Tax & accounting questions, answered.

Yes. We're based in Mine Hill, New Jersey, in Morris County, and work with individuals and businesses nationwide by video, phone and our secure client portal. Payam Darian is licensed as a CPA in New Jersey and New York, and we prepare federal returns and returns for other states as part of the same engagement.

Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We're closed Saturday and Sunday. Most meetings are by video or phone; in-person meetings are by appointment.

Book a free consultation on our scheduling page, or tell us about your situation first with a short intake form. After we talk, we quote a fee and confirm the scope in an engagement letter before any work begins.

Your last two years of tax returns, any IRS or state letters you've received, and a short list of questions. For a business, recent financial statements or access to your accounting software help us see the full picture quickly.

Through our secure client portal, where you can upload documents and message us. Please don't send tax documents or Social Security numbers by regular email.

No. We don't perform attest work. If a lender, landlord or grantor requires audited or reviewed financial statements, you'll need a firm that provides them; we can still handle your tax, bookkeeping and advisory work and coordinate with that firm.

Yes. With your permission, we coordinate directly with your other advisors so tax planning, estate planning and investment decisions line up.

Individual returns (Form 1040) for 2026 are due April 15, 2027, and New Jersey and New York individual returns are due the same day. For calendar-year businesses, partnership (Form 1065) and S corporation (Form 1120-S) returns are due March 15, 2027, and C corporation returns (Form 1120) are due April 15, 2027. See tax preparation.

No. An extension gives individuals six more months to file (to October 15, 2027 for 2026 returns), but any tax owed is still due by the original April deadline. Paying late adds interest and late-payment penalties, so we estimate what you owe and pay it with the extension.

Yes. Multi-member LLCs are taxed as partnerships by default, so they file Form 1065 and issue a Schedule K-1 to each partner, along with state partnership returns such as New Jersey's NJ-1065 and New York's IT-204. We also handle partner basis, capital accounts, special allocations and guaranteed payments. See partnership and multi-member LLC taxes.

Yes: Form 1120-S for S corporations and Form 1120 for C corporations, with state returns such as New Jersey's CBT-100S and New York's CT-3-S. See small business accounting and tax.

Yes. We prepare Form 1041 for estates and trusts, with New Jersey's NJ-1041 and New York's IT-205 where required. See estate and trust tax returns.

Yes. The IRS generally looks for the most recent six years of returns to bring you into compliance, and filing before the IRS files for you usually lowers the bill. See unfiled tax returns.

Your RSUs were taxed as wages on your W-2 when they vested, and the broker's Form 1099-B may show little or no cost basis when you sell. Unless the basis is corrected on Form 8949, the same income is counted twice. See stock options and RSU taxes.

Generally at least three years after you file. Keep them six years if income may have been substantially underreported, and keep records of what you paid for property, investments and crypto for as long as you own them, plus three years after you sell. See how long to keep tax records.

Use the IRS, New Jersey and New York refund tools; we keep the official links in one place on our track your refund page.

Possibly. Trading one coin for another, and spending crypto on goods or services, are taxable sales, even if no dollars hit your bank account. Buying and holding, or moving coins between your own wallets, isn't taxable. See crypto taxes.

The form crypto brokers began issuing for 2025 sales, reporting gross proceeds to you and the IRS. Starting with 2026 sales, brokers also report cost basis, but only for assets acquired in that account on or after January 1, 2026. See Form 1099-DA reconciliation.

Usually because the coins were bought before 2026 or transferred in from another exchange or wallet. You report your actual basis on Form 8949; if you copy the form as-is, the entire sale price can be taxed as gain. See Form 1099-DA reconciliation.

Yes. They're ordinary income at fair market value when you gain control of them, under Revenue Ruling 2023-14. See staking, DeFi and NFT taxes.

Usually, from what remains: exchange emails and confirmations, bank statements showing purchases, and blockchain records for coins withdrawn to your own wallets. Basis you can't support can be treated as zero, so a documented reconstruction is far better than reporting none. See crypto cost basis reconstruction.

As of November 2026, no. The federal wash sale rule (Internal Revenue Code section 1091) applies to stock and securities, not to crypto held as property. Bills in Congress would change this, so check the current law before relying on it.

