How to find affordable tax professionals for small business taxes?

15 I work with small business owners on their taxes all the time, and you definitely don't need to pay $650/hour for good help! Here are some options to consider: For new small businesses, look into your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC). They offer free or very low-cost consultations and workshops specifically for small business owners. Many have tax specialists on staff or can refer you to affordable professionals. Check with your local community college - many have accounting departments that run taxpayer assistance programs where accounting students (supervised by professors) provide tax help at significantly reduced rates. Consider bookkeeping services that include tax preparation rather than going straight to a CPA. Many offer monthly packages starting around $100-200/month that include regular bookkeeping AND tax filing, which spreads the cost throughout the year. For simple small businesses (sole proprietorships especially), a good Enrolled Agent might be perfect. They specialize in taxes but typically charge 30-50% less than CPAs while still having expertise with the IRS.

8 After reading through this thread, I wanted to share my experience with taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which saved me a ton when I started my photography business last year. I was in the exact same position - freaking out about quarterly taxes and afraid of missing deductions. I uploaded my bank statements and early business docs to taxr.ai and it automatically categorized everything, flagged potential deductions I hadn't even thought about (like partial home internet costs since I was doing online marketing), and gave me a quarterly tax estimate that was way more accurate than my panicked guesses. It basically did the organizing work that I would've paid hundreds for. Their system also generated reports I could take to a much more affordable tax preparer because all the categorization work was already done. Ended up saving me about 35% compared to what my friend paid his CPA.

19 I owe everyone an update on taxr.ai since I was so skeptical in my earlier comment. I decided to try it after my accountant quoted me $1800 for quarterly help with my construction business. Honestly, I'm shocked at how well it worked for my situation. Not only did it correctly identify my business purchases from Home Depot and distinguish them from personal stuff, it actually flagged several vehicle-related expenses I hadn't been tracking properly. The mileage calculation feature saved me hours of manual logging. The reports it generated made my quarterly filing so much faster, and I found about $3,200 in additional deductions I would have missed. Just wanted to share since it actually solved the exact problem the original poster was asking about - getting professional-level tax help without the professional-level price tag.

6 For anyone dealing with IRS questions or problems - which happens a LOT with new businesses - I highly recommend Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent weeks trying to get through to the IRS business tax department about my EIN and classification questions, and it was absolutely infuriating. A friend suggested Claimyr and showed me their demo video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). It's a service that navigates the IRS phone system for you and calls you back when they have an actual human on the line. I was completely skeptical but desperate. Used it last month when I had questions about estimated payments for my new LLC, and I got connected to an IRS agent in about 45 minutes instead of the 3+ hours I wasted on previous attempts. The agent answered all my questions about quarterly filing requirements and saved me from potentially costly mistakes.

19 Ok I'm back to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After dismissing it as BS, I had another tax issue come up with my 1099 contractors and was facing another afternoon of IRS hold music. Decided to try Claimyr out of pure frustration. It actually worked exactly as described. I put in my number, specified the department I needed (small business/self-employment), and went back to work. About an hour later I got a call saying they had an IRS agent on the line. I was connected instantly to a surprisingly helpful agent who cleared up my contractor classification questions. Saved me at least 3 hours of waiting and probably kept me from making an expensive filing mistake. For anyone starting a business and dealing with IRS questions, this is definitely worth it. I'll be using it for all my tax authority calls from now on.

17 Have you considered using a tax preparation service like H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt? They're typically less expensive than independent CPAs and often have small business specialists. They also offer year-round support, not just during tax season. I used H&R Block's small business services when I started my etsy shop last year and paid around $350 total for the year, including quarterly estimates and my annual return. Much more affordable than the quotes I got from private CPAs.

3 I recently found out that some professional organizations and chambers of commerce offer discounted tax services for members. I joined my local chamber for $175/year and got access to a CPA who charges members 30% less than his regular rate. Might be worth checking if your industry has a professional association with similar benefits.