What it is. A CPA-led accounting service for Long Island owners: monthly financials you can act on, entity and New York tax planning, the S and PTET elections handled, and a person to call before decisions.
Who it is for. Nassau and Suffolk businesses past the startup stage that need more than clean books: a profit number they understand, a tax bill managed before year-end, and a CPA to call before decisions, not after.
Why local knowledge. New York business tax has its own forms and elections, and Long Island adds the MCTMT that upstate businesses do not pay. An accountant who does not live in the rules leaves money and compliance on the table.
A small business accountant does what a bookkeeper does not: interpret the numbers, plan the tax before the year closes, and advise the decisions that turn on the financials. Corviniti provides that to Long Island owners across Nassau and Suffolk, led by a CPA with Big Four experience, at a flat monthly price. The books are the input; the output is a profit number you understand, a tax bill managed across the year, and a straight answer when a decision needs one.
For Long Island, the planning covers the same New York levers as the rest of the state, the S election and the pass-through entity tax, plus the one downstate item upstate businesses skip: the MCTMT payroll tax. Above a certain profit, an S election can cut self-employment tax; the pass-through entity tax can convert New York tax into a federal deduction under the current SALT cap; and the MCTMT has to be planned into payroll rather than discovered at filing. Getting the entity and the elections right is the work, and it happens during the year, not at the filing table.
Corviniti keeps books, plans tax, and files returns for Long Island businesses under one roof, so the same team that knows your numbers is the one advising on them. What the service covers is below.
This page sits under Corviniti Accounting in New York City, our New York headquarters. That page covers the full New York City and New York State picture, and links to the rest of our local coverage.
Who does what
Bookkeeper, accountant, CFO: who does what
Three roles, three jobs. The bookkeeper records, the accountant interprets and plans, the CFO looks forward. This page is the accountant tier.
The three roles compared. Illustrative.
Entity choice
Choosing an entity in New York
Sole proprietor, LLC, or S corporation, driven by profit and self-employment tax, with the New York step almost everyone misses.
Entity choice and the New York elections. Illustrative, not tax advice.
The calendar
The New York compliance calendar owners forget
The federal and New York filings that carry penalties when missed, laid out across the year, including the MCTMT dates Long Island employers owe.
The recurring New York compliance calendar. Illustrative and not exhaustive.
This is for you if
You have a bookkeeper but still cannot tell which parts of the business make money.
Your profit keeps surprising you, and the tax bill surprises you more.
You are not sure your entity is right, or whether New York even recognizes your S corporation.
You want a CPA to call before decisions, not an hourly meter after them.
What you get
Financials you can act on A monthly package built around your business, with the metrics that drive it and a read on what moved.
Entity and tax planning The S election, the PTET, and the MCTMT modeled and managed for your numbers.
The elections handled The New York S election on CT-6 and the PTET election made on time, with the credit reconciled.
A CPA to call A New York-licensed CPA who answers within one business day, at a flat monthly price.
How We Help
What you get
A CPA-led accounting relationship that turns your books into decisions and keeps the New York tax bill managed across the year.
Financials you can act onA monthly package built around your business, with the metrics that drive it and a read on what moved.
Entity and tax planningThe S election, the PTET, and the MCTMT modeled and managed for your numbers.
The elections handledThe New York S election on CT-6 and the PTET election made on time, with the credit reconciled.
A CPA to callA New York-licensed CPA who answers within one business day, at a flat monthly price.
When companies bring us in
You have a bookkeeper but still cannot tell which parts of the business make money.
Your profit keeps surprising you, and the tax bill surprises you more.
You are not sure your entity is right, or whether New York even recognizes your S corporation.
You want a CPA to call before decisions, not an hourly meter after them.
The Detail
The gaps, and how we close each one
Service 01
Accountant versus bookkeeper: the line that matters
Owners often hire more bookkeeping when what they actually need is an accountant. Clean books tell you what happened. They do not tell you whether your entity is right, whether the taxes are being managed, or what the numbers say about the decision in front of you.
How we handle it
We do both, so the books feed the planning instead of sitting unused. The bookkeeping keeps the ledger current and reconciled; the accounting turns it into decisions: which parts of the business make money, whether the entity still fits, how the New York and MCTMT bills are trending, and what to do before year-end while the levers are still available. Many Long Island businesses start with our bookkeeping and move up to accounting as the decisions get bigger.
Service 02
Entity choice and the New York S election
The entity decision drives self-employment tax, payroll, and how New York taxes the business, and a federal-only analysis misses the New York step that most owners skip.
How we handle it
We model the entity for your numbers. Above a certain profit, an S election can cut self-employment tax, but it adds payroll and a reasonable-salary requirement, and New York requires its own S election on Form CT-6, separate from the federal Form 2553, which the state does not grant automatically. We run the actual savings for your numbers and, if it makes sense, file both elections and set the reasonable salary that supports the structure.
What you get: An entity recommendation modeled for your numbers, with the federal and CT-6 elections filed.
Not sure your entity still fits, or whether the MCTMT is handled? Model it with a CPA before the next election deadline.
The pass-through entity tax is one of the biggest levers for a profitable Long Island pass-through, and it is the one most commonly missed, because it lives outside the normal return and follows a strict separate calendar.
