Every S-corp owner eventually runs into the same question from their accountant: what should your salary actually be. It sounds like a simple number to pick, but it’s one of the few areas where the IRS actively looks for businesses getting it wrong, and getting it wrong can unwind the whole reason an S-corp made sense in the first place. Lang Tax Solutions works through this calculation with clients every tax season, and the short version is that reasonable compensation isn’t a guess or a round number, it’s a defensible figure tied to what the work is actually worth. Why… Read More »
Quarterly Estimated Taxes for the Self-Employed
The self-employed people who get burned by estimated taxes almost always fall into one of two camps. Either they ignore the payments entirely and get hit with a penalty the following spring, or they overcorrect and send the IRS more than they owe, tying up cash the business actually needed. Lang Tax Solutions works with self-employed owners across South Dakota and Nebraska on getting these payments right, and the target isn’t complicated once you understand what the IRS is actually checking for. Why these payments exist in the first place Employees have taxes withheld from every paycheck automatically. Self-employed people,… Read More »
When a Fractional CFO Pays for Itself: What Lang Tax Solutions Sees in Growing Businesses
There’s a specific moment a lot of business owners describe the same way. The bookkeeper is still doing solid work and the books close on time, yet nobody can answer a simple question like “can we afford to hire two more people next quarter” without a week of digging through spreadsheets. That gap between having clean numbers and understanding what they mean is exactly where Lang Tax Solutions steps in with fractional CFO work, and it’s worth walking through the signs that tell you it’s time. Bookkeeping and strategy are two different jobs A bookkeeper’s job is to record what… Read More »
Reading Your QuickBooks Reports Without an Accounting Degree
Most small business owners open QuickBooks, glance at a number on the dashboard, and close the tab. The software generates dozens of reports, most of them never opened, and the ones that matter often go unread simply because nobody explained what they’re actually saying. Lang Tax Solutions works with owners on exactly this problem every week, and the good news is that you don’t need an accounting background to figure out whether a business is truly profitable. You need to know which four or five reports to look at and what question each one answers. Net income on the dashboard… Read More »