Accounting & Tax for Canyon Country Businesses and Families, Santa Clarita
The shop with techs on 1099s, the contractor with two trucks, the family restaurant with cash and tips, the driver with no mileage log, the horse property that rents to film shoots — books, payroll, sales tax returns and the tax return for Canyon Country, one flat fee in writing.
Book a free consultation
A free 15-minute call that ends with one price for the books, payroll, the return or all three.
Based in Santa Clarita · Working in Canyon Country
Our office is in Santa Clarita, so getting to Canyon Country takes us about fifteen minutes. Most of the work runs through our secure portal. And when the books live at the shop, the yard or the restaurant, we come there.
Typical situations
Do you work with a shop or a trade like mine in Canyon Country?
Yes. These are the situations we hear about most from Canyon Country.
The auto shop on Soledad Canyon Road
Two techs paid partly in cash on 1099s, and invoices that lump parts and labor together. First, the 1099s: under the ABC test, California’s three-part employee test, techs doing the shop’s core work are employees, so the 1099s are wrong. Second, the invoices: sales tax is owed on the parts but not the repair labor, which a lumped invoice hides. We set up W-2 payroll as a flat monthly fee, keep parts and labor separate, file the sales tax returns and prepare the return — self-employed from $650 for a sole proprietor, business from $850 once it’s an S-corp. Read the risk of paying a tech in cash, and how to do it right.
The contractor working out of a yard off Sierra Highway
A plumbing or concrete trade running two trucks, subs on 1099s, and customer deposits. Without job costing — labor, materials and subs tracked on each job — every bid is a guess. Deposits get booked as income the day they land, and the trucks never go on a depreciation schedule. We load the costs onto each job, book deposits as what they are — money owed back until the work is done — and put the trucks on the schedule. See how we set up job costing. An S-corp contractor lands at a business return from $850, the owner’s personal return included.
The rideshare and delivery driver in Fair Oaks Ranch
1099-NEC and 1099-K forms from the apps, the car, the phone — and no mileage log. Without a log the biggest deduction can’t be proven, and without quarterly estimates the self-employment tax shows up as an April surprise. We set the mileage method — the standard rate or actual expenses — and the log, set the estimates, and file. Read how delivery-app taxes work. A gig driver’s return lands in the self-employed tier, from $650.
The family taqueria on Soledad Canyon
A crew of four, cash and card tips, a register that never matches the bank, and sales tax returns filed from memory. The miss is tips never reported through payroll. We run tipped payroll with the tips as wages, reconcile the register to the bank every month, file the sales tax returns from the books, and prepare the return. Se habla español. Books and payroll run as one flat monthly fee, and the business return starts at $850.
The Sand Canyon horse property that rents to film shoots
Location rent from productions on a 1099-MISC, boarding income, and a barn that loses money. The film rent gets reported as self-employment income when it’s rent: Schedule E, the form for rental income, with no self-employment tax on it. The boarding losses get deducted with no profit-motive file, and the IRS treats an activity that keeps losing as a hobby unless you can show you’re trying to make money. We report the rent correctly, build the profit-motive file, and plan the next year with you.
The new storefront at Vista Canyon
A first business: the entity, the EIN, the seller’s permit (the state permit to sell taxable goods), payroll registration with the EDD when you hire, and the first year’s estimates. The miss is an LLC formed by default without modeling it, and estimates skipped all year. We set the business up in the right order and model sole proprietor, LLC or S-corp on your numbers. A first-year return lands in the self-employed tier, from $650.
What we check
What do you check for a Canyon Country shop or trade?
Before a Canyon Country return goes out, we check the same seven things: who you paid and how, parts against labor, every truck’s mileage and depreciation, job costs and deposits, cash and tips against the bank, quarterly estimates, and whether the entity still fits.
- Every 1099 the shop issued against California’s ABC test — techs, helpers and a crew are W-2
- Parts against labor on the invoices, so the sales tax return matches the books
- The mileage log and the depreciation schedule for every truck and car
- Job costing — labor, materials and subs on each job — and deposits booked as a liability until the work is done
- Register totals and card payouts against bank deposits, tips through payroll
- Quarterly estimates for every 1099 earner in the household
- The entity — sole proprietor, LLC or S-corp — re-modeled on this year’s profit
See how the monthly bookkeeping runs and how payroll is set up and priced.
Pricing
How much does an accountant cost in Canyon Country in 2026?
Individual returns start at $350, self-employed at $650 and business returns at $850 with the owner’s personal return included; bookkeeping and payroll are a flat monthly fee, and every fee is quoted in writing before we start. What moves a quote above the floor is how many people you pay, cash and tips, sales tax filings, the number of trucks, and how far behind the books are.
Individual return
from $350
- A W-2 household in Fair Oaks Ranch
- A small 1099 side job, quoted on the call
- Itemized or standard
- The prior-year comparison
Self-employed
from $650
- Everything in Individual
- Schedule C for a sole-proprietor shop, a trade or a gig driver
- Quarterly estimates from real numbers
- The vehicle and mileage review
Business
from $850
- The S-corp or partnership return for an auto shop, a contractor or a restaurant
- The owner’s personal return included
- A books review before filing
- Year-round question access
Bookkeeping and payroll are a flat monthly fee based on your volume, and larger jobs get a written quote before we start. The quote is the price.
