Business Owners Doing $1M+ Per Year

If Your California Business Does $1M+ A Year, We'll Save You At Least $100K In Taxes This Year, Or You Don't Pay

Every move is one Karen would calmly explain to the IRS, and you can keep your current CPA while we plan.

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Client Reviews

200+ Clients And $10M+ Saved In Taxes

4.8 from 21 reviewson Google
“We were ending a 13-year relationship with our previous CPA... Karen carefully walked us through the importance of planning forward... we have implemented strategies that saved us much more in taxes than we imagined was possible.”
DBDon BakkeAstute Advisors client
“I have been working with her for the last five years. Her team emails back as quickly as possible. I've done a lot of different tax strategies. They helped me buy property, grow my business, and improve my cash flow.”
JHJose HernandezAstute Advisors client
“She's extremely professional, knowledgeable, and a true warrior for her clients. She doesn't just file taxes; she uses every tax incentive available and utilizes all of her resources to get the best tax savings possible.”
ALAngela LipseyAstute Advisors client
“For several years, Karen and her team at Astute have been my primary resources for multiple businesses and personal matters related to tax, CPA, fractional CFO, and advisory.”
JMJohn McGloughlinAstute Advisors client
“I've been working with Karen and her team for my small business for two years... They simplify the financial topics I would rather not think about and free up my time so I can work on my business.”
YBYanique BarnesAstute Advisors client

Is This You?

Who Is This For?

Who This Is For:

  • You own a California business doing $1M or more a year in revenue.
  • You're writing six-figure checks to the IRS every year.
  • Your CPA files a correct return every spring but has never once handed you a plan.
  • Your S-corp salary was set when you made the election and nobody has re-tested it since.
  • You run an S-corp, a partnership or more than one entity, and your returns stopped being simple.
  • You have a hire, a building, new equipment or a sale coming up and want to know the tax cost before you commit.
  • You want this year's bill worked on before December 31st, not explained in April.

This Is Not For:

  • Businesses doing under $1M a year in revenue.
  • Employees and individuals who only need a personal return filed.
  • Owners looking for aggressive moves that wouldn't hold up if the IRS asked about them.
  • Owners who want a December shopping list instead of a plan for the whole year.
  • Anyone who only wants a return filed once a year and nothing else.

100% Done-For-You

Here's Everything We Do For You

Here's how Karen and her team work on this year's taxes while you can still move them, then file the returns that lock the savings in.

A Straight Answer First

We start with a 30-minute video call on last year's return and a rough idea of this year's income, and we tell you plainly whether planning is worth paying for.

Every Move Priced Out

We review your business and personal returns, your books and your plans, then put a number on each strategy that fits: what it saves, what it takes and when it's due.

Owner Pay And Retirement Re-Tested

We re-test the salary you pay yourself against what the business really earns each year, and choose the retirement plan that fits your profit, payroll and cash flow.

California's Rules Handled

We plan for California's own rules: no bonus depreciation, capital gains taxed like ordinary income, the pass-through entity election with its June 15 payment, and the residency questions out-of-state advice gets wrong.

Quarterly Checkpoints All Year

Four times a year we compare your real numbers to the projection, reset your estimated payments and make sure each move happens before its deadline. Questions in between get a reply within one business day.

Returns Filed By The Same Team

The team that plans your year prepares your business and personal returns, so the elections your plan depends on actually get made and the return matches what we agreed to months earlier.

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On The Record

Does It Actually Work?

“
We recently made a kind of a big decision to kind of grow this company in a different way and that decision was based on the financial data that you provided us... you've helped us in directing the company in a way that makes us more profitable and you know less stressful.
S
Steve
Vice President of Technology, Cosmic Microtechnology
“
Now I have given her my bookkeeping... as well as my tax advising and my filings for my business and my personal.
SP
Scott Poneta
Owner, Poneta Real Estate Group
“
Karen has handled our personal and corporate taxes for a decade. Knowledgeable, up to date with new changes in laws, resourceful, and always supportive and responsive. Highly recommended.
SE
Shawn Esrawi
Astute Advisors client

Still On The Fence?

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to replace my current CPA?+
No. Some clients start with planning while their current preparer files, then bring the returns over the next season. We're also a fit if you already have a CPA you like but have never been given a plan.
Is this aggressive tax planning?+
No. Every position we take is one Karen would calmly explain to the IRS, and if a strategy can't be defended in an audit, it doesn't go in the plan. The biggest savings come from choices the tax code expects owners to make: your entity, your own salary, your retirement plan and the timing of income and purchases.
Do I have to buy something to save on taxes?+
No. A deduction isn't an investment: spend $10,000 you didn't need to take about $4,000 off your taxes and you're $6,000 poorer. Most of the money in a plan comes from decisions that cost nothing up front, like the salary you pay yourself and when income lands.
Is it too late to do anything for this year?+
No, but every week closes another option. A fourth-quarter plan can still capture year-end moves, like adjusting your salary through payroll or putting needed equipment in service by December 31st, and it sets up next year from January 1. The savings show up when your return is filed.
What if you don't save me at least $100K?+
Then your planning fee comes back. On the call Karen looks at last year's return and this year's numbers and tells you straight whether we can get you to $100K. If the numbers don't support it, she'll say so on the call.
We're not in the South Bay. Can you still work with us?+
Yes. Our office is in Torrance and our clients are across California. Every engagement runs over Zoom or Google Meet with documents through a secure portal, so where you are in the state doesn't change the work.
What does it cost?+
The fee isn't published because it depends on how many entities and returns are involved. If it's a fit, you get a clear scope and a quoted fee before any work starts, with no hourly meter running. We only take on planning where the projected savings clearly exceed the fee.
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One Last Step

Want To Know What Your Business Can Still Save Before December 31st?

On the strategy call, Karen looks at last year's return and a rough idea of this year's income. Then she shows you where the biggest savings likely sit and tells you straight whether we can get you to $100K.

Book A Strategy Call

Any client results described on this page are not a guarantee of future results. Every tax situation is different, and outcomes depend on your income, structure and timing. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Facebook, Instagram, Google or any other advertising platform.