Who we work with in Charlotte
Charlotte has a lot of small businesses and a lot of investors, and the clients we see there tend to fall into a few groups:
- Trades and construction businesses riding the building boom across Mecklenburg and the surrounding counties
- Real estate investors with long term rentals in the city and short term rentals elsewhere in the Carolinas
- Professionals and banking and tech employees with equity compensation, rentals or a side business
- Owners who moved here from another state and now file in two
What they have in common: returns with moving parts, and a CPA who used to show up in March and disappear in May.
Our services for Charlotte clients
- Tax preparation in Charlotte, with starting prices published
- Tax planning, quarterly, so the moves happen before year end
- Outsourced accounting and bookkeeping, with your tax returns included
- Accounting for contractors and trades
- Real estate investor tax strategy
- LLC formation and S corp conversions
What is specific to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
Most tax rules are federal or statewide, but a few things come up again and again for Charlotte businesses:
- No local income tax. North Carolina counties and cities do not tax income. Your Charlotte address changes nothing on your income tax return compared to anywhere else in the state.
- Business personal property listing. Every January, businesses list their equipment, furniture and other business property with the Mecklenburg County Assessor's Office, and pay property tax on it. It is easy to miss in your first year, and late listings carry a penalty.
- No city business license. North Carolina stopped letting cities charge a general privilege license tax in 2015, so most Charlotte businesses do not need a city business license. Some trades need a state license, and some activities need permits.
- Sales tax. Mecklenburg has its own combined sales tax rate, which includes a local transit tax. If you sell taxable goods or services, the rate depends on where the sale happens, not where you are.
- The South Carolina commute. A large share of Charlotte's workforce lives in York and Lancaster counties. If your employees or your partners live in SC, payroll withholding and your K-1s cross the state line. See NC and SC dual-state taxes.
Why a Waxhaw CPA for a Charlotte business
We are not going to pretend to have an uptown office. We are in Waxhaw, in Union County, about 20 miles south.
Here is what that means in practice: nothing. Your intro call is on Google Meet. Documents go through a secure portal. Returns are signed electronically and delivered with a recorded walkthrough. Charlotte clients work with us exactly the way Waxhaw clients do, and the way clients in other states do.
What you get in return is a small, focused team where the people working on your account know your account, and a CPA who picks up the phone during the year.
Areas around Charlotte we serve
Charlotte, Ballantyne, Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville, Huntersville, Cornelius and Harrisburg, plus Union County to the south and Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Indian Land and Rock Hill across the state line. The full list is on our service areas page.
Questions we get asked
Do you have an office in Charlotte?
No. Our office is in Waxhaw, NC, about 20 miles south of uptown Charlotte. All client work is virtual, over Google Meet, secure upload and electronic signature, so Charlotte clients never need to drive to us.
How much does a CPA cost in Charlotte?
Our individual tax returns start at $400, business returns at $1,500, and monthly outsourced accounting packages at $5,500 a year including your tax returns. Every service page lists its starting prices.
Do Charlotte businesses need a business license?
Most do not. North Carolina ended general city and county privilege license taxes in 2015. Some trades need a state license, for example general contractors on projects of $40,000 or more, and businesses still list their business personal property with Mecklenburg County each January.
Can you help if I live in South Carolina and work in Charlotte?
Yes, it is one of the most common situations we handle. You file a North Carolina nonresident return for the income earned in NC and a South Carolina resident return that credits the NC tax. Details are on our NC and SC dual-state page.