Tax Flow for Contractors
Cover of Tax Flow for Contractors by Steve Padgett, CPA

For contractors and home service business owners

Stop Getting Blindsided by Tax Bills. Start Paying Yourself First.

Tax Flow for Contractors by Steve Padgett, CPA · Book 1 of The Contractor's Wealth Blueprint™ Pocket Series

Jobs booked. Crews busy. Invoices out. And the bank account still looks empty? You’re not bad with money. Your money just doesn’t have a map. This book hands you the Contractor’s Tax Flow System™, a 90-day plan that gives every dollar a job the day it lands: tax money set aside, profit protected, and a real paycheck for you.

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Read this if you’ve ever…

You’re great at the work. Nobody taught you the money side. That isn’t a character flaw. It’s a missing system. This book is for you if you’ve ever:

  • Opened a tax bill you didn’t see coming, then scrambled to cover it
  • Stared at a full schedule and an empty bank account and asked, “Where did all the money go?”
  • Paid the crew, the vendors, and even the software company, then taken whatever scraps were left
  • Felt your stomach drop at an envelope from the IRS, or let them pile up because you couldn’t face opening them
  • Wondered whether an S corp would help you, and never gotten a straight answer
  • Promised yourself “next year will be different,” and then April showed up again

Remodelers, builders, and trade owners: if you build, fix, or maintain things for a living, this was written for you.

Why a CPA wrote this book

“Fifteen. Thousand. Dollars. Due.”

It was October 15, tax-extension deadline night. Steve Padgett had spent months helping clients hit their deadlines. His own return was the last one left. He ran the numbers and owed $15,000. He had $5,000 in checking.

Here’s the point: he’s a CPA. He knew the tax code. It didn’t matter. Knowing the rules isn’t enough when your cash flow has no structure. You still get blindsided.

That night he made himself a promise: “I will never be surprised by taxes again.” Over the next 90 days he rebuilt his system from the ground up. That system is this book: the same 90-day plan he now teaches to contractors.

Your tax bill isn’t a surprise because you’re bad with money. It’s a surprise because no one ever taught you how money should move.

Inside, you’ll discover:

  • Why your bank balance lies to you, and the three-account setup that makes it tell the truth
  • The 20–25% rule: how much of every deposit to move into your Tax Flow Reserve, and why the day it lands beats waiting for the end of the quarter
  • The 20-minute “Tax Flow Friday” that catches unbilled work, creeping costs, and missed deductions while you can still do something about them
  • “Autopsy accounting”: the habit most contractors fall into, and why it means you can see every mistake but fix none of them
  • When an S corp election usually starts to make sense, plus the payroll and paperwork that keep it safe
  • The Hidden Donation: the write-offs contractors leave on the table, and the one question every expense should answer
  • The Profit Pay Structure that gives every deposit a job, ends the “Scraps Era,” and puts you on a real payday, even before you’re an S corp
  • Why the IRS penalizes by the quarter, not just at year-end, and the thermostat rule for adjusting what you set aside
  • The two planning calls a year that turn your CPA from a firefighter into a strategist
  • The 90-Day Sprint: exactly what to do in weeks 1–2, weeks 3–4, month 2, and month 3

No theory. No jargon. Every chapter ends with a Quick Win you can do before you turn the page. The first one is simple: open a new account and name it Tax Flow Reserve.

What’s inside: 7 chapters

One chapter a week. Seven weeks of focus, then a 90-day rhythm you keep for good.

  1. Chapter 1

    The Money Map

    How to See Where Your Cash and Taxes Really Go

    Quit doing “autopsy accounting,” finding out how the year died after it’s over. Open three accounts (Operating, Tax Flow Reserve, Profit Reserve), move 20–25% of every deposit to taxes the day it lands, and see your whole money picture on one page.

  2. Chapter 2

    The Tax Flow Mindset

    Think Like a Business Owner, Not a Taxpayer

    Taxes aren’t a season. They’re a rhythm. Plan before you earn, measure monthly, adjust quarterly, and use a 30-minute Friday Money Meeting to read your P&L and balance sheet like scoreboards instead of mysteries.

