Taxes for lash techs, nail techs, barbers and stylists in Los Angeles and Santa Clarita
Free tax review
Renting a suite?
Fifteen minutes by phone, ending with one written price for what we’d handle.
For lash and brow techs, PMU artists, nail techs, estheticians, barbers and stylists who rent a chair or suite or work mobile — Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, remotely anywhere in the US. Books that tie out Square, Venmo, Zelle and cash, the return, quarterly estimates — one flat fee in writing.
Los Angeles and Santa Clarita
We’re based in Santa Clarita and work with beauty pros across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, and remotely anywhere in the US. A lash suite in Valencia, a barber’s chair in Van Nuys and a nail station in North Hollywood file the same federal and California returns; what changes with the address is whether the City of Los Angeles business tax registration applies.
Typical situations
Do you work with beauty pros like me?
Yes — if you do lashes, brows, PMU, nails, skin, hair or barbering for yourself, in a rented chair, a suite, mobile or at home, and need the books, the return or the quarterly estimates handled.
A lash tech in her first year renting a suite in Valencia
She rents the suite, sets her own appointments and keeps everything she earns. Income tax plus Social Security and Medicare all fall on her; the common mistake is a year with no quarterly payments and one large bill in April. We close her books each month and figure each quarterly payment from them. Books plus the return from $395 a month.
A barber renting a chair in Van Nuys
Renting a chair in Van Nuys means doing business in the City of Los Angeles, which requires the City’s Business Tax Registration Certificate, booth renters included. With $100,000 or less of worldwide gross receipts the business tax is zero — but only if registered and the renewal is filed on time; the first year’s tax is paid at the second year’s renewal. He’s paid in cash and card tips through Square; never registering forfeits the zero. We check whether he’s registered and put the renewal on the calendar.
A nail tech in North Hollywood selling cuticle oil and aftercare kits
Her services generally aren’t subject to sales tax, but selling products makes her a retailer: she needs a free seller’s permit (the state registration to collect sales tax) and files sales tax returns. The polish, gel and files she uses on clients are taxed to her when she buys them. The miss is selling products with no permit, or buying salon supplies tax-free for resale. We set up the product sales in the books and file the CDTFA returns. Monthly bookkeeping from $295 a month, sales tax returns included.
A mobile makeup artist working weddings and house calls from Santa Clarita to Burbank and Glendale
She’s paid by card and Venmo deposits, and her car is a real expense: 2026 business miles are 72.5 cents a mile through June 30 and 76 cents from July 1. Without a dated log, a year-end mileage guess can’t be split across the two rates. We build the mileage figure from her dated log and apply each rate to its half of the year.
A brow artist in Canyon Country two years behind
She’s paid mostly on Zelle and in cash; no 1099 arrived, so nothing got filed — but the deposits are all income on paper unless she can show otherwise. We rebuild the missing years from bank and payment-app records and the booking log, note every deposit that isn’t income (transfers, refunds, a friend paying her back), and file the missing returns. A cleanup from $750, quoted as a project, then monthly books — our cleanup page explains how a catch-up runs.
An esthetician with a treatment room at home in Saugus
She sees clients by card and cash in a room used only and regularly for the business; it can be deducted at $5 a square foot up to 300 square feet, or at its actual cost. A room that doubles as a guest room or family space doesn’t qualify for either method. We measure the room, compare the simplified method with actual cost, and use whichever is larger.
Booth and suite rent
Am I self-employed if I rent a chair or a salon suite?
For federal tax, yes — the IRS describes a booth renter as someone who leases space from an existing business and runs their own business as an independent contractor, so the income goes on Schedule C (the self-employed profit-and-loss form) and Social Security and Medicare go on Schedule SE.
Self-employment tax — Social Security and Medicare on your own profit — starts once your net profit reaches $400 for the year, even if you owe no income tax; our post lays out what self-employment tax adds to a 1099 worker’s bill in 2026. It’s figured on profit after supplies, rent and other expenses, which is why the books matter.