How it works
What happens after you book?
A free 15-minute call ends with one price for your situation, and the work starts from there.
The call
About six questions: what you do, who you pay and how, the trucks, cash and tips, sales tax, how far behind the books are.
Send documents
Through the secure portal, or we come by the shop on Soledad Canyon or the yard off Sierra Highway.
We do the work
We run the books and payroll or prepare the return — parts and labor, the mileage, the crew — and review it with you.
You approve
Nothing goes to the IRS or the EDD until you’ve seen it and signed off; an extension is free if April gets tight.
We stay reachable
A question in July or a letter in September goes to the same people who keep the shop’s books.
Communication
You’ll know where the books, payroll and the return stand.
Whoever picks up the phone also keeps the shop’s books, runs the payroll and prepares the return. You get a status at every stage: received, in preparation, ready for review, filed.
The same-day rule
Call or email during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day, all twelve months.
In person in Canyon Country
Your choice: the shop, the yard or the restaurant, or fully remote. Here’s how on-site visits work.
If an IRS or FTB letter shows up
Our team is admitted to practice before the IRS — forward the letter and we handle it: how we handle IRS letters.
The N&T Tax & Advisory Group team
We’re a small Santa Clarita team. For Canyon Country that mostly means shops and trades, restaurants, drivers and horse properties. And we’re reachable all year.
Bookkeeping & payroll · Tax preparation & planning · IRS representation · Direct line: (661) 554-4495
Reviews
Rated 5.0 on Google
★★★★★ Twelve reviews, every one five stars, every one verifiable. Read all of them on Google →
"Working with Alex was straightforward. I hadn't looked at my books all year, but he made my life easy and handled the whole profit and loss at the end of the year so I could get my taxes done."
Levon B. — via Google
"I came to this company with previous tax years and bookkeeping that were done incorrectly. They're very knowledgeable about what they do and help me get everything in order at a very reasonable price."
Sayra A. — via Google
"Alex helped me resolve a complicated tax situation that had been causing me a lot of stress. He was extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and efficient throughout the entire process."
Kevin B. — via Google
Where we work
Are you actually in Canyon Country, or is this remote?
We’re based in Santa Clarita, about fifteen minutes away, and we work both ways — through the secure portal, or in person through our on-site service. See every community we serve and, across the valley, our Valencia page.
Worth reading
What can you read before you call?
Three reads: cash pay, LLC or S-corp for a trade, and setting up a first business.
FAQ
What do Canyon Country owners ask before booking?
Do you work with auto shops and trades in Canyon Country?
Yes. Shops and trades are most of what we do there: W-2 payroll for the techs and the crew, parts and labor kept straight for the sales tax return, the trucks on a depreciation schedule, and the return prepared from the same books.
My techs are on 1099s. Is that a problem?
Usually, yes. Under California’s ABC test a worker is an employee unless three conditions pass, including work outside your usual business, and a tech doing repairs in your shop fails that test. We register you with the EDD, the state payroll agency, move the techs to W-2 payroll, and catch up the quarters that were missed.
I drive for the apps out of Fair Oaks Ranch. What do you need from me?
The 1099-NEC and 1099-K forms from each app, a mileage log or the trip history the apps keep, and your car’s purchase or lease papers. We pick the mileage method that fits, set the quarterly estimates so self-employment tax isn’t an April surprise, and file.
Our restaurant takes a lot of cash and tips. Can you keep the books?
Yes. We reconcile the register and the card payouts to the bank every month, run the tips through payroll as wages, and file the sales tax returns from the books instead of from memory. The year-end return then comes from numbers that already tie.
Are you actually in Canyon Country?
We’re in Santa Clarita, about fifteen minutes away. The paperwork mostly moves through our secure portal. When the books live at the shop, we come out to you through our on-site service.
How much does it cost for a Canyon Country shop?
A self-employed return starts at $650 and a business return at $850 with the owner’s personal return included; an individual return starts at $350. Bookkeeping and payroll are a flat monthly fee set by how many people you pay, cash and tips, and sales tax filings — you hear the exact number on the call.
We rent our Sand Canyon property to film shoots. How is that taxed?
As rent, reported on Schedule E — the form for rental income — with no self-employment tax on it, not as a business. If the property also boards horses at a loss, the IRS treats the barn as a hobby unless you can show you’re trying to make money, so we build that profit-motive file alongside the return.
I’m opening a storefront at Vista Canyon. Where do I start?
With the entity decision, modeled on the numbers you expect, before anything is formed. Then the EIN, the seller’s permit, payroll registration with the EDD when you hire, and quarterly estimates from the first profitable quarter — we set it up in that order.
Ready to get the shop’s books and taxes handled?
One free 15-minute call. You’ll leave knowing what we’d handle for the shop and what it costs, whether or not you hire us.
Rather talk now? Call (661) 554-4495 — you’ll hear back the same day.
Our team of federally licensed tax practitioners is admitted to practice before the Internal Revenue Service. This page is general information, not tax or accounting advice for your specific situation.