Your LLC’s return
Whatever your LLC’s tax status, we prepare the federal and state returns it calls for.
Small business
Valim’s small business CPAs do the taxes for LLCs, S corps and sole proprietors.
Valim is a US CPA firm for small business owners, led by ex-Big Four CPAs, with every fee quoted before work starts. We prepare the returns for your business and for you. A business return starts at $495.
Updated · Sources
Valim for small business
- $495
- is the least a business return costs at Valim.
- 50
- states are covered, for your business returns and your own.
- <1 week
- is what most returns take to file, counted from the day your documents arrive.
Valim prepares your small business tax returns and advises you on tax all year.
Your own Form 1040
Business profit often reaches your personal return, so we prepare that return as well.
The S corp decision
We compare the tax on your profit with and without an S corp election, payroll costs included, before you file Form 2553. Once you elect, we prepare Form 1120-S each year.
Quarterly estimated tax
We size four estimated payments to the IRS safe harbor. Paying each one on time avoids the federal underpayment penalty.
A review of last year’s return
We review a return another preparer filed and show you any deductions and credits it missed. A review starts at $49, with no obligation to file with us.
Bookkeeping as an add-on, or from your bookkeeper
If your small business needs accounting and bookkeeping, we can add bookkeeping and a clean-up to your filing. If you have a bookkeeper, in-house or outsourced, we prepare your returns from their year-end numbers. Bookkeepers can also partner with us on their clients’ taxes.
How does small business tax prep work with Valim?
- 01
Get a fixed fee
The instant quote asks about your entity, revenue and expenses, owners, states and how clean your books are. It then gives a fixed fee for each plan. The fee holds for 7 days, and nothing is charged by the hour.
- 02
Your CPA prepares and signs
A licensed US CPA prepares, reviews and signs each return. Valim works online, so you upload documents and message your CPA in one portal from any state.
- 03
Forward any tax notice
If the IRS or a state writes about a return we prepared, forward the letter. We handle the reply, and the work is part of your fee.
Two plans cover a small business: the return, or the return with planning for next year.
Business return filing
From $495
This plan covers LLC, partnership, S corp and C corp returns, with a CPA to answer questions all year.
Tax advisory
Priced in your quote
Your CPA works as your personal tax advisor all year. Talk to them before a big decision, such as electing S corp status or setting your own salary.
The instant quote prices a sole proprietorship, or a one-owner LLC with no election, as an individual return, from $195.
Small business taxes start with how your business is set up for tax purposes.
The IRS has no tax category called LLC
For federal tax, an LLC is a disregarded entity, a partnership or a corporation, depending on its members and any election.
An S corp’s profit is taxed on its owners’ returns
An S corporation usually pays no federal income tax itself, because its profit and losses pass through to its shareholders’ own returns.
A sole proprietor pays two taxes on the same profit
A sole proprietor pays income tax and self-employment tax on the same profit, both on Form 1040.
A California LLC owes $800 a year, even with no income
After its first year, a California LLC owes at least $800 a year, plus a fee once its California total income reaches $250,000.
A Texas LLC files a report even when it owes no tax
A Texas LLC or corporation owes no franchise tax on revenue of $2,650,000 or less, but it still files a report each year.
“Their planning advice has saved me so much more than the filing fee itself. Wish I had found them sooner.”
Talk to a CPA about your business before the year ends.
What should you check before a CPA does your business taxes?
Is a CPA worth it for a small business?
A CPA is usually worth it once your business files its own return or weighs an S corp election. A CPA can represent you before the IRS without limit, including in audits and appeals. Only CPAs, enrolled agents and attorneys have that right. A state board of accountancy licenses each CPA after the Uniform CPA Examination and sets education and experience requirements. Continuing education keeps the license active.
How much does an accountant cost for a small business?
At Valim, a small business tax return costs from $495. A sole proprietor files the business on their own Form 1040, and an individual return starts at $195. Each fee is fixed before work starts, with no hourly rates. The instant quote sets the fee from your entity, revenue and expenses, owners, states and how clean your books are.
What are red flags when hiring a CPA?
A paid preparer who will not sign your return is a red flag, because federal rules require a signature. A preparer with no preparer tax identification number (PTIN) is another red flag. Every paid preparer must have one, and the signing preparer enters theirs on the return. Ask a CPA which state licensed them, and be wary of one who cannot say.
Do self-employed people pay 30% tax?
No single 30% rate applies to the self-employed. You pay self-employment tax of 15.3% on 92.35% of your profit, plus income tax at your bracket rates. The 12.4% Social Security part of that tax stops at $184,500 of net earnings in 2026. In the 22% bracket, each extra dollar of profit costs about 30.5% federal, before any state income tax.
Which entity should my business be?
The right entity depends on your profit and your plans, because the entity sets how that profit is taxed. An LLC taxed by default puts its profit on the owners’ own returns, where an active owner’s share generally bears self-employment tax. With an S corp election, payroll tax falls only on the salary you pay yourself, which must be reasonable. The election can pay off once profit is well above that salary and the saving outweighs payroll and return costs. A C corporation pays a flat 21% itself, and its dividends are taxed again.
Sources
- 26 C.F.R. § 301.7701-3, Classification of certain business entities
- IRS, 2025 Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040)
- IRS, Instructions for Form 1065 (2025)
- 26 U.S.C. § 1361, S corporation defined
- 26 U.S.C. § 1363, Effect of election on corporation
- 26 U.S.C. § 1366, Pass-thru of items to shareholders
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 23802, S corporations
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 23153, Minimum franchise tax
- IRS, S corporation compensation and medical insurance issues
- 26 U.S.C. § 1401, Rate of tax on self-employment income
- 26 U.S.C. § 1402, Definitions (net earnings from self-employment)
- Social Security Administration, Contribution and benefit base
- 26 U.S.C. § 199A, Qualified business income
- IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments)
- 26 U.S.C. § 6654, Failure by individual to pay estimated income tax
- 26 U.S.C. § 11, Tax imposed (corporations)
- 26 U.S.C. § 301, Distributions of property
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 17941, LLC annual tax
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 17942, LLC fee
- Texas Tax Code ch. 171, Franchise tax
- Texas Comptroller, 2026 Texas Franchise Tax Report instructions (Form 05-915)
- IRS, Understanding tax return preparer credentials and qualifications
- IRS, PTIN requirements for tax return preparers
- 26 U.S.C. § 6109, Identifying numbers
- 26 C.F.R. § 1.6695-1, Other assessable penalties with respect to the preparation of tax returns for other persons
Reviewed and updated September 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.