Adam Traywick, LLC - Certified Public Accountant

07/16/2026

Q3 estimated taxes are due September 15. That feels far away. It isn't.

If you're an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical contractor with a strong summer, your Q3 number is bigger than your Q2 number. Summer is when the trades make most of their year. The tax bill that comes with it follows.

The move now, not in September:

Pull your year-to-date P&L through the end of June. Look at the gross profit. If it's already past what you projected for the full year, you're behind on estimates. Send something before the September deadline so the meter stops.

A few rules of thumb:

If your business income jumped 25% or more from last year, last year's safe harbor number won't protect you in April. The bigger the jump, the bigger the catch-up.

Self-employment tax adds 15.3% on top of your income tax. If you're forecasting in your head, don't forget that piece.

If your Q1 and Q2 payments together cover roughly half of last year's total tax bill, you have room. If they don't, Q3 is where you fix it.

The penalty for skipping a quarter compounds until you actually pay. Better to overpay in September than write a panic check in April.

https://adamtraywick.com/get-in-touch/

07/13/2026

"My HSA is just for medical bills, right?"

Wrong. But a lot of small business owners think that. An HSA is one of the most underused tax planning tools we see.

Here's what it can do for a Fort Worth business owner:

✔️Triple tax advantage. Money goes in pre-tax, grows tax-free, and comes out tax-free when used for qualified medical expenses. Very few tax strategies offer all three.

✔️2026 contribution limits: $4,400 for self-only coverage or $8,750 for family coverage, plus an extra $1,000 if you're age 55 or older. If you're in the 24% federal tax bracket, a full family contribution could save you roughly $2,100 in federal income taxes alone.

✔️Investment growth. Most people treat their HSA like a checking account. One strategy is to pay current medical expenses out of pocket, save your receipts, and keep your HSA invested. You can reimburse yourself years later for those qualified expenses, tax-free, as long as you kept the documentation.

✔️Retirement backstop. Once you turn 65, you can withdraw HSA funds for any purpose without the 20% penalty. If the money isn't used for qualified medical expenses, you'll simply pay ordinary income tax, similar to a traditional IRA.

To contribute, you generally need to be covered by an HSA-eligible high deductible health plan and meet the IRS eligibility requirements. If you qualify and you're not maxing out your HSA, you could be missing out on meaningful tax savings.

Full breakdown: https://adamtraywick.com/health-savings-accounts-2026/

07/10/2026

We're over 6 months into 2026. If you're not running a mid-year tax checkup, you're flying blind into the second half.

What "mid-year checkup" actually means, and why most people skip it:

Run a year-to-date P&L and project the rest of the year based on what's actually happening, not what you hoped in January. If revenue is up 30%, your tax bill is too. Better to know in May than April of next year.

Compare your actual income to your estimated tax payments. If you've paid $20K but you're tracking $80K of taxable income, you're behind. September 15th is the chance to fix it.

Look at any major moves you're considering for Q3 or Q4. Big equipment purchase? New hire? New entity election? Each of those has a tax angle, and the time to plan is now, not December.

Run S-corp distributions math. If you're paying yourself the same salary you set in January and your business has changed, the ratio is probably wrong.

Most of our clients save more in the May to October window than in the entire tax season itself. Tax season is a deadline. The other ten months are where the real planning happens.

If your CPA hasn't called you about a mid-year checkup, that's a sign. We covered the rest of the signs in our most recent blog.

https://adamtraywick.com/get-in-touch/

07/08/2026

You don't need fancy bookkeeping. You need consistent bookkeeping.

We see Fort Worth small businesses lose more money to bad books than to bad strategy. Not because the owner is dumb, but because they're running a business and trying to be the bookkeeper at midnight on a Sunday.

Four things to nail before you spend another dollar on accounting software:

1. Separate accounts. Personal and business. One bank, one card. If your "business expense" went on your personal Amex because it was easier, you've already lost the trail.

2. Categories that match your tax return. Not "miscellaneous." Not "stuff." If your CPA can't map your QuickBooks categories straight to a Schedule C or 1120-S, you're paying them to clean up, not to plan.

