Blog
Articles on the tax questions business owners and self-employed people actually run into, written in plain English and grounded in the primary authority rather than in someone else’s summary of it. New pieces go up through the year, not just in filing season.
IRS Notice CP504: What a Notice of Intent to Levy Means
Reviewed November 2026. This is general information, not tax advice for your situation. A CP504 usually comes after a CP14 and one or two reminders went unpaid. It's the IRS's formal notice...
IRS Notice CP14: What It Means and What to Do Next
Reviewed November 2026. This is general information, not tax advice for your situation. A CP14 is the IRS's first bill. It says you owe tax for a specific year and shows the...
LLC vs S Corp in Texas: How to Tell Which Saves You More
Reviewed October 2026. This is general information, not tax advice for your situation. If your LLC is making steady money, someone has probably told you to "become an S corp." Whether that...
Texas Franchise Tax When You Owe Nothing: What You Still Have to File
Reviewed October 2026. This is general information, not tax advice for your situation. Every LLC and corporation in Texas has a franchise tax account, even if it never owes a dollar. Most...
Paid Them Last Year? The $2,000 Threshold Does Not Decide Whether You Withhold
The reporting threshold for Form 1099-NEC and most 1099-MISC boxes went from $600 to $2,000 for payments made in 2026. For most small businesses in Houston, Spring and Humble, that means a...
Three Things to Handle Before the Year-End Rush Hits
Get ahead of 1099 season and year-end bookkeeping with this checklist for Houston-area small business owners and 1099 professionals.
The 6,000-Pound Rule Gets You Past One Limit and Into Another. A Tape Measure Is What Gets You Past the Second One.
Over 6,000 pounds only removes the passenger-car caps. A $32,000 Section 179 limit waits behind it, and a 6-foot cargo area is what clears it.
Your Spouse’s Job Can End Your Health Insurance Deduction, Even If You Never Join Their Plan
If you are self-employed, the health insurance deduction turns on whether you were eligible for a spouse's employer plan, not whether you enrolled. Here is the rule.
Four Things to Handle Before January Catches You Off Guard
Four moves to make before December 31: your Q4 estimated payment, W-9s for the new $2,000 1099 threshold, a books cleanup, and a planning call. For Houston, Spring, Humble and Atascocita business owners.
You Can File Your 2025 Return Again Until October 15. After That, You’re Amending.
On extension? A second 2025 return filed by October 15 replaces your first one instead of amending it, and some tax choices only exist on an on-time original return.
Your Extension Moved One 2025 Retirement Deadline. Not the Other.
Self-employed and on extension? You may still open and fund a 2025 SEP-IRA by October 15. Your IRA and HSA deadlines passed in April.
S Corp Reasonable Compensation: What the IRS Actually Looks At Before It Reclassifies Your Distributions
A free guide from Deanna R. Ngueket, CPA, LLC If you own an S corporation in Houston, Spring, Humble or Atascocita, you have probably asked some version of this question: how much...
What To Do If You Get an IRS Notice: A Guide for Atascocita, Spring, and Humble
Got an IRS notice in Atascocita, Spring, or Humble? The common notices, how to tell routine from serious, the first steps to take, and when to call a CPA, with links to the IRS sources.
The Company Driver’s Per Diem Deduction Is Not Coming Back. Here Is Where It Went.
Congress removed the 2026 return date for the unreimbursed meal deduction. The 80 percent deduction did not disappear. It moved to whoever pays for the meal.
You Do Not Need a Daily Mileage Log. The Regulation Says Weekly.
The recordkeeping standard most business owners carry in their head is stricter than the one the regulation actually writes down.
One Box on Your 2026 W-2s Decides Your Employees’ Overtime Deduction. Only You Can Fill It In.
Box 12, code TT, is where qualified overtime compensation gets reported. If you run payroll, nobody else can fill it in for you.
The September 15 Deadline Just Passed. Here Is What a Late 1065 or 1120-S Actually Costs.
The penalty runs per partner or shareholder, per month. What that adds up to, and what to do if the return did not go out.
Small Business Bookkeeping Basics: Getting Your Books Audit-Ready
What audit-ready books actually look like, and how to get yours there without having to enjoy paperwork.
Behind on Quarterly Estimates? Two Provisions Still Available in September
A bigger check in September does not undo a penalty already running on an underpaid April or June. Two provisions in IRC 6654 can help.
Quarterly Taxes for 1099 Contractors: What the Law Actually Requires
Nobody withholds anything from a 1099 payment, and the IRS doesn’t wait until April to collect what’s owed. This guide walks through why self-employment income is taxed on a running quarterly schedule, what the safe harbor rule actually protects you from, which deductions get missed most often, and how retirement contributions can lower this year’s bill while building next year’s cushion.
No Tax on Overtime: What Actually Qualifies
The headline says overtime is tax-free. The statute says something much narrower. Only the premium portion of overtime pay qualifies, only when the Fair Labor Standards Act required that overtime, and only within an annual limit that phases out at higher incomes. This guide walks through what IRC section 225 actually covers, which employees are excluded and why, what happens when an employer pays overtime voluntarily, where the qualifying amount appears on your W-2, and whether Texas or another state still taxes it.
