A free 20-minute review of your last two returns, anchored to a catalog of the items generalist preparers most commonly leave on the table. No commitment, no upsell. Either you are in the fit profile or you are not.
Signal runs a structured diagnostic on your last two tax returns against a 33-item catalog of common business-tax misses (credits, deductions, structural elections, accounting methods, compliance filings). The review takes 20 minutes. We come back with a list of items that are in scope for your business, the dollar magnitude on each one, and the work it would take to capture them. About one in three reviews surfaces a one-time recovery north of $25,000, recurring annual savings of $5,000 to $15,000, or both. We do the review free because we want to talk to business owners who would benefit from a more advisory CPA relationship. If the review shows nothing in scope, we tell you, and the conversation ends there with no awkward follow-up.
The U.S. tax code runs about 4,000 pages. The Treasury regulations interpreting it run another 17,000. Adding the case law, revenue rulings, and IRS guidance brings the total practitioners need to keep current on to somewhere north of 75,000 pages, with substantive changes published nearly every week.
A small-firm or mid-firm generalist CPA, running 250 to 400 returns through a four-month busy season, cannot read all of that. They can read the high-volume changes (the rate tables, the standard-deduction adjustments, the most common credit forms) and they can rely on their tax software to flag the rest. The result is that the tax software becomes the de facto knowledge base. The software handles what it is configured to handle, and items that require a conversation, a structural decision, or a project to capture tend to slip.
The pattern shows up most clearly in three categories:
A second-opinion review is a structured way to surface items in all three categories without disrupting your existing CPA relationship. It is also, frankly, useful as a forcing function: even when the review finds nothing material, the conversation with your current preparer about why they did not raise an item often produces a better working relationship.
The review is anchored to a 33-item catalog of common business-tax misses, organized into six categories. Each item carries an eligibility rule, a typical dollar range, and the detection signals we look for on the return.
R&D Credit (§41), ERC backlog, WOTC, Disabled Access Credit, Small Employer Health Insurance Premium Credit, Retirement Plan Startup Credit, §45S PFML Credit, §45L Home Credit, §45W Commercial Clean Vehicle, §30C EV Charging, §48 Energy ITC, §45X Advanced Manufacturing.
Cost Segregation, Augusta Rule (§280A(g)), De Minimis Safe Harbor, 199A QBI aggregation, §174A R&D restoration, §179D, Accountable Plan reimbursements, Home Office accountable-plan.
S-corp reasonable comp, Late S-corp election (Rev Proc 2013-30), §1202 QSBS, State PTET election, NOL carryforward tracking, SEP/Solo 401(k)/DB under-contribution.
Repair vs. Capitalization (§263(a)), Partial Disposition Election, Form 3115 §481(a) accounting-method catchup.
BOIR/FinCEN Beneficial Ownership, Worker classification + §530 safe harbor, Federal Fuel Tax Credit (§6421/§6427).
First-Time Penalty Abatement (IRM 20.1.1.3.6.1).
The full catalog is updated as new statutes, regulations, and Treasury guidance change the landscape. The 33-item set as of June 2026 reflects post-OBBBA 2025 rules.
A written summary of what we found, structured into three sections:
The summary is yours to use however you want. Take it to your current CPA and ask why the in-scope items were not raised. Hire someone else to chase the recoveries. Or work with us. There is no obligation either way; the review is the product, not a sales call.
These five catalog items account for the majority of the dollar recovery in a typical second-opinion engagement. Each has its own detailed write-up.
The decision framework for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs netting $50K+ on Schedule C, plus the Rev Proc 2013-30 late-election door.
Small businesses with $31M or less in average gross receipts can retroactively expense 2022-2024 R&D. The window is open for 29 more days.
Pass-through entity tax elections in 36+ states convert non-deductible personal SALT into a fully deductible federal expense at the entity level.
The 5-year rule, the C-corp origin test, the SSTB trap, and the stacking strategies that multiply the cap. Structure has to be right from day one.
The plain-English answer to who has to file, who is exempt, the current deadlines, and what to do if the window has already passed.
What the second-opinion review is:
What it is not:
We do the review free because the catalog work is the same regardless of whether you become a client. Reading two returns and running the 33-item scan takes about the same time whether the answer is "you have $40,000 of recoverable refund and we should talk about how to capture it" or "your current CPA caught everything in scope, you are in good shape." Either answer is useful to you, and the cost to us of being wrong is one hour of partner time.
The review is most useful for owners who fit at least one of these profiles:
If none of those fit, the review is probably not worth your 20 minutes. If even one fits, send your last two returns and we will tell you what we see.
Book a 20-minute slot. Send your last two returns ahead of the call. We come back with a written summary of items in scope, items ruled out, and open questions. No commitment, no upsell, no awkward follow-up if the review shows nothing material.
Book your free review →Prefer to email? Send your returns to [email protected] and we will turn around the written summary within 48 hours.