We prepare Schedule C and Schedule SE from your books and show you the return before it’s filed — how we prepare the return.
Tips
Do lash techs, nail techs and barbers still pay tax on tips in 2026?
Yes — every tip is income and goes on the return, cash included; for 2025 through 2028 there is a federal deduction of up to $25,000 of qualified tips, but for 2026 a self-employed pro can count only tips separately shown on a 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC or 1099-K, and California taxes all of them.
- On the Treasury list of tipped occupations (the jobs whose tips qualify): estheticians (601), barbers, stylists and cosmetologists (603), nail techs (605), lash and brow techs (606) and makeup artists (607)
- Permanent makeup isn’t named on the list, so PMU work is a question we look at with you
- A cash or Zelle tip that no 1099 shows still counts as income, but not toward the deduction
- For a self-employed pro the deduction can’t exceed the net profit of the business the tips came from, and it shrinks at higher incomes
- California doesn’t follow the deduction, so the state return taxes every tip
We keep a tip log by how each tip was paid, match it to the 1099s you receive, claim the deduction only on the tips a form shows, and report every tip on both returns.
Payment apps
Clients pay me on Venmo, Zelle and cash. Do I have to report it?
Yes, all of it — Zelle doesn’t report to the IRS or issue a 1099-K at all, and for 2026 Venmo, PayPal and other payment apps must send a 1099-K (the form that reports app payments) only when goods-and-services payments pass $20,000 and 200 transactions — but the income is reportable either way.
- Payments to a Venmo business profile count as goods-and-services payments
- A form can arrive below the threshold, and a missing form changes nothing about what’s owed — the Franchise Tax Board says the same for California
- Deposits read as income unless you can show they aren’t, so we keep a separate business account and a note on every deposit that isn’t income
We reconcile the bank, Square, Venmo, Zelle and cash to your booking log every month, so the income on the return matches what actually came in; the bookkeeping page shows how the monthly books run.
Write-offs
What can a lash tech, nail tech or barber write off?
The costs of the work itself — products and supplies used on clients, chair or suite rent, license renewals and regulatory fees, the business share of your phone, the car for mobile work, a room used only for the business, and equipment like a lash bed or styling chair.
- Supplies — lash trays and glue, polish and gel, color, wax, disposables — are deducted as you use them, and small incidental supplies when you buy them
- The sales tax you pay on supplies is part of their cost
- Chair or suite rent is deductible with the lease and rent paid from the business account
- License renewals and regulatory fees paid each year
- The business share of the phone, with the split written down
- Equipment that lasts beyond a year goes through a depreciation or expensing election on the return; we pick the election
We code every expense to its Schedule C line from the receipt; our post covers which receipts to keep and for how long.
Quarterly estimates
When are quarterly estimated taxes due for 2026?
For 2026 the IRS takes four estimated payments and California three, and the last 2026 payment for both is due January 15, 2027.
Federal
- April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027
- A late penalty grows per payment and per day, so paying in January still lowers it
- Filing the 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and paying in full replaces the January payment
California
- April 15 and June 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027
- No September payment, so most of the year’s estimate is due by June 15
Estimated tax is figured on net profit, not on what clients paid. We figure each payment, federal and California, from the closed books and send you the amounts before each date; our post walks through how a first quarterly payment works.
Pricing
How much does tax help for a beauty pro cost in 2026?
In 2026, tax help for a beauty pro starts at $295 a month for monthly bookkeeping, $395 a month for bookkeeping plus the year-end return, and $650 for a self-employed return alone or $850 for a business entity return with the owner’s personal return included — each a flat fee quoted in writing before we start. Sales tax returns for product sales are part of the monthly quote, not a separate charge; a quote rises with more accounts and payment apps, more cash, product sales, an LLC, a salon 1099, and books that are behind.
Monthly books
from $295/mo
- Bank, Square, Venmo, Zelle and cash reconciled to the booking log
- Tips logged by how they were paid
- Expenses coded from receipts
- Sales tax returns if you sell products
- Monthly P&L and a short note
Books plus the return
from $395/mo
- Everything in monthly books
- The year-end return prepared from your own books
- Quarterly estimates from real numbers
- Year-round question access
The return alone
from $650
- One Schedule C with Schedule SE
- Quarterly estimate calculations from your real numbers
- Deduction review for your trade
The quote is the price.