3. Reconcile monthly. Not quarterly. Not "when we get to it." A reconciliation a month from now takes 20 minutes. Six months from now it takes a weekend and a bottle of wine.

4. A profit and loss you actually read. If you can't tell us your gross margin off the top of your head, your books are decoration. They should be telling you a story every month.

Get these four right and you don't need a more expensive CPA. You need the same one to be able to do real work for you.

Full breakdown: https://adamtraywick.com/bookkeeping-101-in-fort-worth/

06/26/2026

"What's a reasonable salary for an S-Corp owner?"

The most-googled question by trade business owners in June, and the answer the IRS wants is different from the answer you want.

Here's how it works for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractor owners:

1️⃣ The IRS wants you paid a salary that matches what you'd pay a non-owner to do the same job. A working owner-tech who runs jobs, dispatches, AND handles books needs a higher salary than a passive owner.

2️⃣ Industry benchmarks for Fort Worth: a senior HVAC tech typically runs $65-85K. A working journeyman plumber runs $70-95K. A licensed master electrician with admin duties runs $80-110K.

3️⃣ The lower your salary, the bigger your distribution, the bigger your self-employment tax savings. But too low triggers an IRS challenge. The safe zone is usually 40-60% of net profit for working owners.

4️⃣ Document your reasonable salary methodology in writing. A spreadsheet showing comparable wages, hours worked, and duties beats a hand-wavy explanation in an audit.

5️⃣ Adjust quarterly, not annually. If business doubles by July, your salary should too. Static yearly salaries during growth years are a flag.

Setting the salary too high costs you payroll tax. Setting it too low costs you sleep.

Run the math on yours: https://adamtraywick.com/s-corporation-tax-calculator/

This calculator is for sample purposes only. We recommend consulting a licensed professional to assess your specific situation, as this calculator does not

06/23/2026

"How much does a Fort Worth CPA actually cost?"

Most people are afraid to ask because they're afraid of the answer. The real answer is: it depends on what you actually need.

Here's the rough market in DFW:

1️⃣ Tax-prep-only: $400-$900 for a sole prop. $1,200-$2,500 for an S-corp. $300-$500 if you have a W-2 and a side gig.

2️⃣ Year-round small business support: $300-$800/month for bookkeeping + tax + a few strategy calls. Scales up if you're $1M+ or have multiple entities.

3️⃣ Fractional CFO or higher-touch advisory: $1,500-$5,000/month. Usually for $2M+ businesses with cash flow complexity.

4️⃣ Cleanup engagements: $1,500-$8,000 once, depending on how messy the books are.

Cheaper isn't usually better. The $200 tax-prep guy is going to file what you give him. He's not going to ask whether the entity still makes sense or whether the truck purchase qualifies for Section 179.

The right comparison isn't "what does it cost." It's "what's the all-in tax bill plus the CPA fee." A $600 CPA who saves you $4,000 in tax is cheaper than the $200 one who didn't.

Full breakdown of what to expect at each level: https://adamtraywick.com/how-much-does-a-cpa-cost-in-fort-worth/

Know how much does a CPA cost in Fort Worth with this guide. Understand the factors that affect cost and what can small businesses do from an expert team in Fort Worth.

06/19/2026

"What changed for Texas businesses in 2026?"

Most owners assume Texas is the easy state and don't check. There were a few real changes this year worth knowing about.

The bigger 2026 shifts for Texas owners:

1️⃣ Franchise tax threshold. The no-tax-due number went up again. Most small businesses now owe zero franchise tax, but you still file.

2️⃣ R&D credit treatment. Texas tightened the alignment with the federal R&D rules. If you build software, design products, or improve processes, this matters.

3️⃣ Digital services sales tax. Some online-delivered services that were untaxed became taxable this year. SaaS resellers and certain platforms have new collection requirements.

4️⃣ Property tax compression. Rates dropped modestly under the latest school funding rules. Worth checking your appraisal protest deadline.

