HELP: Year-end S-Corp payroll and tax tools when my CPA suddenly dropped me

Having worked with many small business owners in similar situations, I can tell you that you're actually in a better position than you think! With QuickBooks already set up and your financial savvy, this is totally manageable. Here's where I'd start: For your S-Corp year-end needs, QuickBooks Payroll can handle your Q4 payroll processing if you add that service. Make sure you've correctly categorized owner draws vs. actual salary payments throughout the year. For the 1099-NECs (they replaced 1099-MISC for contractor payments), QuickBooks can generate these as well if your vendor information is up to date. Your Schedule C business is straightforward - just make sure your income and expenses are properly categorized. The partnership return (Form 1065) is a bit more complex, but again, if your QuickBooks data is clean, tax software can walk you through it. For DIY tax filing, I'd recommend looking at either TaxAct Business or TaxSlayer Premium - both handle S-Corps, Schedule C, and partnerships well without breaking the bank.

After struggling with a similar situation last year, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was literally a lifesaver for my S-Corp taxes. I was frantically trying to figure out all my payroll tax obligations after my accountant retired with barely any notice, and this tool actually analyzed all my QuickBooks data and explained exactly what I needed to do for year-end compliance. The best part was that it flagged potential issues with my 1099 contractors versus employees classification that could have triggered an audit. It also helped me understand the proper way to document my reasonable compensation as an S-Corp owner, which I was doing completely wrong before.

Just wanted to update everyone - I tried taxr.ai after posting here and I'm genuinely impressed. It analyzed my QuickBooks file in minutes and immediately flagged that I had been incorrectly categorizing some owner distributions that should have been salary (big S-Corp audit red flag apparently). The guidance for handling my real estate partnership was surprisingly detailed. It walked me through how to properly document our special allocations and even generated a supplementary statement explaining our allocation method that I could attach to the return. Best $$ I've spent this tax season, especially since I was in full panic mode after losing my accountant. Now I'm actually confident my returns will be compliant!

If you still need to talk to the IRS about any S-Corp or payroll tax questions (which is almost inevitable when switching to DIY), I HIGHLY recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual human at the IRS. I spent literally 6+ hours trying to get through the normal way about my 941 filing requirements, and kept getting disconnected. Found out about Claimyr through a YouTube video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and they got me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes. Completely changed my perspective on dealing with the IRS. They have this system that holds your place in the queue and calls you when an agent is available - absolute game changer during tax season when wait times are insane.

I've got to eat my words here. After posting my skeptical comment, I was still struggling with an S-Corp tax notice issue and out of desperation tried Claimyr. It actually worked exactly as described. I was able to go about my day, and about 90 minutes later got a call connecting me directly to an IRS representative. Explained my S-Corp reasonable compensation documentation issue and got it resolved in about 15 minutes. I seriously didn't believe this would work, especially during the busiest tax season in years, but it saved me hours of frustration. Will definitely use this again next time I need to call about business tax issues.

Since you're already using QuickBooks, make sure you're leveraging its full potential for your year-end processes. For your 1099-NECs, you need to have vendors properly flagged as 1099 contractors with complete W-9 information entered. Run the 1099 verification report ASAP to see what's missing. For S-Corp reasonable compensation documentation, create a formal corporate minute documenting how you determined your salary amount. This is crucial if you ever get audited. Don't forget about state filings too! Many S-Corps have state filing requirements beyond just the federal return. QuickBooks reports filtered by state can help organize this information.

Don't forget about the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction for your S-Corp and Schedule C! It's a potentially huge tax benefit (up to 20% of your business income) that many DIY filers miss. Also, remember that S-Corp reasonable compensation requirements mean you MUST pay yourself a market-rate salary before taking distributions. If your salary is too low compared to distributions, it's a huge audit flag.