We do tax preparation on Long Island for owner-run businesses and the people who own them. The business return and the personal return are prepared together because for an owner they are one decision, and both are built from books that were closed every month rather than reconstructed in March. Our offices are in Hicksville and Melville.
Business and personal returns prepared together
Built from monthly books, not a March reconstruction
The PTET election modelled per owner, before the March 15 deadline
A CPA signs it, and represents you if it is questioned
The Hicksville or Melville office, or a desk mid-season.
Overview
We do tax preparation on Long Island for owner-run businesses and the people who own them. The business return and the personal return are prepared together because for an owner they are one decision, and both are built from books that were closed every month rather than reconstructed in March. Our offices are in Hicksville and Melville.
What we need from you
Video coming soon
A return, start to finish
What we ask for, in what order, and when the return is ready.
[confirm length once filmed]
How we prepare a return
The return is the last step, not the first. If the books were closed each month and the accounts reconcile, preparing the return is mostly checking and electing. If they were not, the first job is rebuilding the year, and that is a different piece of work with a different price on it.
We prepare the business return and the owner's personal return together. The reasonable salary on an S corporation, the distribution split, the MCTMT if you are self-employed, and the PTET election all move each other, and preparing them in separate conversations is how owners end up paying more than they need to.
Everything on the return traces back to something. If the state asks, the support is already in the file rather than rebuilt under a deadline.
The PTET election, modelled per owner
New York's pass-through entity tax lets the business pay state tax at the entity level, where it stays federally deductible, with a credit to each owner. Under the federal SALT cap it is worth real money to some owners and close to nothing to others, and the answer depends on the individual, not the business.
Two things make this urgent rather than theoretical. The election is annual and due March 15 of the tax year, with no extension: miss it and the year is gone. And the federal cap is $40,400 for 2026, phasing down above $505,000 of modified AGI and reverting to $10,000 in 2030, so the answer moves from year to year and from owner to owner.
We model it rather than assume it. The arithmetic is not difficult; skipping it is what costs money.
Planning, which happens before December
By the time a return is being prepared, most of what could have changed the bill has already happened. The work that moves a number has to be done inside the tax year: the salary and distribution split set and actually run through payroll, equipment bought and placed in service, retirement contributions made, the entity in the right shape.
So we do a planning pass in the autumn, on figures from books that are current, and tell you what is worth doing before 31 December and what is not. For most owners that is one conversation and a short list.
On the personal side the levers that move a Long Island return are on the Long Island tax rates page: the STAR relief, the New York 529 deduction, the retirement income exclusion, and itemizing on the state return even where the federal return takes the standard deduction.
Who signs it, and what that means
A New York-licensed CPA prepares and signs the return, and can represent you before the IRS and, with a power of attorney, before New York. That is the practical difference between a credentialed preparer and an unenrolled one: not the preparation, but who can stand between you and the agency afterwards.
You can check any New York CPA licence, including ours, in the state register. Corviniti is an accounting and tax company led by a New York-licensed CPA, not a registered public accounting firm, and does not perform audits, reviews or compilations.
The dates that matter
March 15: S corporation and partnership returns, and the PTET election and first estimated payment. April 15: C corporation and personal returns. Extensions give six more months to file and no more time to pay, which is the part that catches people.
Sales tax and payroll keep to their own quarterly cycles through all of it. If we do your bookkeeping those are already handled; if we do not, tell us what is outstanding at the start rather than in April.
What this looks like in practice
These are the situations we are typically brought in to fix on Long Island. Details are generalised, and we never publish a client's business.
1
A Melville technology consultancy
Melville, Suffolk County
What we found
An S corporation paying the owner entirely in distributions with no salary at all, which is the arrangement New York and the IRS question first, and no PTET election in either of two eligible years.
What we did
Set a defensible reasonable salary and ran it through payroll, documented the basis for it, and made the election for the open year.
Where it landed
The classification risk closed, and the election recovered a federal deduction the prior preparer had left on the table.