How it works
What happens after you book?
A 15-minute call ends with one price, and the setup starts from there.
The 15-minute call
About six questions: what you do and where you work, how clients pay, whether you sell products, any 1099 from a salon, an LLC or not, and how far behind the books or the returns are.
The engagement letter
Sent during the call, signed when you’re ready; then a short onboarding call and the secure-portal invite.
Access and documents
Read-only bank feeds or your QuickBooks file, your booking-app and payment-app reports, and our checklist.
Catch-up first if you’re behind
A cleanup comes first — half to start, the balance on delivery — then the monthly close starts.
You see everything before it’s filed
Every return comes to you before anything goes out.
Communication
You’ll know where the books and the estimates stand.
Whoever picks up the phone also keeps your books, figures your quarterly estimates and prepares your return.
The same-day rule
Call or email during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day — all twelve months.
Beauty pros are welcome
The free call ends with a straight answer on whether we’re the right fit.
Admitted to practice before the IRS
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. If an IRS letter shows up, forward it: how we handle IRS letters.
The N&T Tax & Advisory Group team
We’re reachable all year.
Bookkeeping · Tax preparation · Tax 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 →
"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
"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
Where we work
Do you work with beauty pros outside Santa Clarita?
We work with beauty pros anywhere in the US, remotely — the books live in your bank, your payment apps and your booking app. We also offer in-person visits in the Santa Clarita Valley.
What we don’t do
We handle the tax and money side: the books, the return, quarterly estimates, sales tax returns and IRS letters. Board licensing, establishment licenses and permits, health and safety rules, insurance and wage claims are outside our work and we don’t advise on them — wage questions belong with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office.
Worth reading
What can you read before you call?
Three short reads for a first year on your own: self-employment tax, a first quarterly payment, and which receipts to keep.
FAQ
What do lash techs, nail techs and barbers ask before booking?
What do I need to file taxes as a lash tech, nail tech or barber?
Every 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC or 1099-K you received; your card-processor, booking-app and payment-app reports; bank, Venmo, Zelle and PayPal statements; your tip log; the lease or rent receipts; supply receipts and license renewals; your mileage log if you work mobile; a Form 1098-T if you were in school; and last year’s return. We send a checklist so nothing is missed.
How much should I set aside for taxes?
Enough for federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare on your profit, and California income tax — figured on what the business actually cleared, not on what clients paid you. We figure the actual number from your closed books each quarter, so it follows what you made.
Is my booth rent deductible?
Yes — chair or suite rent is a business expense on Schedule C. If you pay $2,000 or more in rent during 2026 to a salon owner that isn’t a corporation, you also owe the owner a Form 1099-MISC for it, and we track the rent and file that form.
Can I deduct my lash certification or beauty school?
A lash, brow or technique course taken once you’re licensed and working improves the skills of your trade, and we deduct it on Schedule C. The cosmetology, esthetics or barber school that got you the license isn’t deductible — it qualified you for the trade — though it may count toward an education credit if the school is eligible for federal student aid; we check the Form 1098-T.
My salon gives me a 1099 but sets my schedule. Am I really self-employed?
We can review whether your 1099 arrangement fits before you file — send the agreement and a few months of pay records. Wage questions and claims against a salon belong with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, not with us.
Do I need an LLC as a nail tech or barber?
Not for income tax — a one-person LLC is taxed like a sole proprietor, self-employment tax included, unless it elects otherwise. In California it owes $800 a year regardless of profit, so we weigh it on your numbers before you form; our entity-selection page shows how we compare the options.
Ready to get your books and your return handled?
One free 15-minute call. You’ll leave knowing exactly what we’d handle and what it costs — whether or not you hire us.
Rather talk now? Call (661) 554-4495 — reach us during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day.
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. This page is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation.