What it is. A CPA-led accounting service for Manhattan owners: monthly financials you can act on, entity and New York City tax planning, the S and PTET elections handled, and a person to call before decisions.
Who it is for. Businesses across Manhattan past the startup stage that need more than clean books: a profit number they understand, a city tax bill managed before year-end, and a CPA to call before decisions.
Why local knowledge. New York City has taxes the rest of the country does not: the Unincorporated Business Tax, an entity-level tax on S corporations, and the city pass-through entity tax. They change the entity math for Manhattan owners, and a national accountant misses them.
Corviniti provides bookkeeping, accounting, and tax services to small businesses across Manhattan, from the Financial District and Midtown to SoHo, the Flatiron and Chelsea, the Garment District, and Hudson Yards. Manhattan runs the densest small-business economy in the country, and it files under New York City's tax rules, which the rest of the state does not share.
A small business accountant interprets the numbers, plans the tax before the year closes, and advises the decisions that turn on the financials. In New York City the planning is worth more, because the city taxes stack on the state and federal layers: the Unincorporated Business Tax on unincorporated owners, an 8.85 percent entity-level tax on S corporations, and the state and city pass-through entity taxes that can convert some of that into a federal deduction.
Corviniti keeps books, plans tax, and files returns for Manhattan businesses under one roof, led by a CPA with Big Four experience. The full New York City tax detail behind this service is on our New York City small business accountant page; what it means for Manhattan 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.
The three roles compared. Illustrative.
City business taxes
The New York City business taxes
New York City taxes businesses on top of the state: the Unincorporated Business Tax, an entity-level tax on S corporations, the city PTET, and the MCTMT.
The New York City business taxes. Current NYC law; illustrative, not tax advice.
This is for you if
You have a bookkeeper but still cannot tell which parts of the business make money.
You are a sole proprietor or partnership and just learned the city has an Unincorporated Business Tax.
You are not sure your entity is right now that the city taxes 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 city tax planning The S, UBT, and PTET math modeled across the federal, state, and city layers.
The elections handled The New York S election and the state and city PTET made on time, with the credits 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 for Manhattan businesses, priced flat, with the New York City tax detail handled.
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 city tax planningThe S, UBT, and PTET math modeled across the federal, state, and city layers.
The elections handledThe New York S election and the state and city PTET made on time, with the credits 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.
You are a sole proprietor or partnership and just learned the city has an Unincorporated Business Tax.
You are not sure your entity is right now that the city taxes 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
The businesses Manhattan depends on
The books and tax work should fit the local economy. Here is what Manhattan's looks like and why it shapes the work.
How we handle it
Manhattan's small-business base is finance and the professional services around it: law, accounting, consulting, advertising, media and publishing, and the technology firms clustered in the Flatiron and Chelsea corridor once called Silicon Alley. The Garment District remains the historic center of the country's fashion and apparel design trade, SoHo and Fifth Avenue anchor retail, and Midtown and the Financial District hold the two largest central business districts in the city. Many of these are professional practices and partnerships, which means the New York City Unincorporated Business Tax and, for tenants below 96th Street paying 250,000 dollars or more a year in rent, the Commercial Rent Tax are live issues on the books. We keep the ledger in the shape those city filings need.
Service 02
Entity choice, with the New York City twists
The entity decision that a national accountant models for federal tax alone gives the wrong answer in New York City, because the city taxes cut differently.
How we handle it
An S election can cut federal self-employment tax, but New York City taxes the S corporation itself at 8.85 percent because it does not recognize the election, so the city cost has to be in the model; and a sole proprietor or partnership owes the 4 percent Unincorporated Business Tax on city income, with a credit that phases out as profit grows. We model the entity across all three layers and handle the federal election and New York's separate CT-6.
The pass-through entity tax is one of the biggest levers for a profitable New York City pass-through, and the city adds a second one on top of the state.
How we handle it
We model whether the New York State PTET pays under the current federal SALT cap, roughly 40,000 dollars through 2029 with a phase-down for high earners, and whether the New York City PTET adds to it for a partnership with city-resident partners or an S corporation whose shareholders are all city residents. Both are elected online together by the March 15 deadline, which has no extension, and we reconcile the credits onto each owner's personal return so the deduction converts into cash saved.
Service 04
Monthly financials you can act on
The value of accounting is in financials that answer 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: the three statements, the metrics that drive your model, and a 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, so the numbers inform the decisions rather than just record them.
Service 05
Manhattan and New York City resources for owners
The registrations and filings Manhattan owners ask about most are spread across city and county offices, each with its own rules.
How we handle it
The offices a Manhattan owner actually uses: the New York County Clerk's Business Department at 60 Centre Street for assumed-name (DBA) certificates for sole proprietors and partnerships; the New York City Department of Finance for the Unincorporated Business Tax, the city corporation taxes, and the Commercial Rent Tax; NYC Small Business Services for licensing, financing help, and Business Solutions Centers; and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce for the local business community. If a registration or filing is the thing blocking you, ask us; it is usually a quick answer.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
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.
Do you work with businesses across all of Manhattan?
Yes, from the Financial District and Midtown to SoHo, the Flatiron, Chelsea, the Garment District, and Upper Manhattan. The work is done remotely on QuickBooks Online or Xero, so where in Manhattan you sit does not change the service. What matters is that your books are kept to New York City's tax rules, which is what we do.
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.
This page summarizes New York State and New York City 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.
