What Does Quarterly Tax Planning Include? A Real Review Covers Four Things. A Check-In Covers None of Them.

Quarterly tax planning includes four things, in order: estimated payment recalibration, deduction-timing windows that close soon, entity and compensation structure, and retirement contribution opportunities. A check-in call is a fifteen-minute conversation about how the business is doing. Here's the actual checklist, item by item, and what should leave the room in writing.

A quarterly tax meeting has an agenda. A check-in call doesn't. You've had both kinds of calls with your accountant and assumed they were the same service. They're not. One produces a number you can act on. The other produces a recap email, if that.

What Quarterly Tax Planning Should Include: The Five-Minute Test

If you've already confirmed your accountant offers quarterly planning at all, this is the next layer: whether a given meeting or digital check-in is doing the job. Ask these three questions:

1. What's our current year-to-date income versus my full-year projection?
2. What's my recommended estimated payment for this quarter, and why is that number different from last quarter's?
3. What time-sensitive moves are on the table before our next review?

A real review has all three answers ready, with numbers behind them. A check-in defers all three — "we'll figure it out at filing," "nothing urgent right now." If your accountant can't answer all three, whether the exchange happens on a call or over email, you've been having a touch-base with better small talk.

"A review has numbers prepared. A check-in has goodwill prepared. Both have their place. They are not the same service." — Derek Bungard, CPA

Agenda Item 1 — Estimated Payment Recalibration

A recalibration follows the same four steps every quarter:

1. Pull the current year-to-date profit and loss.
2. Project it forward to a full-year number.
3. Run that projection through the actual math — federal tax, self-employment tax, the QBI deduction, state where it applies.
4. Compare the result against what's already been paid, and land on a specific recommended payment for the quarter ahead.

"Recalibration" is the operative word. If your full-year projection has moved meaningfully — a new contract, a lost client, a bonus, an equity sale, a seasonal spike — Q3 is when the payment plan gets rebuilt. A 20% swing in either direction is the point at which Q3 and Q4 payments need to change, not just the April true-up.

Here's a composite example. At the Q2 review, projected 2026 profit was $650,000 with a $200,000 owner salary, putting full-year federal tax around $183,800, or roughly $46,000 per quarterly installment. A large new contract lifts the Q3 projection to $800,000, and full-year tax now lands near $232,400. Q1 and Q2 are already paid at the old level, so the remaining balance spreads across Q3 and Q4, and the September 15 payment jumps to roughly $70,200, about 50% higher. Hold at $46,000 and true up in April instead, and roughly $48,600 sits accruing interest for six-plus months before the return is even filed — at the 7% annualized rate set by IRS Rev. Rul. 2026-10, compounded daily.

A simple check-in skips straight to the safe harbor instead of running the math above. Safe harbor keeps you compliant. It doesn't keep you accurate. Closing that gap is the whole point of quarterly tax planning. The penalty runs quarter by quarter, so a strong Q4 doesn't retroactively cure a light Q1.

Agenda Item 2 — Deduction-Timing Windows That Close Soon

Several deductions that move your tax bill carry hard calendar deadlines. A real review exists to make sure none of them pass unused.

• Section 179 and bonus depreciation. The asset has to be placed in service, not just purchased, before December 31. (IRS Section 179)
• Retirement plan setup. A Solo 401(k) has to be established by December 31 to take elective deferrals for that year. A SEP-IRA is more forgiving — contributions can be made up until the filing deadline, including extensions.
• HSA contributions. Due by April 15 of the following year.
• Charitable contributions. Due by December 31, with substantiation required above $250.

Your Q2 or Q3 review is the point with the most runway to act on the December 31 deadlines. A Q4 review can still catch them before the deadline hits, just with less time to execute. A real review names the deadline and what has to happen before it hits.

Agenda Item 3 — Entity and Compensation Structure

The Entity Check

Does your current structure still fit the business as it exists today? A business that elected S-Corp status at $200K of profit isn't the same business at $900K. Multi-state work changes nexus exposure. A second line of business might justify a holding entity. None of that gets caught by an accountant who assumes the structure decided three years ago is still correct.

The Compensation Check

This is the one owners underestimate. If you're an S-Corp, your reasonable salary isn't a number you set once. It's a defensible figure tied to what comparable roles pay in your market, and your role changes as revenue grows. A founder running a $300K practice solo does different work than the owner of a $900K practice with four employees reporting to them. The salary should reflect the job, not the year it was set.

