Stop overpaying taxes.— and here's how to owe less.
Step 1 of 3 — Your situation
2026 tax year · moves available now
Stop overpaying taxes.— and here's how to owe less.
In 3 minutes, see exactly what you owe — and every legal move to reduce it. Free, no account needed.
Start with your situation →Browse resources
Free, no credit card·Follows IRS tax code·Bank-level encryption
Save up to34%
Your gross income$145,000
$40kdrag to explore$500k
$42,458
As filed
$28,048
Optimized
Saves 33.9% · chart axis starts at $23,244
Max estimated opportunity$14,410/yr
Estimate only. Individual results vary. Consult a tax professional before making decisions.
Max your 401(k)FSA & commuter benefitsCost-segregation study
7500+
avg. deductions found
3 min
to see your full picture
Free
no credit card ever
Works for:
W-2 Employees1099 / FreelanceRental IncomeS-CorpLLCW-2 Employees1099 / FreelanceRental IncomeS-CorpLLCW-2 Employees1099 / FreelanceRental IncomeS-CorpLLCW-2 Employees1099 / FreelanceRental IncomeS-CorpLLCW-2 Employees1099 / FreelanceRental IncomeS-CorpLLCW-2 Employees1099 / FreelanceRental IncomeS-CorpLLCW-2 Employees1099 / FreelanceRental IncomeS-CorpLLCW-2 Employees1099 / FreelanceRental IncomeS-CorpLLC
How it works
No account needed. See your results in 3 minutes.
1
Pick your situation
Tell us if you're W-2, freelance, a landlord, or all three.
2
Enter your numbers
We only show fields relevant to you — no clutter.
3
See every legal move
Your real tax bill, what you could save, and how.
Security & trust
Your numbers stay yours
Follows IRS tax code
Every formula follows current tax code
Bank-level encryption
Data encrypted in transit and at rest
Never sold
We don't sell or share your data
Transparent formulas
See exactly how every number is built
1Your situation
What describes you?
Pick all that apply — we only ask the numbers that matter to you.
W-2 employee
Salary or wages with tax withheld
Business / 1099
Freelance, contractor, or owner
Rental / Airbnb
Long-term, short-term, or commercial
2Your numbers
Just the fields that apply to you
Because you picked W-2 and rental, that's all we show — no other questions cluttering the form.
Reset fields
Filing status
SingleMarried, jointHead of household
State
Gross W-2 salary
$
Federal tax withheld YTD
$
Auto-estimated · edit to override
Retirement contributed so far
$
Kids under 17
Other dependents
Itemize / advancedOptional — most filers take the standard deduction▼
Property 1
Long-term rental
Leases 12+ months — steady income, standard passive-loss rules apply.
Rental income
$
Operating expenses
$
Depreciation✻
−$
Auto-estimated · edit to override
Taxable rental income$3,000
🔒 Add another property after you sign up
Tip: Long-term rental losses are passive — up to $25k can offset other income if you actively participate and your income is under the phase-out.
3Your tax picture
Here's where you actually stand
An estimate for planning. Confirm with your CPA before filing.
As filed today
$42,458
Effective rate: 27.0%
Federal income tax$22,334
State tax (CA)$9,032
Payroll Taxes (FICA)$11,093
Optimized — all moves (estimated)
$28,048
Saves up to 33.9% with 8 moves
Estimate only. Individual results vary. Consult a tax professional before making decisions.
Best-case potential
$14,410/yr
If all 8 moves are applied
Estimate only. Individual results vary. Consult a tax professional before making decisions.
Estimated refund
+$0
Your withholding is on track. Consider investing your refund rather than over-withholding.
Traditional IRA: Your income exceeds the deduction limit for Traditional IRA contributions.
Your estimated tax opportunity (up to)
$14,410/yr
Across 8 legal moves, ranked by impact
First 2 unlocked free
See all moves →
Estimate only. Individual results vary. Consult a tax professional before making decisions.
Save \~$5,494
Max your 401(k)
You have about $16,500 of room left against the $24,500 2026 estimated limit. Maxing it cuts taxable income at your \~33% combined federal + state marginal rate.
Save \~$2,491
FSA & commuter benefits
Pre-tax payroll dollars: $3,400 healthcare FSA and \~$4,080/yr commuter benefits. (Dependent care FSA is a separate move — it shows once you add kids.)