Letters 6174 and 6174-A are informational and don't require a response, though you should fix any crypto your returns missed. Letter 6173 requires a response by the date shown, and ignoring it can lead to an examination. See IRS crypto letters.

New Jersey taxes gains at regular rates up to 10.75%, won't let crypto losses offset wages, and doesn't carry losses forward. New York follows the federal loss rules, taxes gains at up to 10.9%, and New York City adds city tax for residents. See how New Jersey taxes crypto and how New York taxes crypto.

Monthly. Reconciling every month catches errors and missing transactions while they're easy to fix, keeps quarterly estimated taxes accurate, and makes year-end much faster. See bookkeeping services.

Yes. We catch up and clean up the file, then either keep it current each month or train you and your staff to do it. See QuickBooks setup and training.

Generally anyone who expects to owe $1,000 or more of federal tax after withholding, which often includes the self-employed, investors and people with large RSU vests. The 2026 due dates are April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. Paying 100% of last year's tax (110% if last year's AGI was over $150,000) generally avoids the federal penalty. New Jersey and New York have their own estimated payments.

Generally yes, for non-corporate contractors you paid for services: Form 1099-NEC is required at $600 or more for 2025 payments, rising to $2,000 for payments made in 2026. Forms for 2026 are due February 1, 2027, because January 31 falls on a Sunday. See bookkeeping services.

Possibly, even in states where you have no office. New Jersey requires collection above $100,000 of sales or 200 transactions a year, and New York above $500,000 of sales of tangible goods and more than 100 sales over four quarters. Other states set their own thresholds. See sales tax and nexus.

Have your exposure reviewed, and consider a voluntary disclosure agreement before the state contacts you. It usually limits how many years you owe and waives penalties. See sales tax voluntary disclosure.

Don't ignore it. Find the notice number and response date in the corner. Many letters, such as a CP2000, are automated proposals that can be wrong or incomplete, and responding on time keeps your options open. See IRS notices.

Yes. With a power of attorney (IRS Form 2848, New Jersey Form M-5008-R or New York Form POA-1), we can respond, call and meet with the tax agency on your behalf. See IRS tax help.

Often, yes. Individuals who owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest can generally apply online for a long-term plan; larger balances need financial disclosure. You'll usually need all required returns filed first. See IRS payment plans.

An agreement to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount when you can't realistically pay it. The IRS generally expects at least your reasonable collection potential: the equity in your assets plus a multiple of your monthly disposable income. See Offer in Compromise.

Often. First-time penalty abatement is generally available if you had no significant penalties in the prior three years and have filed and paid or arranged to pay. Reasonable cause, such as serious illness or a disaster, can also qualify. See IRS penalty abatement.

Act quickly. A bank holds levied funds for 21 days before sending them to the IRS, which leaves a short window to arrange a payment plan or other release. A wage levy continues each payday until it's released. See IRS levy help and IRS wage garnishment.

Generally three years from when you filed (or the due date, if later). It's six years if you left out more than 25% of the income shown on your return, and there's no time limit for fraud or for years you didn't file. See IRS audit help.

Yes, including state notices, audits, sales tax assessments and New York residency audits. See New York residency audits.

It can lower self-employment tax once your profit is comfortably above a reasonable salary for your role, but it adds payroll, a separate business return and state costs. We run the numbers for your situation before you elect. See LLC vs. S corp.

As a partnership by default: the LLC files Form 1065, and each member reports their share from a Schedule K-1 on their own return. It can instead elect to be taxed as an S or C corporation. See partnership and multi-member LLC taxes.

The salary, paid through payroll, that you'd have to pay someone else to do your job. Owners who work in the business must take one before taking distributions, and the IRS can reclassify distributions as wages if the salary is too low. See S corp reasonable compensation.

Often not. Revenue Procedure 2013-30 provides simplified relief for late elections made within 3 years and 75 days of the intended effective date, with reasonable cause. See late S corp elections.

