Tax Strategy for Bay Area High Earners and Business Owners
Tax GPS Group helps high income households and business owners in the Bay Area and Greater Sacramento with tax preparation and year-round tax planning. We are not a CPA firm. Our team coordinates your federal and state filing and looks for planning opportunities along the way, so you are not just filing and forgetting.
Who do we help in the Bay Area?
- High income W-2 earners, including tech employees with stock options or RSUs
- Business owners and entrepreneurs who want proactive tax planning, not just compliance
- Real estate investors managing one or more properties
- Anyone whose current tax approach feels reactive, file and forget
How is California different for high earners?
California has its own income tax, separate from your federal return. A few differences matter most for higher earners:
No lower rate for investment gains. Federal law has lower rates for long term capital gains. California does not. It taxes all capital gains as ordinary income. FTB
A higher top rate. California's top income tax rate is 12.3% (FTB rate schedules). Taxable income over $1 million is also charged an extra 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax, formerly called the Mental Health Services Tax (FTB estimated tax instructions).
An entity level tax option for business owners. Qualified pass-through entities, such as many partnerships and S corporations, can elect to pay California tax at the entity level. The election was extended for tax years 2026 through 2030 (FTB). Whether it makes sense depends on the entity and its owners.
Estimated payments. Higher income filers often need to make quarterly estimated payments, and the safe harbor rules change at higher income levels.
Our team looks at how these rules fit together with your federal return, so there are fewer surprises at filing time.
What do we do?
Tax Preparation with Strategy Review. Federal and state filing coordination, prior year return review for missed money, quarterly estimate calculations, audit support, and a written strategy roadmap showing which opportunities apply to you.
Year-Round Strategic Planning. Everything in preparation, plus quarterly planning meetings, mid-year strategy implementation, entity structure review, tax projections before you make major decisions, and direct access to our team when life or income changes.
Where do we work?
- Menlo Park (headquarters): 149 Commonwealth Drive #1090, Menlo Park, CA 94025
- San Jose: 3031 Tisch Way, 110 Plaza West #259, San Jose, CA 95128
- El Dorado Hills: 1264 Hawks Flight Ct Suite 200, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
We serve the San Francisco Bay Area, including Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Mountain View, Santa Clara and San Jose, and Greater Sacramento, including El Dorado Hills, Folsom and Granite Bay.
How does it work?
- Start with preparation. We coordinate your tax return filing with close attention to detail and compliance.
- Identify opportunities. While preparing, we look at your situation for planning strategies that may apply, such as cash balance plans, R&D tax credits, entity structure and short term rental benefits.
- Implement what fits. If a strategy makes sense for you, we provide detailed projections and implementation support. If not, you still get tax preparation with no pressure.
Frequently asked questions
What does a tax strategist do, and how is it different from tax preparation?
Tax preparation reports what already happened and gets your return filed. Tax strategy looks ahead. We review your income, investments and business, and look for planning options to discuss with you before year end. We do not promise any specific result, because every situation is different.
Will you work with my current CPA?
Yes. We are a tax strategy team, not a CPA firm. If you already have a CPA or tax preparer you want to keep, we can work alongside them, and any plan we suggest is something they can review.
How does California tax high earners differently from the federal government?
California taxes capital gains as ordinary income, with no lower rate (FTB). Its top rate is 12.3%, and taxable income over $1 million is charged an extra 1% (FTB). Federal and California rules also differ in other ways, so both returns need to be looked at together.
How are stock options taxed for Bay Area tech employees?
It depends on the type of option. For incentive stock options, the IRS says you generally do not include an amount in income when you receive or exercise the option, but exercising can trigger the alternative minimum tax, and you report the sale later. For most nonstatutory options, there is no taxable event at grant, and when you exercise you include the stock's fair market value minus what you paid (IRS Topic 427). RSUs follow different rules, and California has its own rules too, so California treatment should be confirmed with your tax advisor.
What is California's pass-through entity tax, and could it matter for my business?
It is an optional tax that a qualified entity can elect to pay at the entity level, calculated at 9.3% of qualified income. The election is made on a timely filed original return, and the program was extended for tax years 2026 through 2030. There is also an early payment due June 15 of the election year, so timing matters (FTB). Whether it fits depends on how your business is set up.
When is the best time of year to start tax planning?
Earlier is generally easier. Estimated taxes are paid in installments through the year, and the IRS safe harbor rules compare what you pay with your current year and prior year tax (IRS). Many planning choices also need to happen before the year ends. A quick chat early in the year, or well before year end, gives you more options than waiting for filing season.
Do you work with clients outside the Bay Area?
Yes. We focus on California clients today, but we also work with clients across the United States.
What happens in a first conversation?
Your first consultation is free. It is a short call about your income, your business and your goals. We tell you whether we think we can help. If we can, we explain how we would work together and what it would cost before you decide.