2
A Hicksville retail business
Hicksville, Nassau County
What we found
Business and personal returns prepared by two different people who never spoke, so the owner's basis and the distributions on the business return disagreed.
What we did
Rebuilt the basis schedule from formation, reconciled it to the distributions actually taken, and prepared both returns together.
Where it landed
One consistent position across both returns, and a basis schedule that carries forward instead of being re-derived every year.
3
A Huntington design studio
Huntington, Suffolk County
What we found
A partnership that had never filed Form IT-204-LL and had missed the PTET election three years running while both partners itemized.
What we did
Filed the outstanding LLC fees, modelled the election for each partner separately, and made it for the current year before March 15.
Where it landed
Current on the filings, and an election that was worth taking for one partner and marginal for the other, which is the point of modelling it.
What it costs
A flat monthly fee, quoted from your transaction volume, your accounts, and whether you run payroll. You get the number in writing before any work starts. Catch-up work is quoted separately so it does not inflate the ongoing fee.
Basics
$250per month
Solo owners and single-location businesses under about $50k of monthly expenses.
Monthly bank and card reconciliation
Expense categorization with bank rules
Profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow every month
Sales tax return prepared and filed at your county rate
Ro Sokhi is a New York licensed CPA. The person who signs off on your numbers is the person who can tell you what they mean for your tax bill.
Flat monthly fee
You know the number before the month starts. No hourly meter, no surprise invoice for a phone call in March.
On Long Island, not a call center
Staffed offices in Melville and Hicksville. We will come to the shop if the shoebox is easier to hand over than to scan.
Catch-up work is normal here
Most businesses that call us are behind. Some by a quarter, some by three years. That is the job, and it is quoted separately so the monthly fee stays clean.
Our offices
Both offices are staffed. Most work happens electronically wherever you are, and the offices are there for the businesses that would rather hand something over in person.
Suffolk County Office
68 S Service Rd #100 Melville, NY 11747
On the South Service Road off the LIE, serving Suffolk County and eastern Long Island.
Sales tax rates by county.Publication 718: New York State Publication 718 lists the combined rate for every jurisdiction, including Nassau at 8.625 percent and Suffolk at 8.75 percent.
Suffolk's rate change.Sales tax rates bulletin: Suffolk raised its local rate from 4.25 to 4.375 percent effective March 1, 2025, which is why the two counties no longer match.
Clothing under $110.Publication 718-C: Publication 718-C sets out which localities exempt clothing and footwear under $110 and which continue to tax their local portion.
MCTMT employer rates.MCTMT employer rates: The payroll expense threshold and the Zone 2 bracket rates that apply to Nassau and Suffolk employers.
MCTMT if you are self-employed.0.34 percent on Zone 2 self-employment earnings: Long Island is Zone 2, where net earnings from self-employment are taxed at 0.34 percent above a threshold that rises to $150,000 for tax year 2026.
The vendor collection credit.5 percent of tax due, up to $200 a period: Quarterly and annual filers who file on time keep 5 percent of the tax due, up to $200 a period. Monthly filers and PrompTax enrollees are not eligible.
Property tax, full value rates.Overall full-value tax rates by county: New York State's overall full-value tax rates by county: Nassau $36.90 and Suffolk $18.90 per $1,000 for 2021, against $27.70 statewide outside New York City.
Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge.1,300 companies at the Innovation Park: HIA-LI, the park's steward, publishes the 1,300 company count cited in the capital map.
CPA licence verification.NYSED licence register: The New York State Education Department register, where any CPA licence can be checked, including ours.
Every rate on this page links to the New York State authority that publishes it. Figures are current as of the date shown above. They explain how the numbers work and are not tax advice for your situation.
Nassau County Clerk Business name filings, if the entity side also needs attention.
Every rate on this page links to the New York State authority that publishes it. Figures are current as of the date shown above. They explain how the numbers work and are not tax advice for your situation.
Questions
Do you prepare personal returns as well as business returns?
