- 4.7 Stars From 64 Google Reviews
- Open Saturdays 10–4
- File In Person or Fully Virtual
- Year-Round Help, Not Just Tax Season
- Nonprofit & Church Specialists
Running a small business in Cincinnati means more tax forms than most owners expect. There is the federal return, the Ohio return, the city return, and often a separate return for each owner. Many owners try to keep up on their own until a notice shows up or a deadline slips past. You don’t have to sort it out alone. We have helped local owners with their business taxes since 1993, and we are open all year, not just in the spring.
What Small Business Accounting Problems Do You Have?
Most owners call us for one of a few reasons. The business made money, but you don’t know what you owe or when to pay it. You formed an LLC and aren’t sure which return it files. Business and personal spending went through one bank account, and now nothing adds up. Or a notice says a quarterly payment was late or a return was never filed.
Some problems are harder to spot. Plenty of owners pay too much self-employment tax because they skip costs they were allowed to deduct. Others owe the city and don’t know it. Cincinnati taxes business profit at 1.8%, and the city return is separate from your federal and Ohio returns. An owner who lives in Cincinnati but runs a shop in Forest Park or Springdale may owe both cities, and the credit between them has to be figured the right way.
Home tax software can work for one simple year. It tends to fall apart once you add a partner, hire help or buy a truck.
Our Small Business Accounting Services
Every year your company needs a return that matches how it is set up. Our Business Tax Preparation covers partnership returns, S corporation and C corporation returns, and the Ohio and city returns that go with them. We go over your books first, ask about anything that looks off, and file on time, or file an extension when you need more time.
If you work for yourself with no partners, your business income goes on your own 1040. Freelancers, rideshare drivers, hair stylists, cleaners and contractors all fall here. Our Self-Employed & Schedule C Returns help you claim the costs you are owed, figure your self-employment tax, and plan quarterly payments so next April is smaller.
Owners who are just getting started can lean on Business Startup & Entity Setup. We explain the choice between a sole proprietor, an LLC and a corporation in plain words, then help with the federal EIN, Ohio tax accounts and payroll registration. That way you open your doors with the right paperwork in place.
Truckers and small fleets have one more filing to keep up with. Our IFTA Fuel Tax Filing turns your miles and fuel receipts into the quarterly return Ohio requires for trucks that cross state lines.
Many owners pair this work with bookkeeping that keeps your records current or payroll and payroll tax deposits for small employers.
Small Business Accounting for Cincinnati Homes and Businesses
Ohio changed the rules for many small companies in 2025. The Commercial Activity Tax, a state tax on gross receipts, now applies only to businesses with more than 6 million dollars a year in Ohio sales, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation’s CAT page. If you still have an old CAT account open, we can help you check whether it should be closed so the filing reminders stop.
City taxes are where local owners get tripped up most. Our office on North Bend Road sits beside North College Hill, Mount Healthy, Forest Park and Springdale, and each one is a separate taxing city. A business that works in more than one city has to split its profit between them. Ohio also lets a business choose to file its city net profit return through the state instead of with each city, as the state’s municipal net profit tax page explains. We look at where you actually do the work and file where you owe.
A lot of our owners run the business from home, out of a spare room in College Hill or a garage in Colerain Township. A home business still has to report its income, and part of your home costs may count as a business expense. We help you figure out which part.
Why Choose Us for Small Business Accounting
Pamela Staples has prepared business and personal returns in Cincinnati since 1993. Our Google reviewers give us 4.7 stars, and several mention the business filings we handled for them. We are open Monday through Saturday all year, so a question about a payroll notice in August gets an answer in August. You can sit down with us on North Bend Road or send everything online and sign electronically. You hear the fee before we start.
We also prepare the owner’s personal return, so we see both sides at once. That matters when business profit lands on your 1040, and when you are deciding how much to pay yourself.
Business work is only part of what we do, so take a look at our full list of Cincinnati tax services.
Our Small Business Accounting Services
Business Tax Preparation
Partnership, S corporation and C corporation returns, with the Ohio and city filings that go with them.
Self-Employed & Schedule C Returns
Returns for freelancers, gig workers and one-owner businesses, plus quarterly payment plans.
Business Startup & Entity Setup
Help choosing a structure and getting your EIN, Ohio tax accounts and payroll set up.
IFTA Fuel Tax Filing
Quarterly fuel tax returns for Ohio-based trucks that run in other states.
Common Questions
Does my LLC need its own tax return?
It depends on how the LLC is set up. A one-owner LLC usually reports its income on the owner's personal return using Schedule C. An LLC with two or more owners usually files a partnership return, and an LLC that chose S corporation treatment files its own corporate return. We look at your paperwork and tell you which one applies.
When are business tax returns due?
For calendar-year businesses, partnership and S corporation returns are due March 15, a month before personal returns. C corporation returns and Schedule C income follow the April deadline, and Cincinnati's business return for calendar-year filers is due April 15. We can file an extension if you need more time, but any tax owed is still due on the original date.
Can you help if my business records are a mess?
Yes. Bring your bank statements, card statements and any receipts you have. We rebuild the year from your bank records, sort the spending into categories, and prepare the return from there. Then we can help you set up a simple system so next year takes less work.