Job costs, per diem, equipment.
Deducted right, priced up front.
HVAC, plumbing, electrical, concrete, framing, paint, landscaping, cleaning, and CDL owner-operators running OTR, hot shot, box truck or local. An Enrolled Agent prepares the business return and the owner's 1040 on one published fee.
Subcontractor payments with no W-9 behind them are the fastest way to lose the deduction and collect a penalty for every 1099 you did not file. Per diem claimed without away-from-home days documented is the first thing an examiner asks to see. Equipment bought in December with no election filed is a deduction spread across seven years instead of taken in one.
How we fix it.
Which shape are you?
Still a sole proprietor, or an LLC that already elected S corp status? That is the whole price difference, $950 against $2,850, and you see it before you commit. Nothing about the work changes; the return that files does.
Subcontractor 1099s
W-9s collected through a secure client portal, with no office visit required anywhere in Florida, subcontractor payments tied back to the general ledger, and 1099-NECs filed. January 31 falls on a Sunday this year, so the filing deadline is Monday, February 1, 2027.
The return
Job costs coded to the job, per diem at the DOT rate for the days you were actually out, equipment elected deliberately, and the owner household's 1040 prepared in the same file.
Estimates and equipment
On Complete and above, quarterly estimates recalculated as the work comes in, and a written plan before year end so the next truck, trailer or machine is bought in the year that actually needs the deduction.
Why us for the trades.
IRS Enrolled Agent, enrolled to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all 50 states, alongside CPAs and attorneys.
Finance training: the math behind every recommendation we make. Currently in law school.
Job costing that survives a question.
Materials, labour, subcontractors and equipment coded to the job they belong to, with committed costs booked when the purchase order goes out rather than when the invoice finally arrives. It is what tells you which jobs made money, and it is the difference between a deduction you can support and a number you are hoping about.
Per diem — truckers get a rate, local contractors get rules.
A DOT owner-operator subject to hours-of-service can claim the transportation-industry per diem, $80 a day inside the continental US, 80% deductible, documented by away-from-home days on the ELD or the settlement statements. A contractor who sleeps at home cannot: lunch on a job site is not a travel expense, however far the drive was.
Equipment — Section 179, bonus, or neither this year.
Section 179 is limited by taxable income and cannot create a loss. Bonus depreciation can. A tractor, a trailer, a mini-excavator and a work van each carry their own rules, and the right election depends on this year's profit and next year's purchase plan. We model both before you sign the finance paperwork, not after.
Pricing, on the page.
Published prices · Quoted in writing before any work startsHow it works: one annual fee, half paid at engagement and half before your return is filed. Everything past the package baseline is a published add-on at a fixed price, so nobody counts forms. Books, payroll and sales tax are the only monthly items, because they are the only monthly work. See the full grid and every add-on or get your price in a minute.
One practitioner. Every file, personally led.
Cody is an IRS Enrolled Agent with an MBA — a solo practitioner with a small support team, working out of Lakeland, Florida. He is also currently in law school.
Every client engagement is led by Cody personally. The firm stays deliberately small so the work stays deliberately careful — and so when the IRS calls, the person who picks up is the person who filed your return.
Common questions.
If yours isn't here, ask it on the intake — we read every one before the first call.
I am an owner-operator. What do I pay?
$950 on Essential if you are still filing a Schedule C, which covers the trucking business and your full personal return. $2,850 once the LLC has elected S corp status and files its own 1120-S. Complete is $2,450 and $5,350 respectively, and adds quarterly estimates and a written plan before year end.
How does per diem actually work?
$80 a day inside the continental US, 80% deductible, and only for days you were away from your tax home long enough to need rest. It is a transportation-industry rule tied to DOT hours-of-service, so it applies to the driver and not to a local crew. ELD records or settlement statements cover the documentation.
Should I be an S corp?
Usually worth running once net profit is consistently past $80K to $100K and steady. The savings are the self-employment tax on distributions; the costs are payroll filings, a defensible salary, a separate return, and the step from the $950 package to the $2,850 one. We run the breakeven on your numbers before you elect.
My subs — 1099 or employees?
Control decides it, not what the invoice says. If you set the hours, supply the tools and direct the method, the IRS and Florida will both treat it as employment, and a reclassification brings payroll tax, penalties and interest with it. We flag the exposure while it is still fixable.
Can I write off the truck?
Section 179, bonus depreciation or regular MACRS, depending on your profit for the year. A vehicle over 6,000 lbs GVWR opens up heavier first-year treatment, and any personal-use percentage cuts all of it. New, used, financed or leased each get coded differently. We pick the election, and we document why.
What counts as a tool I can expense?
Hand tools, small power tools, ladders, generators and job-site consumables are usually deducted in the year you buy them. A nail gun is a current-year deduction; a skid steer or a lift is a different conversation. We elect item by item against your actual profit for the year, not by blanket policy.
Some of my subs get paid in cash.
Cash payments are reportable the same as any other subcontractor payment. Collect a W-9 before the first job and pay by check or ACH where you can, so the 1099-NEC trail is clean and the deduction holds.
SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k)?
It depends on your profit, your age and whether your spouse works in the business. We project both before year end and recommend one, while there is still time to set it up.
I work jobs in more than one state.
Common here: Florida contractors working Georgia, Alabama or the Carolinas. We file the non-resident returns where the work was sourced, and each state past the first is a published $100 add-on.
Do you handle sales tax and IFTA?
One sales-tax state is inside Concierge, and three states is a published upgrade at $100 a month. IFTA quarterly fuel-tax filings are quoted at intake as a fixed fee, never hourly, because the price depends on the jurisdictions you actually run.
Related
- Business tax preparationS corp, partnership, C corp and Schedule C returns, with the owner's return included.
- S corp tax servicesWhether the election pays, Form 2553, a salary you can defend, and the 1120-S.
- Monthly bookkeepingMonthly close and reconciliations from the firm that files your return.
- PayrollPayroll run, taxes deposited and filed, W-2s and Florida reemployment tax.
- Construction and general contractorsWork in progress, retainage and percentage of completion.
The work is hard enough. The return should not be.
Send last year's return, your settlement statements or job list, and your equipment purchases. The package and the number come back on the first call.