Articles
Practical, plain-English thinking on taxes & accounting.
Written by the CPAs at TicTax for the individuals and small business owners we work with — no jargon, no scare tactics, just the answers we'd give a client across the desk.
More featured reading
Payroll
Should You Run Payroll Yourself or Pay Someone Else? A Cost-Honest Answer
Payroll feels like a problem you should be able to solve yourself with software. Most of the time you can. The 5% of cases where you can't are the cases that cost the most.
Read articleEntity
Reasonable Compensation: The S-Corp Question Everyone Gets Wrong
If you've elected S-Corp status, the IRS expects you to pay yourself a reasonable salary before taking distributions. "Reasonable" is fuzzier than people think — and getting it wrong is one of the most expensive S-Corp mistakes.
Read articleTax Prep
What to Send Us Before Your Tax Appointment (Or, How to Cut Our Bill in Half)
The single biggest factor in how long a tax engagement takes is the quality of the documents the client sends. Here's the list — for individuals and businesses — that gets your return prepped fast.
Read articleNew Business
Starting a New Company in Illinois: The Order of Operations
There are a dozen steps between "I have a business idea" and "I'm legally operating." Most new owners do them in the wrong order. Here's the sequence we walk new clients through.
Read articleTrusts
Form 1041 in Plain English: When a Trust Needs a Tax Return
Most people who become a trustee did not sign up for tax compliance. The 1041 isn't actually that scary if you understand what's being asked. Here's the framing.
Read articleArchive
From the library, still useful.
Living in Illinois, Working Somewhere Else: Who Gets Your Tax?
Remote work, traveling sales jobs, and houses in two states are now routine. The state tax rules behind them are anything but. Here's the framework we use when a multi-state question lands on our desk.
"My Return Is Simple" — Why That's Often the Wrong Reason to DIY
We hear it constantly: "my situation is simple, I'll just use software." Sometimes that's true. Often the things that make a return look simple are exactly what makes it costly to get wrong.
Why You Don't Want To Find Out You Owe $40,000 in March
Quarterly tax projections are one of the highest-leverage habits a profitable small business can adopt. Here's what they actually involve and why we push every business client toward them.
The QuickBooks Year-End Cleanup Checklist Your CPA Wishes You'd Done
Tax preparation goes from painful to painless when the books are clean before they hit the preparer's desk. Here's the cleanup we do every year — and what you can knock out yourself before sending us your file.
You Got a Letter From the IRS. Here's What Actually Happens Next.
Most IRS notices are not the disaster they look like. But ignoring one absolutely will be. Here's how to read what you got and what we do when a client forwards us a notice.
LLC, S-Corp, or Sole Proprietor? A CPA's Plain-English Take
The wrong entity choice can cost you thousands a year in taxes you didn't need to pay — or in compliance work that didn't need to exist. Here's how we walk new business owners through the decision.
Want a CPA-led conversation about your situation?
We work with individuals and businesses across the full complexity spectrum. If you're ready to stop guessing, we're ready to take it from there.
Get in Touch