Accounting & Tax for Castaic, Val Verde and the I-5 Corridor, Based in Santa Clarita
The owner-operator with no per diem day log, the small carrier with drivers on 1099s, the concrete contractor with draws and retention, the lake business earning in three months, the W-2 household with a side business — for Castaic and Val Verde, the return, the books and the payroll, one flat fee in writing.
Book a free consultation
A free 15-minute call about your situation — it ends with one price for the return, the books, payroll, or all three.
Based in Santa Clarita · Working in Castaic and Val Verde
Our office is in Santa Clarita, so Castaic is about fifteen minutes up the I-5 and Val Verde a few minutes more. Most of the work runs through the secure portal. When the books live at the yard, we come to the yard.
Typical situations
Do you work with a trucker or a trade like mine in Castaic?
Yes. If one of the five below sounds like you, that’s the work we do.
The owner-operator who parks the tractor off Lake Hughes Road
Settlement statements or a 1099-NEC from the carrier, a logbook, and the tractor’s purchase papers. What usually goes missing is the per diem day log — per diem is the daily meal allowance a driver under hours-of-service rules (the limits on driving hours) can claim for each day away. The tractor also sits on one depreciation schedule when it needs two — federal law allows the full first-year write-off and California doesn’t — and truck payments get booked as rent when they build equity. We build the day count from the logbook, carry both schedules, and set the estimates. Self-employed return, from $650. Read the deductions an owner-operator should be taking.
The small carrier with two trucks and a dispatcher at Castaic Junction
A yard, drivers paid on 1099s, a dispatcher, and two truck loans. Usually the 1099s are wrong: drivers doing the carrier’s core work are employees under California’s ABC test — a worker is an employee unless three conditions pass, including work outside your usual business. The loan payments also get booked as an expense instead of the trucks going on a schedule. We register you with the EDD, move the drivers to W-2 payroll as a flat monthly fee, put the trucks on the schedule, and file the S-corp return. Business return, from $850, the owner’s personal return included. See how driver payroll is set up and priced.
The concrete contractor pouring foundations in Williams Ranch
Builder draws, retention held back on every invoice, subs on 1099s, and a pump truck. Here’s what goes wrong: draws get booked as income the day they land — a draw is money owed back until the work is done. Retention never gets tracked, and there’s no job costing, so every bid is a guess. We book draws as liabilities until earned, track the retention receivable, load labor, materials and subs onto each pour, and set up job costing. Business return, from $850.
The boat-rental and bait shop at Castaic Lake
A summer that runs on cash and cards, a crew of students, retail bait and gear, and a winter with almost nothing. Most often the estimates are set as four equal payments when the income lands in three months, the summer crew gets paid in cash, and the sales tax on the retail side is filed late. We set the estimates by season, run the summer payroll, file the sales tax returns, and keep the books through the quiet months. Self-employed return, from $650.
The Val Verde household with a W-2 commuter and a side business
One spouse’s W-2, the other’s 1099s from a hauling or grooming side business, and a truck used for both. The trouble is usually three things: no estimates on the side income, no mileage log for the truck, and the home office never claimed. We set the estimates, set the mileage method and the log — by the mile or by the truck’s actual costs — and take the home office. Individual return, from $350, while it’s one W-2; self-employed, from $650, once the side business is real.
What we check
What do you check for a Castaic trucker or contractor?
Before a Castaic return goes out, we check the same seven things: the per diem day count against the logbook, both depreciation schedules for every tractor and truck, who you paid and how, draws and retention, job costs on each pour, estimates set by season, and the side business’s mileage and home office.
- The days away counted from the logbook, not from memory
- A federal schedule and a California schedule for every tractor, trailer and truck, with rent-to-own payments treated as a purchase
- Every 1099 the business issued against California’s ABC test — drivers, helpers and crews are W-2
- Builder draws booked as liabilities until earned and retention tracked as money owed to you
- Labor, materials, subs and the pump truck loaded onto each job
- Quarterly estimates set by season for a lake business and by load for a driver
- The mileage log, the home office and the estimates for the household’s side business
See how we prepare the return and how the monthly bookkeeping runs.