  3. Chapter 3

    Smart Entity Setup

    Choose the Structure That Saves You the Most

    Your entity decides how money flows to you and to the IRS. Sole prop, LLC, and S corp compared in plain English: the profit level where an S corp election usually starts to make sense, and the payroll and paperwork that keep it safe.

  4. Chapter 4

    Deduct Like a Pro

    Turn Everyday Costs into Tax Savings

    Every write-off you miss is a Hidden Donation to the IRS. Four habits (identify, track and tag, document, plan ahead) turn the receipts on your dashboard into deductions you can explain and defend.

  5. Chapter 5

    Start Paying Yourself Right

    (Without Yet Becoming an S-Corp)

    The crew got paid. The vendors got paid. You got the scraps. The Profit Pay Structure™ puts you on a steady base pay and gives every deposit a job (taxes, profit, operations), moved automatically on payday. No S corp required.

  6. Chapter 6

    The Year-Round Tax Plan

    Stay Ahead of the IRS

    Hope isn’t a tax strategy. Rhythm is. Put every deadline on the calendar with a check-in two weeks ahead, review quarterly, adjust your set-aside like a thermostat, and book a mid-year and a year-end planning call with your CPA.

  7. Chapter 7

    Build Wealth from Your Work

    Turn Tax Savings into Freedom

    Once the taxes are handled, play offense. The Wealth Flow Formula™: build an emergency fund and a growth fund, invest simply (SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), index funds, your own business), and protect what you build.

Free download

The Contractor’s Tax Flow Toolkit

Start with the free Contractor Tax Flow Checklist: the whole 4-part Tax Flow system on one page you can pin up in the shop or truck, plus three plain-English pages that walk you through it one section at a time. Instant download. More tools are on the way.

Get the free checklist

Free bonus for readers

Bought the book? Your free workbook, course, and community are waiting.

Reading about tax flow won’t move a dollar. Doing it will. So readers get the Tax Flow for Contractors Workbook (step-by-step exercises, account templates, and cash-flow checklists), full access to Steve’s Small Business Tax Mastery Course (a $297 value), and an invitation to the Small Business Tax Mastery Circle Community, a place to ask questions and connect with other contractors. It’s free on Skool. Just enter your email.

Claim your free bonus What’s included →

Free live webinar

Tax Flow for Contractors: Stop Surprise Tax Bills and Pay Yourself with Confidence

Thursday, November 5, 2026 · 12:00–1:00 PM PT · Live on Zoom · Free

One hour with Steve. He walks through the 4-part Tax Flow system (cash flow buckets, owner pay, estimates and quarterlies, clean books), S corp salary vs. distributions, Washington B&O, sales tax and L&I, and the year-end moves to review with your tax advisor before December 31. Bring your questions. He’s answering them live. Everyone who registers gets the Contractor Tax Flow Checklist.

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Steve Padgett, CPA

About the author

Steve Padgett, CPA

Steve Padgett is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 33 years of experience helping business owners with taxes, finance, and growth. Contractors bring him the shoebox of receipts, the stack of unopened IRS envelopes, and the question “How bad is it this time?” He wrote this book so you can stop asking it.

His approach is practical and down to earth: turn accounting principles into simple systems anyone can follow, starting with 20 focused minutes a week. He created The Contractor's Wealth Blueprint™ Pocket Series to help contractors end tax stress, build predictable profits, and grow lasting wealth, in plain English. When he’s not working with clients, he’s with his wife and kids, exploring the Pacific Northwest.

Steve is the co-founder of Padgett & Padgett, PLLC, a CPA firm in Mount Vernon, Washington. Questions about the book? Email steve@padgettcpa.com. He reads every message.

Next tax season can feel completely different.

Picture next March. No panic. No late-night pile of receipts. Your tax money is already sitting in its own account. Your CPA calls and you’re calm. That isn’t luck. It’s a system, and it starts with one account you can open today.

Buy on Kindle Paperback Hardcover

Kindle, paperback, and hardcover, all on Amazon.

P.S. Not ready to buy? Grab the free Contractor Tax Flow Checklist first. It’s the whole system on one page. Pin it up in the shop and start this Friday.

P.P.S. Want to ask Steve your questions yourself? Join the free live webinar on Thursday, November 5, 2026, 12:00–1:00 PM PT.