Business and Personal Tax Preparation in San Jose, CA
Returns prepared by someone who knows your business, filed on time, with a quarterly look ahead so April is never a surprise.
Tower Accounting prepares business and personal tax returns for owners and families across San Jose and Santa Clara County. We have done it from the same East San Jose office since 2000, which means the person who prepares your return this year will recognize your file next year and remember what changed.
Our approach is simple: get the return right, get it filed on time, and spend the rest of the year making sure the next one is smaller. That is why business clients get a quarterly look at where the year is heading instead of a phone call in April with bad news.
What we prepare
- Personal returns (Form 1040 and California 540), including itemized deductions, rental property schedules, stock and RSU sales, self-employment income and multi-state situations.
- Sole proprietor and single-member LLC returns (Schedule C), with the California LLC filings that go with them.
- S corporation returns (Form 1120-S) and the reasonable-compensation analysis that keeps them defensible.
- Partnership and multi-member LLC returns (Form 1065) with K-1s for every partner.
- C corporation returns (Form 1120) for businesses that have outgrown pass-through status.
- Amended returns, prior-year returns and late filings, including penalty relief requests where they apply.
- Quarterly estimated taxes for owners and self-employed individuals so the April balance is not a shock.
How tax season works with us
- Organizer and checklist. In January we send a short list of what we need based on last year's return. For bookkeeping clients, the business side is already done.
- Drop off, upload or meet. Bring documents to the office, upload them securely, or sit down with Ray for an hour. Many long-time clients do it entirely by email.
- Preparation and review. We prepare the return, compare it to last year line by line, and call you about anything unusual before it is finalized.
- Sign and file. You review a draft, sign electronically or in person, and we e-file federal and California. You get a full copy for your records.
Why the preparer matters
Software does not ask follow-up questions
Do-it-yourself software prepares the return you describe to it. It does not ask why your home office got smaller, whether the truck is also used for the business, or whether the money your brother paid back was a loan or income. Those questions are where deductions and problems both live. An experienced preparer asks them.
Business and personal returns belong together
For a small business owner, the business return and the personal return are one picture. Owner pay, distributions, health insurance, retirement contributions and estimated payments all cross from one to the other. We prepare both so they agree, and so the strategy on one side does not create a bill on the other.
California adds its own layer
California does not follow federal rules on everything. The LLC fee, the S corporation minimum tax, the treatment of certain deductions and credits, and the Franchise Tax Board's own notice process all trip up preparers who mostly work in other states. We work in California every day.
Planning beats reacting
The return you file in April reflects decisions made the previous year. Timing equipment purchases, funding a retirement plan, adjusting owner salary on an S corporation, and paying the right quarterly estimates all change the number, but only if someone looks at it before December. Our quarterly reviews for business clients exist for exactly that.
Situations we see often in San Jose
Stock options and RSUs
Many of our personal return clients work for Silicon Valley employers and receive RSUs, ESPP shares or stock options. The W-2 and the brokerage 1099-B rarely tell the whole story on their own, and getting the cost basis wrong means paying tax twice on the same income. We reconcile the two before filing.
Rental property
Depreciation, repairs versus improvements, passive loss limits and what happens when the property is sold. Rental schedules are where a lot of self-prepared returns leave money on the table or invite a notice.
Side businesses and 1099 income
A W-2 job plus a side business is one of the most common returns we prepare. Home office, vehicle use, equipment and the self-employment tax calculation all apply, and the quarterly estimates usually need to be set up the first year.
Mixed-language households and ITIN filers
We prepare returns for households where not everyone has a Social Security number, including ITIN applications and renewals, and we explain the return in plain terms to whoever in the family is handling the paperwork.
Pricing
Return preparation is quoted per return based on the forms and schedules involved. We tell you the fee before any work starts. Clients whose books we keep pay less for the business return because the reconciliation and year-end work is already done. Prior-year and catch-up returns are quoted per year.
Related help
If the IRS or the Franchise Tax Board has already sent a letter, start with IRS letter and audit help. If the books are not in a state to prepare a return from, start with bookkeeping. If you are choosing between an LLC and an S corporation for a business you are about to start, our new business setup page walks through the trade-offs. Or just call the office and tell us where you are.
Questions about tax preparation in San Jose
How much does tax preparation cost in San Jose?
Individual returns are quoted by the number of forms and schedules involved, and business returns by the entity type and the state of the books. We tell you the fee before we start. Returns for clients whose books we keep are usually less, because the hard part is already done.
What should I bring to my tax appointment?
Last year's return if we did not prepare it, all W-2s, 1099s and 1098s, records of any business income and expenses, property tax and DMV statements, childcare and tuition records, health coverage forms, and any letter you received from the IRS or the Franchise Tax Board. If you are not sure whether something matters, bring it.
Do you prepare returns for S corporations, partnerships and LLCs?
Yes. We prepare Form 1120-S, Form 1065, Form 1120, Schedule C for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs, and the matching California returns including the LLC fee and franchise tax filings.
Can you file my returns electronically?
Yes. Federal and California returns are e-filed, and refunds can be deposited directly to your bank account. You receive a copy of everything filed.
I have unfiled returns from past years. Where do I start?
Start with a call. We help you get your wage and income transcripts from the IRS, rebuild the missing years, prepare and file the returns, and if there is a balance due we help you request a payment plan. Getting into compliance is almost always cheaper than waiting for the agency to file for you.
Do you do tax planning or just tax returns?
Both. For business owners we review the year to date every quarter, estimate what will be owed, and look at timing of purchases, retirement contributions and owner pay before December so the return in April holds no surprises.
Ready to get your books and taxes in order?
Call the office, send an email, or request a free quote online. Ray answers the phone himself and returns messages the same business day.