5️⃣ Pending legislative items. A few proposed changes are working through the legislature for the next session. Worth watching if you operate across state lines.

The headline still holds: Texas is one of the best states to run a business in. The fine print just changed.

Full breakdown of the 2026 updates: https://adamtraywick.com/new-tax-rules-in-texas-in-2026/

Read the new tax rules in Texas in 2026. Learn what Fort Worth small business owners need to know about federal updates, franchise tax, sales tax, and property taxes.

06/16/2026

TODAY: Q2 estimated tax payments are due.

If you're a 1099 contractor, an LLC, an S-corp owner, or a freelancer making more than your W-2 friends, this is your reminder.

Quick math:
✅ Pull your year-to-date profit through May
✅ Multiply by 25-30% (federal, more if you have state income tax)
✅ Subtract Q1 payments
✅ Send the rest by tonight via IRS Direct Pay

If you don't know your number, do something. Send $500. Send 25% of what you sent in Q1. The penalty for underpaying is way smaller than the penalty for skipping entirely.

You can true it up at the next quarterly. Today's job is to send something so the meter stops.

If you've never run quarterly estimates and your income changed in the last year, talk to a CPA today.

https://adamtraywick.com/get-in-touch/

Fort Worth CPAs serving small business owners across HVAC, plumbing, salons, real estate, and DFW. Year-round accounting, tax planning, bookkeeping.

06/12/2026

"I'll just pay it all in April."

This is the most expensive sentence in self-employment.

Q2 estimated taxes are due June 16. Here's what skipping them actually costs:

1️⃣ The underpayment penalty. For 2026, the IRS rate is around 8% annualized. Skip a quarter and the meter starts running on whatever you should have paid.

2️⃣ It compounds. The Q2 amount you skipped accrues interest until you pay it. That's not "next year's problem." That's "today's penalty growing every day."

3️⃣ Safe harbor disappears. Pay 100% of last year's tax (110% if you cleared $150K) and you're protected. Miss it and you owe penalty even if you eventually pay in full.

4️⃣ Stacking quarters. If you skipped Q1 too, the Q2 penalty is added on top. By April, the penalty alone can be $1,500-$4,000 on a $40K tax bill.

5️⃣ The cash flow shock. April hits with a $40K bill plus penalty plus interest, and most owners don't have it sitting in a checking account.

The fix is to pay too much, not too little. Overpaid quarters refund. Underpaid quarters cost.

If you've never run quarterly estimates and your business has grown this year, June 16 is your deadline.

Full breakdown: https://adamtraywick.com/what-happens-if-you-dont-pay-estimated-taxes-2026/

What happens if you don't pay estimated taxes and what to do if you've already missed a quarterly payment in 2026.

06/09/2026

"My friend told me to just use TurboTax. It worked fine last year."

Yeah, until it doesn't. Hair salon owners hear this a lot, and it sounds reasonable until you actually look at the return.

Tax software is excellent at one thing: reporting what already happened.

Here's what it can't do for a salon owner:

1️⃣ Tell you whether you should still be a sole proprietor or switch to an S-corp. The software doesn't know your industry, your margins, or whether the math works at your revenue level.

2️⃣ Catch booth rental income that wasn't 1099'd correctly. Software files what you enter. It can't ask "wait, where's the rest of the booth income?"

3️⃣ Handle the W-2 vs 1099 mess for your stylists. Misclassify and you owe back taxes for everyone, plus penalties.

4️⃣ Plan for the year-end retreat, the new chairs, or the second location.

5️⃣ Pick up the phone in October when your friend tells you about something they heard from their CPA.

Software is a calculator. A CPA is a strategist.

Let's look at an example. A salon owner did her own taxes for four years. We re-ran them and found $11,400 in deductions she'd missed. Year five we filed an S-corp election. Combined annual savings: roughly $8K. The software didn't ask any of those questions.

Full breakdown: https://adamtraywick.com/cpa-vs-tax-software/

CPA vs tax software for personal taxes and pass through income. Learn when DIY filing works and when a CPA can reduce risk and save money.