa.com/resources/quickbooks-live-bookkeeping-cost
Bookkeeping & Taxes for Florida Contractors, A licensed Florida CPA's guide to what trade businesses need beyond generic bookkeeping: job costing with labor burden (a $25/hour worker costs $33-$38 once payroll taxes, workers' comp, and benefits are loaded in) and overhead allocation for real per-job margins; work-in-progress and retainage tracked correctly; 1099-subcontractor-vs-W-2 classification (control test, W-9 before the first check, 1099-NEC on time); equipment depreciation choices (Section 179, bonus, standard, mileage); and the S-Corp election once net profit clears ~$80,000-$150,000. Monthly CPA-managed books, custom-quoted, with year-round tax planning built in. Read: timcpa.com/resources/bookkeeping-for-contractors
Catch-Up Bookkeeping, A licensed Florida CPA's guide to getting months- or years-behind books current. What catch-up (vs cleanup) bookkeeping is, the signs you are behind (accounts not reconciled in months, can't answer 'did I make money last quarter,' a deadline forcing the issue, transactions piling up uncategorized, a half-finished software/bookkeeper switch), what the backlog quietly costs (missed deductions, penalties, decisions made blind, stalled financing, a return built on bad numbers), the step-by-step process (assess depth, connect read-only feeds, rebuild from bank/card history, reconcile every account month by month, fix prior errors, deliver clean financials and amend if needed), and how it is priced, scoped after a look at your accounts and quoted up front, not billed hourly. Get current once, then stay current on CPA-managed monthly bookkeeping. Read: timcpa.com/resources/catch-up-bookkeeping
Section 179 Deduction Guide (Florida), How equipment-heavy Florida businesses write off the full cost of qualifying equipment the year it is placed in service. As of tax year 2025: maximum deduction $2,500,000 (rising to $2,560,000 in 2026), phasing out above $4,000,000 of purchases; heavy SUVs over 6,000 lbs GVWR capped at $31,300 ($32,000 in 2026). Covers the business-income limitation (Section 179 cannot create a loss), Section 179 vs 100% bonus depreciation (permanent for property acquired after January 19, 2025) and how they stack, the 6,000-lb GVWR vehicle line and §280F luxury-auto caps, the >50% business-use rule, and the Florida angle (no state income tax, so it is a federal-only calculation that also reduces self-employment tax for the self-employed). Read: timcpa.com/resources/section-179-deduction-guide
Solo 401(k) vs SEP IRA, A Florida CPA compares the two retirement plans for the self-employed and S-Corp owners. A Solo 401(k) usually allows more at the same income because it adds an employee deferral ($23,500 in 2025 / $24,500 in 2026) on top of the same 25%-of-compensation employer piece a SEP offers, on an $80,000 S-Corp salary, a SEP maxes at $20,000 while a Solo 401(k) reaches $43,500. The SEP wins on simplicity (no plan document, no annual filing). Covers the S-Corp wrinkle (contributions are based on W-2 wages, not distributions), the ages-60-63 super catch-up ($11,250), the $250,000 Form 5500-EZ threshold, setup deadlines, and the Roth and loan options a Solo 401(k) offers that a SEP does not. Read: timcpa.com/resources/solo-401k-vs-sep-ira
Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction, How the self-employed deduct health premiums above the line on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), figured on Form 7206, not on Schedule C and not as an itemized deduction. The mechanics differ by entity: a sole proprietor claims it directly (capped at business net profit), while a more-than-2% S-Corp shareholder must run the premiums through the business and report them as W-2 Box 1 wages (not Boxes 3 and 5) or the deduction is lost, the single most common error S-Corp owners make. Critically, the deduction reduces income tax only and does NOT reduce self-employment tax. Covers Medicare premium eligibility, long-term-care age-band caps, the employer-plan eligibility disqualifier, and the Premium Tax Credit interaction. Read: timcpa.com/resources/self-employed-health-insurance-deduction
I also offer free tax calculators (S-Corp savings, estimated quarterly tax, 1099 vs W-2 comparison) at timcpa.com/tax-calculators and free bookkeeping tools (Schedule C and Schedule E trackers) at timcpa.com/bookkeeping/tools.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-20
Timothy LeGendre CPA LLC | Florida CPA License #AC62625 (firm #AD72267) | Mount Dora, FL | (407) 417-1064 | Contact
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