Adam Traywick, LLC - Certified Public Accountant

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.

06/02/2026

"I got an IRS letter."

Six words that ruin a Tuesday afternoon. Here's what most Fort Worth business owners don't know: most IRS letters aren't audits.

They're notices. Different category, different stakes, different response timeline.

The 5 most common letters we see:
1️⃣ CP2000: a mismatch notice. The IRS thinks you forgot to report some income. Usually fixable in writing.
2️⃣ CP501/503: balance due reminders. Pay or set up a payment plan. Don't ignore.
3️⃣ CP90: final notice before levy. This one is real. Respond fast.
4️⃣ Letter 525 (or 30-day letter): proposed audit changes. You have 30 days to disagree.
5️⃣ Letter 2205-A: actual audit notice. Yes, the real one.

The HVAC and trade businesses get flagged most often on three things: vehicle deductions claimed at 100% business use, equipment Section 179 elections that look aggressive, and cash deposits that don't tie to reported revenue.

Most of these are paperwork problems, not crimes. The fix is documentation, not a panic-call to a tax attorney.

If you got a letter, don't ignore it. Don't call the number on TV. Bring it to your CPA.

Full guide to every notice type: https://adamtraywick.com/irs-audit-and-notice-guide/

Complete IRS audit guide for small business owners: audit triggers, types (correspondence, office, field), CP2000 notice handling, response procedures, statute of limitations, and when to hire representation.

05/18/2026

Reminder you didn't ask for: Q2 estimated taxes are due June 16.

If you're a 1099 contractor, an LLC, or a freelancer making more than your W-2 friends and not having anything withheld, this is for you.

Here's what trips people up:

You owe estimated taxes on income, self-employment tax (15.3%), AND state if you're not in Texas. We're lucky on that last one. Most aren't.

You can't just pay last year's tax bill divided by four and call it safe. If your income jumped this year, you'll owe a penalty even if you paid last year's number on time. The safe harbor is 110% of last year's tax liability if you made over $150K, otherwise 100%.

Missing a quarter doesn't just cost you the penalty. It compounds. Skip Q2 and the IRS adds interest until you actually pay it, which is usually April when you file and discover the damage.

Easiest fix: pay too much, get it back. Better than the alternative.

If you've never run estimates and your income changed in the last year, talk to a CPA before June 16. We'd rather you overpay by $500 than underpay by $5,000.

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

05/12/2026

Crossed $150K in revenue and your tax bill suddenly looks personal? Welcome to the club.

Here's what changes at that revenue level, and what most CPAs forget to mention:

Solo 401(k). If you're self-employed and not maxing this, you're handing the IRS up to $62,000 of pretax space every year. That's roughly $24,500 in tax-deferred savings annually for a $150K consultant. Compare it to a SEP IRA at $37,500 and the math is obvious.

S-corp salary optimization. A tech consultant at $480K running an S-corp can save around $55K in payroll taxes by structuring distributions correctly. Get the salary wrong though and the IRS reclassifies the whole thing.

QBI deduction. Up to 20% off qualified business income. That's a $60K deduction on $300K of business income, worth roughly $14K in tax savings.

Solo 401(k) plus QBI plus a properly run S-corp election is usually the difference between paying full freight and keeping a real chunk of what you earn.

None of these are tricks. They're rules. They've been on the books for years. You just need a CPA who's reading them year-round.

Full breakdown: https://adamtraywick.com/lower-tax-bill-over-150k-revenue/

05/08/2026

If your CPA only calls you once a year, they're not your CPA.

They're your tax preparer.

There's a difference, and it shows up in your tax bill every April.

A real CPA is reactive in March and proactive the other eleven months. They're calling you in July to talk Q3 estimates. They're texting in October about year-end moves. They're answering your "is this deductible?" question before you sign the contract, not after.

Here's how you know it's time to switch:
- You only hear from them when something's due
- They can't tell you what an entity election would save you
- They charge you the same fee whether you grew 10% or 100%
- They don't know what an HVAC busy season cash flow looks like, or what booth rental does to a salon's books

Most owners we meet are leaving $3K to $15K a year on the table. Not because their CPA is bad. Because their CPA is busy.

You don't need a busier CPA. You need a different kind of CPA.

Full breakdown: https://adamtraywick.com/when-should-you-switch-cpas/

05/05/2026

Your CPA might be fine.

That’s usually the problem.

Not bad enough to leave. Not good enough to feel confident.

If that sounds familiar, here are a few signs it’s not just in your head: https://adamtraywick.com/when-should-you-switch-cpas/

Not sure when should you switch CPAs? Watch for these warning signs to prevent costly setbacks and business disruption.