Industries
Tax Services for Contractors and Trades
For the independent tradesperson, the tax problem is rarely the return — it is the quarterly payments and the mileage records nobody kept.
The self-employed trades situation
This page is for the independent operator — the electrician, plumber, HVAC tech, landscaper, painter or handyman working for themselves, with or without a helper. If you run crews and job-cost projects, our construction page covers that instead.
The defining feature is that nothing is withheld. Income arrives gross, self-employment tax applies on top of income tax, and the obligation to pay quarterly falls entirely on you. The most common way this goes wrong is not fraud or complexity — it is a good year, no estimates paid, and a bill in April that the money has already been spent against.
What actually moves the number
- Vehicle and mileage — usually the largest deduction available, and the one most often lost to poor records
- Tools and equipment, including how and when they are written off
- Home office, where a space is used regularly and exclusively for the business
- Materials, supplies and subcontractor payments, tracked properly through the year
- Quarterly estimated payments set from real projections, not guesswork
- Whether an S-Corp election is justified yet — it usually is not at first, and then suddenly is
Records are the whole game here. A deduction you cannot evidence is a deduction you do not have, and reconstructing a year of mileage in April is neither accurate nor defensible.
The services behind this
Industry pages describe how our work applies to a sector. These are the services themselves.
Self-Employed & Freelancer Taxes
Schedule C, quarterly estimates and 1099 income for freelancers and gig workers.
Learn moreTax Preparation
Federal and South Carolina returns for individuals, families and business owners.
Learn moreS-Corp Setup
S-Corp elections, reasonable salary and the payroll that has to follow.
Learn moreBookkeeping
Clean monthly books, reconciled accounts and reports you can actually use.
Learn moreFrequently asked questions
I get 1099s. Do I need to pay quarterly?
Generally yes if you expect to owe above a threshold when you file, because nothing is being withheld on your behalf. Skipping estimates can produce underpayment penalties on top of the tax itself.
Can I deduct my truck?
Business use of a vehicle is deductible, calculated either by mileage or by actual costs, and the choice has consequences that carry forward. Personal use is not deductible, which is why contemporaneous mileage records matter — an estimate made months later is difficult to defend.
Should I form an S-Corp?
Only once the business nets enough that the payroll tax saving outweighs the cost of running payroll and filing a separate return. Below that point it costs more than it saves. It is a threshold question, and the answer changes as the business grows.
I pay a helper. Employee or contractor?
It depends on how the work is controlled, not on what is convenient to call it. Misclassification carries back taxes and penalties, so it is worth getting right early rather than being told later.
Other industries we work with
Nonprofits
Exempt status is not the same as no filing obligation — and the bookkeeping that supports a 990 is not ordinary bookkeeping.
Learn moreReal Estate Investors
Rental property is one of the few areas where the tax treatment can matter as much to the return as the rent does.
Learn moreRestaurants & Food Service
Thin margins, daily cash movement, tipped employees and high staff turnover — restaurant books go wrong faster than almost any other sector’s.
Learn moreHealthcare Practices
Practice income arrives late, unevenly and net of adjustments — which makes cash accounting and tax planning unusually easy to get wrong.
Learn moreE-commerce Sellers
Selling online from South Carolina means one income tax return and a sales tax question that can involve many states.
Learn moreConstruction Businesses
For a builder, the question is never how the business did last year — it is whether this job is making money right now.
Learn moreTell us what you need
Send a short note about your situation and we’ll come back to you with a straight answer — whether that’s a quote, a next step, or a referral if it isn’t something we handle.
Prefer to talk it through first? Book a consultation and we’ll find a time, in the Easley office or virtually.
Talk to us about your contractors & trades accounting
Reach out to Elite Pro-Tax & Financial Services to discuss your tax and financial needs today.