Pricing
How much does an accountant cost in Castaic 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 here: the number of trucks, drivers on payroll, job costing, sales tax filings, and how far behind the books are.
Individual return
from $350
- A Val Verde household’s W-2s
- Interest and dividends
- Itemized or standard
- The prior-year comparison
Self-employed
from $650
- Everything in Individual
- Schedule C for an owner-operator, a lake business or a side business
- The per diem day count and both depreciation schedules
- Quarterly estimates from real numbers
Business
from $850
- The S-corp or partnership return for a small carrier or a contractor
- 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 haul or build, trucks and equipment, who you pay and how, how your income lands across the year, and how far behind the books are (what a catch-up involves).
Documents
Everything moves through the secure portal, or we come by the yard.
The work
We prepare the return or run the books and payroll in-house — the day count, both schedules, the drivers’ payroll — and review it with you.
Your sign-off
Nothing goes out until you’ve seen it and signed off; if April catches you on the road, an extension is free.
Year-round
A question from the cab in July or a letter in September reaches the same people who built the return.
Communication
You’ll know where the return, the books and the payroll stand.
The person who answers the phone sits on the same small team that builds the return, keeps the books and runs the payroll, and 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 Castaic and Val Verde
At the yard or the job site trailer, or fully remote from the cab — your choice. 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 handling tax preparation and planning, bookkeeping, payroll and IRS representation. For Castaic that mostly means owner-operators and small carriers, the trades building the new homes, the lake’s summer businesses and the households with a side business. We’re reachable all year.
Tax preparation & planning · Bookkeeping & payroll · 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 Castaic, or is this remote?
We’re based in Santa Clarita, about fifteen minutes down the I-5, and we work both ways — remotely through the secure portal, or in person through our on-site service. If you want the full map, here’s every community we serve — and down the freeway, our Valencia page.
Worth reading
What can you read before you call?
Three short reads: an owner-operator’s deductions, a contractor’s equipment depreciation, and why a builder draw isn’t income yet.
FAQ
What do Castaic owners ask before booking?
Do you work with owner-operator truckers in Castaic?
Yes. An owner-operator parked off Lake Hughes Road gets the return built from the settlement statements and the logbook — the per diem day count, the tractor on both depreciation schedules, quarterly estimates set by load — and the books kept if you want them off your plate.
How does per diem work for a driver based in Castaic?
Per diem is a daily meal allowance a driver under hours-of-service rules can claim for each day away from home, so the deduction rests on a day count, not receipts. We build the count from your logbook and carry it onto the return.
I bought a new tractor. Can I write it all off?
Federal law allows the full first-year write-off for a tractor bought and placed in service, but California doesn’t follow it, so the tractor lives on two depreciation schedules and the state return carries its own. We keep both, and if the truck is on a rent-to-own deal that builds equity, we treat the payments as a purchase, not rent.
My drivers are on 1099s. Is that allowed?
Usually not. A driver doing the carrier’s core work is an employee under California’s ABC test, so we register you with the EDD, move the drivers to W-2 payroll, and catch up the quarters that were missed.
Are you actually in Castaic?
We’re in Santa Clarita, about fifteen minutes down the I-5. Most work runs through our secure portal, which suits a driver who’s rarely home. And when the books live at the yard, we come to the yard through our on-site service.
How much does it cost for a Castaic trucker or contractor?
For an owner-operator the self-employed return starts at $650; a small carrier’s S-corp return starts 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 the number of trucks, drivers on payroll and how far behind the books are — you hear the exact number on the call.
We build in Williams Ranch and NorthLake. How should draws and retention be booked?
A builder draw is a liability until the work it covers is done, not income on the day it lands, and retention is money you’ve earned that’s held back until the job closes, so it’s tracked as a receivable. We book both that way and load labor, materials and subs onto each job so the margin is real.
Our lake business only runs in summer. How do estimates work?
Estimates don’t have to be four equal payments; when the income lands in three months at Castaic Lake, we set them by season so you aren’t paying in January on money you haven’t made. The summer crew goes on payroll and the retail sales tax returns are filed from the books.
Ready to get the truck’s return and the books handled?
One free 15-minute call, and you leave knowing exactly what we’d handle 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.