Save \~$1,665
Cost-segregation study
Reclassify components into 5/7/15-year buckets to accelerate depreciation. On your \~$247,500 building basis, a study can front-load roughly $61,875 of extra depreciation into year 1. As a passive long-term rental, only about $5,000 of that offsets your other income this year (the $25k allowance phases out by $150k AGI); the rest carries forward.
Save \~$1,665
Bunch charitable gifts (DAF)
Donor-advised fund: bundle 2–3 years of giving into one tax year to clear the standard deduction threshold.
Save \~$1,465
Open an HSA
On a high-deductible plan, the $4,400 limit is deductible going in, grows tax-free, and comes out tax-free for medical.
Save \~$999
Tax-loss harvesting
Sell losing positions to offset gains. Up to $3,000 of net losses also offsets ordinary income each year; rest carries forward.
Save \~$666
Donate appreciated stock
Gift long-term-held shares directly to charity — skip the capital gains and deduct fair market value.
Save \~$499
Repairs vs. capitalized improvements
Frame work as a repair (immediately deductible) rather than an improvement (depreciated over 27.5 years) whenever the rules allow.
Built for freelancers, W-2 earners, and landlords.
Unlock all 8 moves — free →
No credit card · takes 30 seconds
What users are saying
"I figured I had my deductions covered after years of freelancing. It still caught the home-office one and part of my QBI that I'd been skipping."
Alejandro J.
Freelance Designer, California
"Between the W-2 and the rental, taxes were always kind of a guess for me. This is the first time I actually saw where it all goes and what I can do before December."
Marcus T.
W-2 Employee + Rental Property Owner
"I'd been putting off the S-corp question for two years. The breakdown showed it actually makes sense at what I earn now, so I'm finally setting it up."
Jamie L.
1099 Contractor, Texas
What if you went independent?
Could you save by switching to 1099 + LLC?
Some W-2 jobs can be contracted out. If yours could, here's the apples-to-apples bill — your W-2 tax + employee FICA vs. taking the same income through a business at a 10% expense estimate. Lower bar = more in your pocket.
Best alternative saves
$7,377
per year
Estimate only. Individual results vary. Consult a tax professional before making decisions.
42k
32k
21k
11k
0k
Your current W-2Your W-2
$42,458
Sole PropSole Prop
$39,761
S-CorpS-Corp
$35,081
✻ The Sole Prop, LLC, and S-Corp bars run higher than income tax alone because they include self-employment tax (15.3% SE tax replaces employee FICA) on net self-employment income. An S-Corp trims it by taking part of the income as distributions.
›Income you wouldn't pay tax on\~$82,445— click to expand
at \~$145,000 of income
✓
Business expenses (est. 10%)\~$14,500
Home office, equipment, software, vehicle, supplies — once you're a business, real expenses come off the top.
✓
20% QBI pass-through deduction\~$26,100
Pass-through income gets a 20% deduction before federal tax — no equivalent for W-2 wages.
✓
Solo 401(k) extra retirement room\~$32,625
Self-employed cap is \~$72,000 vs $24,500 on a W-2 — about $32,625 more shelter.
✓
Half of self-employment tax\~$9,220
Half of the 15.3% SE tax is itself an above-the-line federal deduction.
Total income that wouldn't be taxed\~$82,445
At your 33% tax rate, skipping tax on $82,445 works out to roughly \~$27,454 less in taxes for the year.
Estimate only. Individual results vary. Consult a tax professional before making decisions.
›Tradeoffs — what you'd gain and give up— click to expand
Why this could save you money
- ✓Bigger retirement room. Solo 401(k) tops out around $72,000 — nearly 3× the W-2 limit.
- ✓Real business deductions. Home office, vehicle, equipment, half of SE tax, health insurance.
- ✓20% QBI deduction. Pass-through gets 20% off the top before federal tax.
- ✓S-Corp distributions skip FICA. Reasonable salary, rest taken tax-light.
- —Employer-paid health insurance, 401(k) match, life/disability, paid leave.
- —Job security — you're now responsible for sales, billing, and bench time.
- —Bookkeeping, quarterly estimated taxes, and (for S-Corp) running payroll.
- —State LLC fees — CA's $800/yr franchise tax is notable.
What you give up
✻ We may earn a commission if you sign up through this link — at no additional cost to you. Estimates are simplified; talk to a CPA before restructuring. Full disclosure.
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