Yes, and for an owner we prefer to do both. The salary and distribution split, the PTET election and the personal return all move each other, so preparing them in separate conversations is how owners overpay.
What is the PTET, and should we elect it?
New York's pass-through entity tax pays state tax at the entity level, where it stays federally deductible, with a credit to each owner. Whether it pays depends on the owner rather than the business, so we model it. The election is annual and due March 15 of the tax year, with no extension.
Our books are behind. Can you still do the return?
Yes, but the books come first. A return built on a reconstruction is a guess with a signature on it. We quote the catch-up work separately and up front; see catch-up bookkeeping.
Can you represent us if the return is questioned?
Yes. A New York-licensed CPA has unlimited representation rights before the IRS and, with a power of attorney, deals with New York State directly.
When should we start?
For planning, the autumn before the year ends, because most of what changes a tax bill has to happen inside the tax year. For preparation, as soon as the year is closed.
How much does a bookkeeper cost on Long Island?
Our plans start at $250 a month for a solo owner and run to $850 for a multi-entity business, set by your monthly expense volume rather than by the hour. You get the number in writing before any work starts. Independent bookkeepers on Long Island often quote hourly, which looks cheaper until a busy month arrives; a flat fee is a number you can budget.
My books are two years behind. Is that a problem?
It is the most common reason people call. We work backwards from the last filed return, rebuild the periods in between, and reconcile to the bank rather than to whatever the prior file says. You get a clean starting balance and a written list of what changed. Catch-up is quoted as a one-time project, usually one to two months of the recurring fee.
Do you file sales tax returns?
Yes, and on Long Island that matters more than most places. Nassau charges 8.625 percent and Suffolk charges 8.75 percent, so a business selling in both counties collects at two rates and has to report them separately. We register you if you are not registered, review what you are collecting, and file on whatever schedule the state has put you on.
Are you a CPA firm?
Ro Sokhi is individually licensed as a CPA in New York and leads the work. The operating entity is a business corporation and is not registered with NYSED as a public accounting firm, so we do not perform audits, reviews, or compilations. If your bank or a buyer needs assurance work we will tell you plainly and point you to a registered firm.
What is the difference between a bookkeeper and a CPA?
A bookkeeper records what happened. A CPA is licensed, can represent you before the IRS, and can tell you what the numbers mean for your tax position and your decisions. Most small businesses are sold one or the other. Here the bookkeeping is done to a standard a CPA is willing to sign off on, and the same person handles the return.
Do you work with QuickBooks, or do I have to switch?
QuickBooks Online for most clients, and Xero where a business is already on it. We do not force a migration for its own sake. If you are on spreadsheets, a shoebox, or a system your last bookkeeper set up badly, that is a normal starting point and we will move you when moving is worth it.
How long does it take to get started?
A first call takes about twenty minutes and a quote follows the same day. Once you accept, we need read-only access to your bank and card feeds and your last filed return. Most businesses are fully onboarded inside two weeks; a business needing catch-up work takes longer, and we tell you how much longer before you commit.
Do we have to meet in person?
Only if you want to. Most clients send documents electronically and talk to us on a call. The Melville and Hicksville offices are there for the businesses that would rather hand over a box of receipts than scan them, and for anyone who wants to meet the person doing the work before handing over the books.
Can you handle payroll as well as the books?
Yes. We process payroll, file the NYS-45, and track the MCTMT, which applies here because Nassau and Suffolk are inside the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. We also review worker classification, because contractors who work like employees are the payroll issue New York challenges most often.
What happens if I get a letter from New York State or the IRS?
Send it to us the day it arrives. Most notices are routine and are resolved with a reconciliation and a reply. Ro is a CPA and holds unlimited representation rights before the IRS, so if a notice turns into something more, you are not looking for help at that point.
Are you taking new clients right now?
Yes. We keep the client list small enough that the same person reviews your file every month, so there are periods when onboarding runs a few weeks out, and we tell you that on the first call rather than after you sign.