This guide breaks it all down clearly. You’ll learn what the IRS considers a tip, how the new 2025 rule affects you, what stays the same under California law, and how to make sure your records are solid before tax time. If you’d rather skip the confusion, the team at KY Tax Service & Bookkeeping in San Martin has helped thousands of workers in restaurants, salons, and small businesses handle exactly this situation.

You asked a simple question with big consequences for your wallet. Are Social Security benefits taxed in California based on your income level. The short answer is no at the state level, yes at the federal level if your income crosses set thresholds. This guide explains both rules in clear terms for South Bay Area retirees. It also shows where smart planning keeps more of your check.

Working with a qualified tax professional ensures you maximize every available deduction. KY Tax Service & Bookkeeping specializes in helping residents throughout San Martin, San Jose, Morgan Hill, and the surrounding South San Francisco Bay Area create comprehensive tax strategies that reduce their tax burden while preparing for future healthcare and retirement needs.

Accepting cryptocurrency payments can open new opportunities for your business, but it also introduces new tax responsibilities. Whether you’re in San Martin, San Jose, or anywhere in California, the IRS now considers most crypto transactions taxable. In this guide, you’ll learn how to report crypto income correctly, stay compliant under the new 2025 tax rules, and protect your business from unnecessary penalties.

If you’re a California resident or business owner, you already know how complicated the state’s tax system can be. The good news is that California also offers some of the most generous CA State Tax Incentives in the country—if you know where to look and how to qualify. From credits that reward job creation to deductions for low-income earners and film producers, these programs can significantly reduce your tax burden.

Medical expense bunching is especially useful for taxpayers in California, where the rules conform closely to federal guidelines. Understanding What Counts as Medical Expense Bunching and how this strategy works and whether it applies to your situation is key to maximizing your tax savings.

The idea of writing off part of your home may sound too good to be true, and for some people, it is. But for others, especially self-employed professionals and small business owners in California, the home office deduction in 2025 remains a powerful tax-saving opportunity.

When it comes to managing your workforce, one of the most dangerous mistakes a business owner can make is misclassifying employees as independent contractors. In California, where labor laws are among the strictest in the nation, the consequences can be severe. Misclassification can trigger IRS audits, hefty penalties, back wages, lawsuits, and even criminal liability.

Tax season can sneak up on you. If you're feeling behind, unsure about your documents, or facing unusual circumstances, you might wonder if filing an extension is the right move. For many Californians, especially small business owners and freelancers, the answer depends on timing, accuracy, and financial readiness. This blog explains what a tax extension actually is, the advantages and drawbacks, how state and federal rules differ, and how to make the best choice based on yo

President signing the One Big Beautiful Bill in the Oval Office as an aide holds the document ready for signature, symbolizing the...

When a disaster strikes, whether it’s an earthquake, wildfire, or flood, the last thing you want is to lose access to your critical financial records. For South Bay business owners, being unprepared can mean weeks of downtime, delayed payroll, missed tax deadlines, and lost opportunities for relief funds. This guide walks you through a proven system Creating a Disaster-Proof Financial Record System to safeguard your financial documents, create backups, and ensure business con

This guide walks you through the key programs available at the local, state, and federal levels. Whether you are just starting your sustainability journey or already investing in eco-friendly upgrades, these incentives can make a significant difference to your bottom line.

California’s tax code has always been complicated, but the recent 2024–2025 California Tax Law Changes introduce new layers of complexity that South Bay small business owners cannot afford to ignore. From suspended deductions to caps on credits and changing local tax rates, these updates affect both daily operations and long-term planning.

Whether you own a small café, a family-owned diner, or a fine dining establishment, working with a trusted tax accountant in San Martin can help you navigate complex rules and maximize all Restaurant and Food Service Tax Deductions.

This guide breaks down exactly what deductions you can claim without receipts, how to stay compliant, and how working with a professional tax team like KY Tax Service & Bookkeeping can help you avoid costly mistakes while maximizing your returns.

When fishing trips get sidelined by IRS visits—Bob’s overdue bookkeeping catches up with him at the worst possible time. Bookkeeping...

Running a successful e-commerce business in the South Bay area comes with unique challenges—from managing inventory across multiple sales channels to navigating California's complex sales tax requirements. If you're a South Bay retailer selling through Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, or other platforms, you've likely experienced the frustration of manually entering sales data, reconciling transactions, and spending countless hours on bookkeeping tasks that should be automated.

Running a company on the San Francisco Peninsula is exhilarating, yet the paperwork can feel endless. If you have spent nights poring over spreadsheets and trying to decode QuickBooks tutorials, you already know that professional bookkeeping is different from punching numbers into an app. The stakes are high: clean books shape tax bills, loan approvals, and even how investors perceive your leadership.

Retirement should be the season when you finally get to spend more time at the beach than in the tax office. Yet for many South Bay families, taxes remain the single biggest line‑item expense even after the paychecks stop. That is why South Bay retirement tax planning: done early, done locally, and done right, can add years of life to your savings.

High-income professionals in the South Bay — engineers, physicians, executives, entrepreneurs — know the sting of sky-high taxes all too well. With California’s top tax brackets reaching 13.3% plus the federal bite, it can feel like your wealth is leaking away faster than you can earn it. That’s exactly why adopting tax-efficient investment strategies is crucial if you want to build, protect, and grow your assets over time.