Tax Preparer for Seattle Small Businesses

What a tax preparer does sounds simple. Gather the documents, prepare the return, file it. The reality for Seattle small business owners, contractors, and tech workers is considerably more complex — Schedule C income alongside W-2 wages, RSU vesting events scattered across twelve months, quarterly estimated taxes that need recalibrating when a consulting contract ends in October. The Bookkeeping Company prepares business and personal federal tax returns for Seattle-area clients remotely, including self-employed and multi-source income returns, equity compensation schedules, and coordinated business and personal filings.

By Maya Primachenko, IRS PTIN Holder & Founder · Last updated October 2026

What a Tax Preparer Actually Does

Software is just the tool. In practice, the actual work is sequencing income sources correctly, catching deductions the client wouldn’t find on their own, and making sure the return holds together.

• Document review — income documents checked for completeness before preparation; discrepancies flagged before filing
• Entity return preparation — Schedule C, 1120-S, or 1065 by entity type; each with its own sequence
• Deduction identification — home office, mileage, depreciation, health insurance, retirement; all need documentation
• Coordination between returns — the entity return must finish first; K-1 income flows directly to the personal Form 1040
• Washington State B&O — quarterly gross receipts tax returns for Washington businesses; B&O classification and rate applied correctly by business type
• Equity compensation schedules — RSU vesting income reconciled to W-2, basis adjusted on Schedule D, ISO and NSO exercise events documented
• Estimated tax coordination — quarterly federal estimated payments calculated and scheduled from current-year projected income, not last year’s return

The Bookkeeping Company’s tax preparation service and ongoing monthly bookkeeping run from the same reconciled records — so the documents needed at filing are organized before the season starts.

Self-Employed, Contractor, and Multi-Source Returns in Seattle

Seattle’s workforce combines W-2 employees, independent contractors, part-time consultants, gig workers, and business owners — often in the same household, sometimes in the same person. Two income streams in one household is already more complex. A self-employed consultant with 1099-NEC income and a W-2 faces more schedules, more decisions, and more room for error than either return on its own.

Schedule C and Self-Employment Tax

Schedule C is where self-employed income goes. Net profit flows to Schedule SE: 15.3% SE tax on the first $168,600 of net SE income in 2026. Half that SE tax is deductible above the line; health insurance premiums too; SEP-IRA and Solo 401(k) contributions reduce SE income directly. In practice, these don’t operate independently — the order you apply them changes the final result. (IRS — About Schedule SE)

Multi-Source Income Sequencing

A Seattle consultant with W-2 wages, 1099-NEC consulting income, and capital gains in the same year is managing three income streams at once. W-2 withholding often underfunds the tax on consulting income and capital gains; consulting income generates SE tax that W-2 income doesn’t; the capital gains rate depends on total taxable income, including everything else. Consequently, getting the return right means sequencing all three correctly, not preparing each independently. (IRS — Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center)

Equity Compensation and Tech Worker Returns in the Seattle Area

RSUs, stock options, and ESPP are standard components of compensation for tech workers throughout the Seattle-Bellevue corridor. They are also among the most commonly mishandled items on self-filed tax returns.

RSUs: The Double-Tax Problem

RSU vesting creates ordinary income equal to the fair market value on the vesting date — and it shows up on the W-2. That amount is the cost basis for the shares. When the shares sell, however, the 1099-B reports the proceeds — often with a zero basis or an understated one. Take it at face value and the client pays tax on the same income twice. The right return adjusts the basis to what was already taxed at vesting, cutting the capital gain to only the appreciation that came after. (IRS Tax Topic 427 — Stock Options)

ISOs, NSOs, and ESPP

NSOs create ordinary income at exercise — the spread between exercise price and market value gets taxed like wages, usually on the W-2. Meanwhile, ISOs create no regular tax at exercise but generate an AMT preference item that has to be tracked and may require Form 6251. ESPP shares: holding period rules determine whether the discount is ordinary income or a qualifying capital gain. All three need documentation beyond the 1099-B — grant agreement, exercise confirmation, award history from the employer.

What Records to Hand Over for Tax Preparation

The records required depend on income type. A missing document delays everything. Incomplete information produces a return that needs amendment. Here is what a complete handover looks like by situation:

Standard business return:

• Prior year tax return for reference and depreciation carryover data
• Full-year P&L and balance sheet — reconciled, not estimated
• Owner-employee W-2s and any 1099-NEC forms received
• Deduction documentation — mileage log, home office measurements, equipment receipts

Self-employed and contractors:

• All 1099-NEC and 1099-K forms received; income not covered by 1099s (invoices paid directly)
• Business expense records by category; mileage log if a vehicle is used for business
• Records of quarterly estimated tax payments made during the year

For equity compensation:

• W-2 — equity compensation income is in boxes 12 and 14
• Form 1099-B from the brokerage
• Grant or award agreements and vesting schedules for basis documentation
• ESPP purchase confirmations showing purchase price and fair market value at purchase

How Much Does a Tax Preparer Charge in Seattle?

