Tax Preparer, CPA, or EA: What a Monmouth County Filer Needs, and What It Costs
A Rumson couple brought us a return last March. Two W-2s, one from a Manhattan employer and one from a Red Bank office, plus a Belmar rental they had owned for two years. A seasonal preparer down the shore had charged them $225. New Jersey was filed correctly. New York was not filed at all. […]
The Revenue Range Where a Monmouth County Business Outgrows Its Bookkeeper and Needs CFO-Level Thinking
Most businesses cross this line between $1 million and $2 million in revenue. That’s where published 2026 market data shows fractional CFO support starting to pay for itself, and where we see it happen with our own clients. Below that, a good bookkeeper and clean, current books are usually the higher-return spend. Above $2 million, […]
OBBBA Tax Changes for New Jersey Small-Business Owners in 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, commonly called the OBBBA, changed the tax-planning landscape for New Jersey small-business owners. Signed into law on July 4, 2025, the law made several major federal tax provisions permanent, including the 20% qualified business income deduction and 100% bonus depreciation. It also increased the federal Section 179 deduction, temporarily […]
Retirement Planning for Business Owners: The Tax Moves Your CPA and Advisor Should Be Coordinating
Reviewed by John Geantasio, CPA — August 2026. All figures reflect 2026 limits published by the IRS. For a W-2 employee, retirement planning and tax planning are separate conversations. Pick a contribution rate, pick a fund lineup, and the tax return just reflects what happened. For a business owner, that separation is false. Retirement planning […]
How We Set a Defensible Reasonable S-Corp Salary for a NJ Owner Without Inviting an IRS Challenge
A reasonable S-corp salary is what you’d have to pay someone else, with your training and workload, to do the job you actually do — priced against real comparable-wage data, not a round number or a percentage of profit. The IRS doesn’t publish a formula for it, but it has a published list of factors […]
Fractional CFO vs. Bookkeeper vs. Controller: The Three Roles NJ Owners Confuse — and Which You Actually Need
A bookkeeper records what already happened. A controller makes sure those records are accurate, timely, and controlled. A fractional CFO uses those accurate records to tell you what to do next. Most Monmouth County business owners have the first role, sometimes have the second, and almost never have the third — which is exactly why […]
S-Corp Election: When It Actually Saves NJ Owners Money
For most Monmouth County owners, the S-corp election is worth the paperwork once net profit — not gross revenue — clears roughly $40,000 to $50,000 a year, and it becomes a clear, durable win somewhere in the $60,000 to $80,000-plus range. Below that, the payroll processing, the extra tax return, and New Jersey’s minimum tax […]
Outsourced Accounting (CAS) vs. an In-House Bookkeeper: the True-Cost Comparison We Run for Monmouth County Owners
For most owners under about $5 million in revenue, the honest comparison is not “$60,000 salary vs. a $1,500 monthly fee.” Once you load an in-house bookkeeper with payroll taxes, benefits, software, and the cost of covering them when they’re out, a single full-charge hire in New Jersey runs roughly $66,000 a year stripped down […]
Tax Prep vs. Proactive Tax Planning: What Changed for Our Clients When We Stopped Meeting Only Once a Year
Tax preparation and tax planning are not the same service, and the gap between them is where most business owners overpay. Preparation records what already happened and files it on time. Planning changes the number before the year closes — while you can still move income, time a purchase, set a salary, or pick a […]
Are You Overpaying Taxes on Your Spring Lake Rental Property?
If you own a rental property in Spring Lake, you probably focus on how much the home is worth today compared to what you paid. You watch appreciation. You track rent checks in the summer. You smile when property values climb. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most investors focus on appreciation —very few optimize their […]
