{"id":2044,"date":"2026-02-19T07:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/19\/7-tax-moves-growth-minded-business-owners-should-make-before-q2-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T07:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:04:11","slug":"7-tax-moves-growth-minded-business-owners-should-make-before-q2-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/19\/7-tax-moves-growth-minded-business-owners-should-make-before-q2-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Tax Moves Growth-Minded Business Owners Should Make Before Q2 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p>It&#39;s mid-February 2026. You&#39;re focused on growth, hiring, operations, but here&#39;s the thing: <strong>the smartest tax moves happen before Q2 starts, not in December when your CPA sends the &quot;we need to talk&quot; email.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you&#39;re running a business that&#39;s scaling, profitable, or just hitting its stride, now is the time to get your tax house in order. Waiting until year-end means you&#39;ll miss opportunities, overpay Uncle Sam, or scramble to fix what could&#39;ve been handled in Q1.<\/p>\n<p>Here are seven tax moves you should make <em>right now<\/em> to set yourself up for a better 2026, and a smoother filing season in 2027.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2>1. Run Your Q1 P&amp;L and Adjust Estimated Tax Payments<\/h2>\n<p>Most business owners set their estimated tax payments in January based on last year&#39;s numbers. But if your revenue is up, or down, those estimates might already be wrong.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why this matters:<\/strong> Underpay your estimates, and you&#39;ll face penalties. Overpay, and you&#39;re giving the IRS an interest-free loan while your business could use that cash for payroll, marketing, or equipment.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.marblism.com\/a4rC5qdNotw.webp\" alt=\"Business owner reviewing quarterly financial reports and tax estimates on laptop\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\"><\/p>\n<h3>Next Steps:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Pull your January and February P&amp;L from QuickBooks or Xero.<\/li>\n<li>Compare actuals to your budget and last year&#39;s numbers.<\/li>\n<li>If revenue is materially different, recalculate your estimated tax liability for 2026.<\/li>\n<li>Adjust your Q2 payment (due <strong>April 15, 2026<\/strong>) to reflect the new reality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>If you&#39;re not sure how to calculate safe harbor or annualized income exceptions, we help clients run these numbers during virtual strategy sessions.<\/strong> It&#39;s a small conversation that can save you thousands in penalties, or free up cash you didn&#39;t know you had.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2>2. Max Out Retirement Contributions Early<\/h2>\n<p>If you haven&#39;t funded your SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), or SIMPLE IRA yet, Q1 is the time to do it. Contribution limits are higher in 2026, and <strong>getting money into a retirement plan early<\/strong> gives you more time for tax-deferred growth.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, if you&#39;re setting up a <em>new<\/em> retirement plan this year, you may qualify for startup tax credits under SECURE 2.0, up to <strong>$5,000 per year for three years<\/strong> to offset administrative costs, plus additional credits for employer match contributions.<\/p>\n<h3>Next Steps:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Confirm your 2026 contribution limits based on your plan type.<\/li>\n<li>If you&#39;re an S-Corp owner, make sure your salary supports the contribution you want to make.<\/li>\n<li>Schedule contributions now, don&#39;t wait until December.<\/li>\n<li>If you don&#39;t have a plan yet, talk to your CPA or payroll provider about setting one up <em>before<\/em> Q2.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Retirement contributions reduce your taxable income <em>and<\/em> build long-term wealth. It&#39;s one of the cleanest tax strategies available to business owners.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2>3. Time Your Equipment Purchases to Capture Bonus Depreciation<\/h2>\n<p>Here&#39;s the reality: <strong>Bonus depreciation is phasing down.<\/strong> In 2026, you can deduct <strong>60% of qualifying equipment costs<\/strong> in the first year (down from 80% in 2025). By 2027, it drops to 40%. By 2029, it&#39;s gone.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#39;re planning to buy computers, vehicles, machinery, or software in 2026, <strong>the earlier you purchase and place it in service, the better.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Section 179 is still generous, up to <strong>$2.5 million<\/strong> in immediate expensing with a <strong>$4 million phase-out threshold<\/strong>, but bonus depreciation stacks on top of that for larger purchases.<\/p>\n<h3>Next Steps:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>List any equipment purchases you&#39;re planning for 2026.<\/li>\n<li>Confirm delivery and &quot;placed in service&quot; dates with your vendors.<\/li>\n<li>Run the numbers with your CPA to see whether Section 179, bonus depreciation, or standard depreciation makes the most sense for your tax situation.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#39;t assume you can wait until December, supply chain delays happen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Need help running depreciation scenarios?<\/strong> That&#39;s exactly what we do in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/tax-planning-services.htm\">tax planning sessions<\/a>. We&#39;ll model out different purchase timing options so you know what saves you the most.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2>4. Review Your S-Corp Salary for &quot;Reasonable Compensation&quot;<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#39;re an S-Corp owner, the IRS expects you to pay yourself a <strong>reasonable salary<\/strong> before taking distributions. Pay yourself too little, and you&#39;re inviting an audit. Pay yourself too much, and you&#39;re overpaying FICA taxes.<\/p>\n<p>The &quot;right&quot; number depends on your industry, role, revenue, and geographic location. And if your business grew significantly in 2025, your 2026 salary might need to increase to stay defensible.