How we handle it
We model whether the PTET pays for your situation under the current federal SALT cap, roughly 40,000 dollars through 2029 with a phase-down above about 500,000 dollars of income. It pays New York tax at the entity level, where it stays federally deductible, and gives the owners a credit on their personal returns. It is elected online by the March 15 deadline, which has no extension, so it has to be planned ahead. We make the election, schedule the estimated payments, and reconcile the credit onto each owner's personal return so the deduction converts into cash saved.
What you get: The PTET modeled per owner, elected by March 15, and reconciled onto the personal returns.
Service 04
Monthly financials you can actually act on
The value of accounting is in financials that answer the questions an owner actually has: what made money, what did not, and what the next decision costs.
How we handle it
We deliver a monthly package built around your business, not a generic template: the three statements, the handful of metrics that actually drive your model, and a short read on what moved and why. When a decision is coming, a hire, a lease, a price change, we can show its effect before you commit. The point is that the numbers inform the decisions rather than just record them after the fact.
Service 05
A CPA to call, year round
Most accounting relationships go quiet between filings, which is exactly backwards: the questions that cost money come up during the year, not in April.
How we handle it
You get a New York-licensed CPA who answers within one business day, at a flat monthly price rather than an hourly meter that discourages you from calling. Entity questions, a big customer contract, a New York tax notice, whether to buy or lease equipment, we are the standing answer, and because we keep the books and file the returns, the advice is grounded in your actual numbers rather than a guess.
What you get: A New York-licensed CPA on call within one business day, at a flat monthly price.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?
A bookkeeper records and reconciles transactions; an accountant interprets the results, plans the tax, and advises on decisions. We do both, so the books feed the planning instead of sitting unused. Many Long Island businesses start with our bookkeeping service and move up to accounting as the decisions get bigger.
Should my Long Island business be an S corporation?
It depends on your profit and how much you pay yourself. Above a certain net income, an S election can cut self-employment tax, but it adds payroll and a reasonable-salary requirement. We model the actual savings for your numbers, and if it makes sense we handle both the federal election and New York's separate CT-6, which is the step most owners miss.
What is the PTET and is it worth it?
The pass-through entity tax lets your S corp or partnership pay New York tax at the entity level, where it stays federally deductible, and gives you a credit on your personal return. Whether it pays depends on the current SALT cap, roughly 40,000 dollars through 2029 with a phase-down for high earners, so we model it per owner. The election is due March 15 with no extension, so it has to be planned ahead.
Do we owe the MCTMT on Long Island?
Above the exemption, yes: Long Island is inside the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District, so employers owe the MCTMT once quarterly payroll expense passes 312,500 dollars, and self-employed owners over the earnings threshold owe a 0.34 percent version. We plan it into payroll and file it, rather than leaving it to surface in an audit.
Do you prepare the tax returns too, or just the accounting?
Both. The same team that keeps your books and plans your taxes files the business returns and the owners' personal returns, working from finished books. No handoff to an outside preparer, and no January scramble.
Do you work with contractors and the trades?
Yes, and past the monthly books. We track costs by job and carry work in progress correctly so you know which jobs made money, manage the New York capital-improvement sales tax split that gets the trades audited, and plan the S corporation and PTET elections that fit a profitable shop. We work with the systems you run, including Jobber, ServiceTitan, and Buildertrend.
Do you work with medical, dental, and therapy practices?
Yes. We reconcile insurance collections net of adjustments back to billed production, keep provider compensation splits clean, and plan the entity, equipment, and retirement-plan choices that lower the tax on a high-income practice. We work with the practice systems you run, including Dentrix, Eaglesoft, and Tebra.
Do you work with restaurants and cafes?
Yes. We track prime cost, food and labor as a share of sales, run tips and tip credits correctly through payroll, keep sales tax on prepared food right, and watch the margins that decide whether a location works. We work with the point of sale systems you run, including Toast, Square, and Clover.
Do you work with e-commerce and retail businesses?
Yes. We separate marketplace-collected sales tax from your direct sales, track inventory and cost of goods sold so gross margin is real, and monitor economic nexus as you grow into new states. We work with the platforms you run, including Shopify, Amazon, Stripe, and Square.
Do you work with law firms and professional services?
Yes. We handle unbilled work in progress and retainers, keep attorney trust and IOLTA funds strictly separate from operating cash, and plan the S corporation and PTET elections that fit a partner group's income. We work with the platforms you run, including Clio, MyCase, and LawPay.
Do you work with real estate and property management?
Yes. We keep a profit and loss per property, hold security deposits separate from income, keep depreciation current, and plan the cost segregation, 1031 exchange, and entity moves that drive real estate returns. We work with the platforms you run, including AppFolio, Buildium, and Yardi.
Sources & authorities
Primary sources for this page
The pass-through entity tax.New York's PTET: the election, the March 15 deadline, and the credit each owner claims.
New York S corporation election.Form CT-6 and its instructions: New York requires its own election, and approval before you file CT-3-S.
LLC annual filing fee.Form IT-204-LL: the fee that scales with New York-source gross income.
Contractor reporting.Form 1099-NEC: who gets one, the threshold, and the January 31 deadline.
This page summarizes New York State tax rules for general information, and is not tax advice for your situation. Rates and thresholds change; confirm the current figures with the authority before you rely on them.
