- Serving Taxpayers Since 1993
- File In Person or Fully Virtual
- Year-Round Help, Not Just Tax Season
- Nonprofit & Church Specialists
- Flexible Refund & Payment Options
A Katy paycheck looks bigger than one from Chicago or Los Angeles, since no state income tax comes out of it. That extra room is real, but it can hide a federal shortfall. Tax planning is a meeting partway through the year where we project what you will owe the IRS and close the gap while you still can. We do it for families, Energy Corridor employees and small business owners across the Katy area.
When You Need Tax Planning
Book a visit when something big shifts. Restricted stock units vest. You exercise options. A spouse starts a business, or you leave a salaried job for contract work. You buy your first home in Firethorne or sell one back in another state. Each of these changes the math, and the payroll system at work will not catch all of it.
Stock pay is the one we see most. When RSUs vest, their value counts as wages, and employers often hold back tax at a set rate that runs low for higher earners. Options follow other rules. The IRS topic on stock options explains that nonstatutory options are generally taxed when you exercise them, while incentive stock options can bring the alternative minimum tax into play. If company stock is part of your pay, a projection now beats a surprise in April.
Our Tax Planning Process
Send us last year’s return, a recent pay stub and your latest stock plan statement if you have one. We build a projection for this year from real numbers, not guesses. Then we go over the choices still open to you: a new W-4, a quarterly estimated payment, more into a 401(k) or HSA, or holding shares past a key date before you sell.
Because Texas has no income tax to deduct, we also check whether deducting sales tax on Schedule A helps you, which matters most in a year you bought a car or a boat. You get a short written plan with dates and amounts. Most people meet with us once in late summer or fall. Business owners often check in every quarter.
Tax Planning Cost in Katy
Price follows the work. One W-2 household with a single question takes far less time than an owner with stock grants, a rental and a side business. A move between states in the same year adds a part-year return to project. We look at your papers first and give you the fee before we begin.
Why Choose Us for Tax Planning
We have prepared tax returns since 1993, so we have seen plenty of years where one vest or one sale changed everything. Our Katy office on Kingsland Boulevard is open all year, Monday through Saturday, which means a question in June gets a real answer in June. Prefer to skip the drive? We can do the whole visit by phone, with your papers sent online.
Moving to Katy Partway Through the Year
A move splits your tax year in two. Your old state may tax the months you lived there, and Texas taxes none of them. Your W-2 might still show the old state’s withholding if payroll was slow to update your address. We sort out which months belong where, check that you are not still paying a state you left, and set your federal withholding for the rest of the year.
Planning is one piece of our tax consulting and IRS help for Katy households.
Common Questions
Will a planning visit lower my taxes?
It can, but no one can promise a set amount. What it does is show you where you stand while there is still time to act, so the choices you make are on purpose and not by accident.
Do I need tax planning if I only have a W-2?
Not always. If your refund or balance due was close to zero last year and nothing changed, you may be fine. A big vest, a raise, a second job or a new baby is a good reason to check.