Elective taxes that partnerships and S corporations can pay at the entity level, where they're generally deductible federally without the individual state and local tax deduction cap. Owners then receive a credit on their state returns. New York's election is due by March 15 of the year it applies to. See NJ BAIT and NY PTET.

Usually for companies that reinvest profits, raise outside capital or plan a sale. For stock issued after July 4, 2025, qualified small business stock (QSBS) can exclude up to the greater of $15 million or ten times your basis per company, with 50%, 75% or 100% of the gain excluded after three, four or five years. See C corporations and QSBS.

A bookkeeper records what happened. A CFO uses that information to plan what happens next: forecasting cash, setting budgets, analyzing profitability and advising on major decisions, usually in monthly or quarterly meetings. See fractional CFO services.

Usually a federal employer identification number (EIN), state business registration, and sales tax registration if you sell taxable goods or services. Hiring employees adds payroll tax accounts. See starting a business.

Bi-weekly and semi-monthly payroll processing, federal, state and local payroll tax filings, and year-end W-2s and W-3s, reconciled to your books each cycle. See payroll services.

Yes, if they work in the business. Owner-employees must be paid a reasonable salary through payroll, with withholding, before taking distributions. See S corp reasonable compensation.

It depends on control and independence, not on what the agreement says. New Jersey's ABC test is stricter than the federal rules: a worker is an employee unless they're free from your control, the work is outside your usual business or places of business, and they have an independently established business. See worker classification.

January 31, to employees and to the Social Security Administration with Form W-3. Because January 31, 2027 falls on a Sunday, W-2s for 2026 are due February 1, 2027.

Taxes withheld from employees are held in trust for the government. If they aren't paid over, the IRS can assess the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty personally against the owners and others responsible, even if the business is an LLC or corporation. See payroll tax problems.

A way to defer tax on the sale of investment or business real estate by buying replacement property. You must identify the replacement within 45 days and close within 180 days, and a qualified intermediary must hold the proceeds. See 1031 exchanges.

Rental losses are generally passive. If you actively participate and your modified AGI is $100,000 or less, up to $25,000 can offset other income, phasing out completely at $150,000; unused losses carry forward. Qualifying real estate professionals may deduct more. See real estate accounting and tax.

It's most valuable for larger properties, where the accelerated deductions, especially with 100% bonus depreciation, outweigh the study's cost and you can use the losses. A look-back study can catch up missed depreciation on a building you bought years ago. See cost segregation and bonus depreciation.

Generally no. Both states decouple from federal bonus depreciation, so state depreciation is spread over a longer period. See cost segregation and bonus depreciation.

Both states. You file a New York nonresident return (Form IT-203) and pay New York tax on your New York wages, then file a New Jersey resident return and claim a credit for the tax paid to New York. New York's convenience-of-the-employer rule can count days you work from home for your own convenience as New York workdays. See NJ and NY multi-state taxes.

If New York is your domicile, or if you keep a permanent place of abode there and spend more than 183 days in the state during the year (statutory residency), even if you live elsewhere. See New York residency audits.

Yes. Spouses, children, grandchildren, parents and grandparents are exempt, but transfers to siblings, nieces, nephews and friends can be taxed. New Jersey's estate tax was repealed for deaths on or after January 1, 2018. See New Jersey inheritance tax.

Yes. The 2026 exemption is $7,350,000 per person, and if a taxable estate exceeds it by more than 5%, the exemption is lost entirely. New York doesn't allow a spouse to use the other's unused exemption. See New York estate tax.

Social Security isn't. Retirees with total income of $100,000 or less can exclude up to $100,000 of pension, annuity and IRA income on a joint return ($75,000 for single filers), with a partial exclusion up to $150,000. See New Jersey retirement income tax.

Yes, including physicians, dentists and other health professionals: practice bookkeeping and payroll, S corporation planning, BAIT and PTET elections, and physicians with locum or consulting income. See medical practice accounting.

Yes: Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-N, plus New Jersey and New York charity registrations and bookkeeping. We don't perform nonprofit audits, but we work alongside your independent auditor when one is required. See nonprofit accounting.

Yes, including multi-state sales tax, marketplace and payment platform reporting, inventory and bookkeeping that ties sales to your deposits. See e-commerce accounting.