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.marblism.com\/qhIdEeATqtG.webp\" alt=\"Business owners meeting with tax advisor to discuss S-Corp salary strategy\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\"><\/p>\n<h3>Next Steps:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Review your current W-2 salary and compare it to industry benchmarks for your role.<\/li>\n<li>If your salary hasn&#39;t changed in two years but your revenue doubled, it&#39;s time for a raise.<\/li>\n<li>Document <em>why<\/em> your salary is reasonable, job duties, hours worked, comparable roles.<\/li>\n<li>Adjust payroll now if needed, so your W-2 reflects the right number for the full year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is one of the most common S-Corp mistakes we see. It&#39;s also one of the easiest to fix if you catch it early.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2>5. Screen for R&amp;D Tax Credits (Yes, You Might Qualify)<\/h2>\n<p>Most business owners think R&amp;D credits are only for pharmaceutical companies or tech startups. <strong>Wrong.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you&#39;re developing new products, improving processes, creating custom software, or experimenting with materials or formulas, you might qualify. We&#39;ve helped manufacturing companies, law firms building custom legal tech tools, and even daycare centers developing proprietary curricula claim R&amp;D credits.<\/p>\n<p>The credit can be substantial, and for startups, it can offset payroll taxes.<\/p>\n<h3>Next Steps:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>List any projects where your team was solving technical problems, developing new methods, or testing prototypes.<\/li>\n<li>Gather payroll records and contractor invoices tied to those projects.<\/li>\n<li>Talk to your CPA about whether an R&amp;D study makes sense for your business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>We work with R&amp;D specialists to help clients identify and document qualifying activities.<\/strong> If you&#39;ve been innovating, you might be leaving money on the table.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2>6. Audit Your Accountable Plan and Reimbursement Documentation<\/h2>\n<p>If your business reimburses employees or owners for mileage, home office expenses, meals, or travel, you need an <strong>accountable plan<\/strong> in place, and you need documentation to back it up.<\/p>\n<p>Without an accountable plan, those reimbursements become taxable wages. Without documentation, they&#39;re disallowed deductions.<\/p>\n<p>This is one of those things that feels minor until the IRS asks for receipts three years later.<\/p>\n<h3>Next Steps:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Confirm your business has a written accountable plan policy.<\/li>\n<li>Review reimbursements from Q1, do you have receipts, dates, and business purposes documented?<\/li>\n<li>Set up a system (like Expensify or Dext) to capture this information in real time.<\/li>\n<li>If you&#39;ve been reimbursing without documentation, stop now and fix the process going forward.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Need help setting up an accountable plan?<\/strong> We can draft the policy and show you how to implement it in about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2>7. Schedule a Mid-Year Tax Strategy Session<\/h2>\n<p>Here&#39;s the truth: <strong>Most tax savings happen during the year, not at year-end.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you wait until December to talk to your CPA, your options are limited. But if you have a strategy conversation <em>now<\/em>, while you still have 10 months to act, you can implement real tax planning moves that save serious money.<\/p>\n<p>We&#39;re talking about entity structure optimization, timing income and expenses, maximizing credits, planning for multi-state exposure, and building a tax roadmap that aligns with your growth goals.<\/p>\n<h3>Next Steps:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Block time on your calendar for a tax planning session before April.<\/li>\n<li>Bring your Q1 financials, your 2025 tax return, and a list of big decisions you&#39;re considering (new hires, expansion, equipment purchases, etc.).<\/li>\n<li>Ask your CPA to model different scenarios and show you the tax impact of each.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/heywardcpa.com\/form.htm\">Schedule a strategy session with Heyward CPA here<\/a>.<\/strong> We work virtually with growth-focused business owners across the country, and we specialize in turning tax strategy into a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2>Don&#39;t Wait Until 2027 to Think About 2026 Taxes<\/h2>\n<p>Growth-minded business owners don&#39;t treat taxes as an April surprise. They treat tax strategy as part of their financial foundation, and they make moves <em>during the year<\/em> to optimize their outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>You&#39;ve got about six weeks before Q2 starts. That&#39;s enough time to review your numbers, adjust your strategy, and put yourself in a better position for the rest of 2026.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ready to get started?<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/heywardcpa.com\/form.htm\">Let&#39;s talk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Disclaimer:<\/strong> This blog post is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Every business&#39;s tax situation is unique, and strategies discussed here may not apply to your specific circumstances. Please consult with a qualified CPA or tax advisor before making any tax-related decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#39;s mid-February 2026. You&#39;re focused on growth, hiring, operations, but here&#39;s the thing: the smartest tax moves happen before Q2 starts, not in December when your CPA sends the &quot;we need to talk&quot; email. If you&#39;re running a business that&#39;s scaling, profitable, or just hitting its stride, now is the time to get your tax &#8230; <a title=\"7 Tax Moves Growth-Minded Business Owners Should Make Before Q2 2026\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/19\/7-tax-moves-growth-minded-business-owners-should-make-before-q2-2026\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about 7 Tax Moves Growth-Minded Business Owners Should Make Before Q2 2026\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2043,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accounting-bookkeeping"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heywardcpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}