Business fundamentals.
What every owner should know about structure, protection, taxes, payroll, and planning. Ask us for a printed copy of our Business Fundamentals guide.
Choose the right structure
Sole proprietors carry unlimited personal liability. An LLC limits it, and an S-Corporation election can lower self-employment tax for profitable, active owners.
Protect your personal assets
Liability protection only holds if the business runs separately: its own bank account, a followed operating agreement, and current state filings.
Keep clean books
Reconcile every account monthly and review a profit and loss statement. Every tax return, loan, and decision depends on it.
Pay yourself the right way
S-Corporation owners who work in the business must take a reasonable salary through payroll before taking distributions.
Hire with care
Pennsylvania requires new hire reporting within 20 days and workers' compensation with even one employee. Classify every worker correctly.
Plan from start to exit
A current business plan guides decisions and financing. An exit strategy protects the value you build and your retirement.
Plain answers for Pennsylvania business owners
New articles every Friday on taxes, payroll, and running a business in Western Pennsylvania.
Getting ready for tax season: what to do in the fourth quarter
A month-by-month checklist for October, November, and December, the forms to expect in January, and the deadlines from January 15 to April 15, 2027.
Read the articleOctober 24, 2026Behind on taxes or bookkeeping? How catch-up work actually goes
Rebuilding the books, how many years of returns the IRS expects, what the penalties are and how to reduce them, and why payroll comes first.
Read the articleOctober 24, 2026Should my business be an LLC? Sole proprietor vs. LLC in Pennsylvania
How the two compare on liability, taxes, and cost, what it takes to form a Pennsylvania LLC, and how to make sure the protection actually holds.
Read the articleKey federal and Pennsylvania deadlines
For calendar-year businesses. When a date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day.
Fourth-quarter estimated tax payments, federal and Pennsylvania
W-2s and W-3 to employees and the SSA; 1099-NEC to contractors and the IRS; fourth-quarter Form 941; annual Form 940; fourth-quarter PA UC-2 and withholding returns; PA W-2 transmittal
Partnership (Form 1065) and S-Corporation (Form 1120-S) returns; K-1s to owners
Personal returns (Form 1040 and PA-40); PA-20S/PA-65; C-Corporation return (Form 1120); first-quarter estimated payments; local earned income tax return
First-quarter Form 941, PA UC-2, and PA withholding returns
Second-quarter estimated tax payments
Pennsylvania annual report due for corporations
Second-quarter Form 941, PA UC-2, and PA withholding returns
Third-quarter estimated payments; extended Form 1065, Form 1120-S, and PA-20S/PA-65
Pennsylvania annual report due for LLCs
Extended personal returns (Form 1040 and PA-40) and Form 1120
Third-quarter Form 941, PA UC-2, and PA withholding returns