Per NSA Income and Fees Survey (2025), typical fees for common return types:

• Schedule C with Form 1040 (sole proprietor): approximately $482 or more
• S-corp Form 1120-S: approximately $903 or more, plus the owner’s personal return
• Partnership Form 1065: approximately $873 or more, plus partner personal returns
• Returns with equity compensation — RSU basis reconciliation, ISO/NSO documentation, Schedule D; typically $150 to $400 added to the base personal return fee
• Multi-state returns: priced individually; Oregon non-resident returns for Seattle clients with Oregon-source income are common and scoped separately

A flat quote covering all required filings — federal, state, and any equity compensation schedules — is provided at the free initial consultation. Nothing gets added mid-season for items that were foreseeable at the start.

Business and Personal Returns Together: Why It Matters

Handling both the business entity return and the owner’s personal return in one engagement makes things possible that two separate preparers can’t do.

S-corp and partnership owners: the entity return has to finish first — K-1 income flows to the personal Form 1040. With two separate preparers, the personal return sits waiting on the K-1. As a result, most of the time it ends up on extension, and the entity return gets blamed for a deadline mismatch.

However, timing is just one issue. The bigger issue is optimization — S-corp owner salary versus distribution balance, SEP-IRA contribution sizing based on total net income, Section 199A QBI deduction across both returns. These decisions require seeing both returns at once. One preparer has that view. Two don’t.

The Bookkeeping Company serves Seattle, Bellevue, the greater Puget Sound region, and clients nationwide remotely. Call 360-524-9889 — free consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions: Tax Preparation in Seattle

What’s included, and what costs extra?

Included: federal entity return, the owner’s personal Form 1040, Section 199A QBI deduction, and WA State B&O excise tax returns for Washington businesses. Additionally, Oregon non-resident returns, equity compensation schedule review, multi-state filings, and prior-year returns get scoped and priced at the free initial consultation.

How much does a Seattle tax preparer charge?

NSA survey (2025) — Schedule C with Form 1040 averages $482 or more; S-corp Form 1120-S averages $903 or more; partnership Form 1065 averages $873 or more. Equity compensation, multiple income sources, or multi-state filings push toward the higher end. Complete cost estimate at the free initial consultation — no mid-season surprises.

What records do you need from us?

Business returns: prior year return, reconciled P&L and balance sheet, owner W-2s, 1099-NEC forms. Equity compensation: W-2 (RSU and option income included), 1099-B, and grant agreements. Self-employed: 1099-NEC and 1099-K forms, expense records, mileage logs. When monthly bookkeeping runs through this firm, the firm already has the business documents organized — the list for the client is much shorter.

Can you handle self-employed, contractor, and multi-source income returns?

Standard is Schedule C, Schedule SE, and all applicable deductions \u2014 home office, mileage, health insurance, retirement contributions. Multi-source returns with W-2 income, 1099-NEC consulting fees, and investment income require sequencing each source: withholding gaps identified, SE tax on the right base, capital gains at the correct income level. All standard here.

Can you prepare both business and personal returns together?

Business entity returns and owner personal returns run as one annual engagement here. The entity return finishes first — for S-corps and partnerships, K-1 income has to be right before the firm can complete the personal Form 1040. Preparing both from the same reconciled records eliminates the coordination gaps and deduction misses that come from two separate preparers who don’t share data.

How are quarterly estimated taxes handled for self-employed clients?

Quarterly estimated payments here are based on current-year projected income — not last year’s return. For Seattle clients with variable consulting income or equity compensation that vests mid-year, estimates are recalculated each quarter as new income information becomes available. Underpaying estimated taxes results in an IRS underpayment penalty even when the full year-end balance is paid by April 15. The Bookkeeping Company tracks this throughout the year as part of the ongoing engagement.

What’s in a self-employed return that a W-2 return doesn’t have?

Schedule C for business income and expenses, Schedule SE for self-employment tax, and potentially a home office form, depreciation schedule, and vehicle mileage attachment — those are the additions. Self-employed health insurance deduction and SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) contributions are also above-the-line deductions that aren’t available on a W-2 return. The order these get applied in affects the final result — sometimes significantly.

Do you prepare returns for clients with RSUs or stock options?

RSU vesting income is taxed as ordinary income and goes on the W-2. Basis must be adjusted on Schedule D for the amount already taxed at vesting — skip that step and the client pays capital gains tax on income they already paid ordinary income tax on. NSOs create ordinary income at exercise. ISOs require AMT analysis. ESPP purchases involve holding period rules. All standard here for Seattle-area tech workers.

Schedule your free tax consultation