A salary of $60,000 against $500,000 in profit is a documented audit flag under the reasonable-compensation standard the courts apply (David E. Watson, P.C. v. United States, 668 F.3d 1008, 8th Cir. 2012). Catching it in Q3 or Q4 still leaves time to run a supplemental payroll and correct it before year-end — waiting until the return is filed doesn't.

"The reasonable-comp conversation is a real conversation, not a slider you drag once and never revisit." — Derek Bungard, CPA

The IRS weighs real market factors for reasonable compensation, not a shortcut percentage. Which entity fits changes with revenue too — sole props, LLCs, S-Corps, and C-Corps are taxed differently at every stage.

Agenda Item 4 — Retirement Contribution Opportunities

The most overlooked item. Most owners under-contribute because nobody ran the numbers for them.

• Solo 401(k): $24,500 employee deferral, plus 25% of net self-employment income as an employer contribution, combined cap of $72,000 for 2026. Add $8,000 with the standard age-50 catch-up, or $11,250 with the new age-60-to-63 super catch-up, for a total as high as $83,250. The compensation cap on the 25% employer piece is $360,000. (IRS Notice 2025-67 / IRS Pub. 560)
• SEP-IRA: up to 25% of net self-employment income, capped at $72,000 for 2026, same $360,000 compensation cap. (IRS Pub. 560)
• Defined benefit plans: higher limits, more setup complexity, real return for owners north of $500K in profit who can commit to a fixed contribution.

The Q3 review gives the most room to establish a Solo 401(k) for the current year — the plan has to exist by December 31, and so does the employee deferral, so a Q4 review can still make it happen, just with less time to open the account and fund it. Only the employer contribution can wait until the filing deadline. A real review runs the projection and comes back with a number.

The Deliverable — Your Quarterly Tax Planning Checklist

A real quarterly review produces four things you can point to afterward:

1. A recommended estimated payment for the next quarter, with the calculation behind it.
2. A list of time-sensitive actions before the next review, each with its own deadline.
3. An updated year-end tax projection, federal and state.
4. Any entity, compensation, or retirement-plan decisions that need to be made, with a recommended path.

A check-in produces a recap email, sometimes. If nothing left the meeting in writing, no decision got made.

Where This Fits in the Year

Quarterly tax planning runs on four fixed reviews a year, not one meeting in April dressed up as year-round service. Q1, Q2, and Q4 run about 60 minutes each; Q3, the deepest, runs closer to 90. The four agenda items above are what should happen inside any one of those meetings, not just the September review.

Three Things a Check-In Disguised as a Review Will Skip

1. The actual estimated payment number: it defers to "the safe-harbor amount" instead.
2. The December 31 deduction calendar: it mentions "year-end is coming" instead of naming a deadline.
3. The retirement contribution math: it says "you should consider it" instead of running the projection.

If all three get skipped, you weren't in a review, you were in a check-in that borrowed the word "planning."

Frequently asked questions

What does quarterly tax planning include? Four agenda items in order: estimated payment recalibration, time-sensitive deduction windows, entity and compensation structure, and retirement contribution opportunities. The meeting produces a written deliverable — a recommended payment, time-sensitive actions with deadlines, an updated year-end projection, and any structural decisions. The Q3 review, in September or October, is the longest and most consequential.

How long does a quarterly tax review take? 60 to 90 minutes. Q1, Q2, and Q4 run about 60; Q3 runs closer to 90. The meeting is the visible part — most prep happens beforehand, pulling the YTD P&L and running the projection. Expect about four hours of meetings plus four of prep across the year.

What should I bring to a quarterly tax planning meeting? Your most recent YTD profit and loss statement and balance sheet, any major upcoming decisions (equipment, hiring, entity changes, capital raises), personal-side changes like spouse income shifts, and your prior estimated-payment confirmations. A well-run review requests these in advance — if your accountant never asks, expect a general conversation instead of a specific one.

How do I tell if my accountant is doing a real review or just a check-in? Ask the three questions from the five-minute test above. A real review has all three ready with numbers; a check-in defers to "we'll figure it out at filing." Length is a tell too — 60 to 90 minutes for a review, 10 to 20 for a check-in.

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