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5 accounting firms and CPAs for startups in New York City
By Solomon Wiesen, editor. Updated October 2026. Editorial standards | How this site is funded
A New York City accountant files returns that an out-of-state online firm may never have prepared: the city’s 4 percent unincorporated business tax on LLC and sole-proprietor income, the general corporation tax the city charges S corporations, and commercial rent tax on a Manhattan lease of $250,000 a year or more. The same person can get a new LLC through the state rule that it publish notice in two newspapers for six weeks, within 120 days of formation. The five Manhattan firms below all list services for small or new businesses on their own websites.
- Five Manhattan firms that list small-business services on their own sites: OnPoint, Medows CPA, Spear CPA CFP, Li & Zheng and Haque CPA.
- Ask about NYC taxes an out-of-state firm may miss: the 4% unincorporated business tax, the corporate tax on S corporations and commercial rent tax.
- Fees: Medows CPA publishes $500 to $1,500 for small-business work and $500 to $800 for an average return.
- Check the license in the NYSED Office of the Professions search before you sign.
NYC unincorporated business tax owed, by taxable income
Tax after the city’s small business credit for an LLC or sole proprietor, at 4% after the $5,000 exemption. The credit erases small bills and phases out quickly above about $90,000.
5 accounting firms in Manhattan that take small-business clients
Names, addresses, phone numbers and services come from each firm’s own website, checked in October 2026. Nobody hired or tested these firms for this list, and it carries no star ratings.
| Firm | Address and neighborhood | Phone | Services listed on its site |
|---|---|---|---|
| OnPoint Business Tax & Accounting | 100 Church Street, Lower Manhattan | (212) 920-1184 | Entity formation (LLC, C corp, S corp), bookkeeping, business tax returns, New York and New Jersey sales tax filing, payroll |
| Medows CPA, PLLC | 570 Grand Street, Office A, Lower East Side | (646) 415-8011 | Entity selection and formation, tax preparation and planning, tax resolution, bookkeeping, payroll, sales tax audit help |
| Spear CPA CFP | 315 Madison Avenue, 3rd Floor, Midtown near Grand Central | (212) 206-7336 | Tax preparation and planning, accounting and bookkeeping, start-up guidance, federal, state and city compliance filings |
| Li & Zheng CPA PLLC | 112 West 34th Street, 18th Floor, Herald Square | (212) 946-4782 | Tax preparation and planning, tax resolution, monthly bookkeeping, financial statements, payroll processing |
| Haque CPA | 100 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, Midtown near Grand Central | (212) 880-2617 | Incorporation, small business accounting, QuickBooks, tax preparation and planning, international tax, state and local tax |
Which of them say they work with startups
OnPoint is the only one of the five with a page for startups. It lists “Startup entity formation (LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp)” along with bookkeeping and payroll setup, and it files sales tax for both New York and New Jersey businesses from offices in Manhattan and Montclair, NJ. One thing to know before you call: the tax partner named on its site, Milla Libeson, is an enrolled agent, and the site makes no claim that OnPoint is a CPA firm. Its pricing page describes flat fees and gives no dollar amounts.
Medows CPA has a “Business Start-up & Wind Down” service. The firm says its accountants “are experts in entity selection” and that it can set up your entity in New York or any other state. It pitches itself to freelancers and the self-employed as much as to small businesses, and managing member Jonathan Medows is listed as a CPA in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Spear CPA CFP sells to small businesses by name: its homepage headline is “NYC Small Business Tax Preparation, Tax Savings & Bookkeeping, Done For You,” and it promises to handle “every required filing,” New York City’s included. Its start-up page reads more like a checklist of steps (compare business structures, get an EIN) than a list of what the firm files for you, so ask.
The other two are general practices. Li & Zheng is tax-first, with bookkeeping and payroll for existing small businesses and no formation service on its site. Haque CPA says it serves “small and midsized businesses” and entrepreneurs, alongside hedge fund and private equity clients, and it is the only one of the five that lists international tax.
None of this makes any of them a venture specialist. If your company is a Delaware C corporation with outside investors, compare the national accounting firms for startups before you hire locally.
The New York filings to ask about
Ask a prospective accountant which of these they file for clients like you. The answers will tell you more than a services page.
Unincorporated business tax is 4 percent of taxable income allocated to the city. Individuals and single-member LLCs file Form NYC-202, and partnerships and multi-member LLCs file NYC-204. A liability of $3,400 or less is wiped out by a credit, and a partial credit applies up to $5,400, so a small first-year business may owe nothing; ask if a return is still required.
Electing S corporation status doesn’t get you out of city corporate tax. The Department of Finance states that federal S corporations are, in general, subject to the general corporation tax.
Commercial rent tax applies to tenants in Manhattan south of 96th Street paying at least $250,000 a year in gross rent. The rate is 6 percent of base rent, and a 35 percent base rent reduction brings the effective rate to 3.9 percent. You have to file a return once annual gross rent passes $200,000, even if no tax is due.
If you sell anything taxable, the state wants you registered for sales tax at least 20 days before you begin business. The maximum penalty for operating without a Certificate of Authority is $10,000.
For LLCs there are two more. The Department of State’s publication rule ends with a Certificate of Publication and a $50 filing fee, and missing the 120-day deadline suspends the LLC’s authority to do business. Separately, an LLC taxed as a partnership or disregarded entity, with New York source income, pays the state an annual filing fee on Form IT-204-LL of $25 to $4,500, due the 15th day of the third month after the tax year closes, with no extension. The federal side is in the startup taxes guide.
How to check a New York CPA license yourself
New York licenses CPAs through the State Education Department’s Office of the Professions. Its verification search covers individual licensees and enforcement actions, and the department’s public accounting firms page links to a search for firms. Under the department’s registration rules, a firm that uses “CPA” in its name or provides attest or compilation services to New York clients has to register, and registration renews every three years.
Search both the firm and the person who will sign your return. The table above reports what each firm says about itself, so run the search before you sign an engagement letter. An enrolled agent won’t appear in the state database, because enrolled agents are licensed by the IRS.
Two questions about hiring an accountant in NYC
What does a small-business accountant cost in New York City?
Only one of the five publishes numbers. The Medows CPA FAQ says small-business fees tend to run $500 to $1,500 and an average tax return $500 to $800, inside an overall range of $500 to $10,000. OnPoint describes a monthly flat fee for bookkeeping based on transaction volume and a per-employee fee for payroll. The other three list no prices on their homepages.
Is an enrolled agent enough, or do I need a CPA?
For tax returns and IRS disputes, either will do: the IRS gives enrolled agents and CPAs the same unlimited representation rights. Financial statements are where it changes. If a lender or investor wants audited or reviewed statements, that is attest work, and in New York a firm providing it has to be a registered public accounting firm.
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