Healthcare Accountant for Medical Practices & Providers

Tax and accounting for physicians, dentists, pharmacies, home-health providers, plus care facilities across greater Los Angeles.

A stethoscope set down beside a folder of financial papers and a laptop

More Time for Your Patients, Less with Taxes

Reimbursement models, licensing, compliance: healthcare finances carry a layer that other businesses do not have. Hours spent on documentation are hours away from patients.

GT handles tax and accounting for physicians, pharmacies, dental practices, long-term care facilities, home-health agencies, hospices across Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Los Angeles. We take the financial work off your desk, then plan ahead for the credits and savings your practice qualifies for.

Our Healthcare Tax Services Include:

Full-service accounting
Payroll processing & reporting
Tax preparation & planning for physicians, pharmacies, dentistry, long-term care facilities, home-health care, and hospices
Business formation / entity selection

For practice owners

Entity structure and the S corporation election, modeled through business formation before anything is filed
Owner compensation: a defensible salary set before distributions are taken
Payroll for associates, hygienists, front-office staff, with the quarterly EDD filings
Quarterly estimated taxes, set from current-year projections in tax planning

Tax Issues Specific to Medical Practices

A few tax questions come up for nearly every medical or dental practice.

Entity choice and owner compensation

A practice taxed as an S corporation passes its profit through to the owners' personal returns without a corporate-level tax. The IRS requires that an owner who works in the practice take reasonable compensation as wages before taking distributions. There is no fixed formula in the tax code. The factors include training, duties, hours, and what comparable businesses pay for the same work. Set the salary too low, then the distributions can be treated as wages, with employment taxes due on them.

Employees or contractors

Associates, hygienists, and per-diem providers are sometimes paid as contractors. The IRS does not go by the label. It looks at behavioral control, financial control, plus the relationship between the parties, and no single factor decides it. A practice that classifies an employee as a contractor without a reasonable basis becomes liable for the employment taxes on that worker. California adds its own reporting: contractors paid $600 or more are reported to the EDD on the DE 542 within 20 days.

Equipment purchases

Imaging systems, chairs, lasers, lab equipment: these are large purchases, so the timing of the deduction matters. For tax years beginning in 2025, Section 179 lets a business expense up to $2,500,000 of qualifying equipment in the year it is placed in service, with the limit phasing out once total purchases pass $4,000,000. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act also restored 100 percent bonus depreciation for qualified property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. Which method to use, and in which year, depends on the practice's income picture.

Retirement plans

A practice can shelter income for the owner while covering staff through a SEP, a SIMPLE IRA, a 401(k), or a defined benefit plan, each with its own contribution rules and coverage requirements. We model the options against the practice's payroll before a plan is adopted.

Sales tax on what the practice sells

Medicines a physician or dentist furnishes to their own patient for treatment are exempt from California sales tax. Items sold separately to patients, such as retail products or appliances that do not meet the definition of a medicine, can be taxable, which means the practice needs a seller's permit and files returns with the CDTFA. Orthodontic, prosthetic, auditory, and ophthalmic devices generally do not count as medicines unless specifically included.

Healthcare Tax Questions

Should my practice be taxed as an S corporation?

An S corporation passes its income through to the owners' personal returns, so there is no corporate-level tax. The trade-off is that owners who work in the practice must take reasonable wages, with payroll taxes on them, before taking distributions. Whether the election helps depends on the practice's profit, the number of owners, and the compensation each one draws, so we run the numbers both ways before filing Form 2553.

Can I deduct new equipment in the year I buy it?

Often, yes. For 2025 the Section 179 limit is $2,500,000 of qualifying property placed in service during the year, reduced once total purchases exceed $4,000,000. Bonus depreciation at 100 percent is also available for qualified property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. Taking the whole deduction at once is not always the better move, so the decision belongs in the year-end planning.

Are my associates employees or independent contractors?

The IRS decides by looking at the whole relationship: who controls how the work is done, who controls the business side such as pay or expenses, and whether the arrangement looks like employment through contracts or benefits. No single factor settles it. Misclassifying an employee as a contractor leaves the practice liable for that worker's employment taxes, so the arrangement should be reviewed before the first payment goes out.