Strategic Stewardship · 2026 tax estimate
Most people find out what they owe in taxes in April, when it's too late to do anything about it. This page gets you your numbers in under two hours, without a bookkeeper, and shows you what that money could do instead while there is still time.
Step one
If you are self-employed, the IRS wants to know two things about your business: how much came in, and how much went out on deductions. Every dollar you spent has to land on a named line (advertising, contract labor, software, travel, and so on) to count against your income. Sorting a year of payments into those lines is the part everyone puts off, because it's a pain in the a$$.
So we've created a hack for you to save you time, headaches and most importantly, money. Your part is to download the files and answer one list of questions.
You're going to want to grab checking, savings (if you moved money in or out) and credit cards. For step by step instructions, go here.
If your bank does not offer CSV files, just download the PDF. We will share how you can remove sensitive information in the next step.
If you are uncertain how to do that, go here for step-by-step instructions. This is the most tedious part. Once you power through this you are almost done.
Statements carry your account numbers, your name and your address and we don't want any of that to get to the internet. None of that needs to leave your computer.
The Scrubber is a file that runs on your private computer, removes the sensitive information, keeps the last four digits so you can tell accounts apart, and gives you back just the transactions. In the next step you attach the scrubbed files to your own AI agent, which sorts them. The spreadsheet it gives you back is what you drop into the calculator in step two, and this page reads it in your browser.
The instructions file below tells the AI agent exactly how to merge your downloads, remove transfers between your own accounts, sort every payee onto the right line, and hand you back one spreadsheet with your totals. Save it, then attach it along with your files and copy and paste:
Follow the instructions in the attached file "Itemizing a year of business expenses with an AI agent". The files are attached.
It asks up to 8 at a time, biggest money first, and suggests an answer for each one, so most replies are just "yes". You never fill in a sheet or upload anything again.
The AI agent updates everything and gives you the finished spreadsheet. The first tab is your Schedule C totals: money in, each expense line, and net profit.
These are what you need for step 2. You can copy and paste these totals or just upload the file directly into the app.
The first year takes the longest since all the expenses are new. It will be much quicker each year after that.
If business and personal money run through the same accounts, this is a common problem and the system is set up to manage that. A short memo explains why you probably want to separate them in the future and how that may negatively impact you, with suggestions on how to separate them for good.
Step two
If you are doing this process manually, match the numbers of the boxes with the number on the spreadsheet you get from your AI agent.
If you want to go quicker, just upload your CSV file, Excel sheet or PDF below.
The estimate uses the 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, self-employment tax, qualified business income deduction and the 21 percent corporate rate published by the IRS and the Social Security Administration, plus a rough state income tax at the rate for the state you file in.
It is an estimate, not a return. Your own tax advisor makes the final call.
Drop the spreadsheet or PDF your AI agent gave you here, or paste the numbered list from the chat. Boxes the AI could not fill are outlined in gold for you to finish.
Or paste the list:
Box 6, taxed at normal rates: bank interest, bond interest, non-qualified dividends, gains on investments held a year or less, rental profit after expenses, withdrawals from a traditional IRA or 401(k), pension income, unemployment, gambling and lottery winnings and prizes (at their full value), royalties and licensing, cancelled debt, hobby income, jury pay.
Box 7, taxed at lower rates: gains on stocks, funds, crypto or property held over a year, and dividends your broker reports as qualified.
Not taxed, leave out: an inheritance (the estate pays, if it is over $15,000,000 in 2026); gifts you received, whatever the size; life insurance payouts; child support; qualified Roth withdrawals; money you borrowed; your own capital back when you sell something for what you paid; up to $250,000 of gain on your main home ($500,000 married) if you lived there two of the last five years; cash-back and rebates; damages for physical injury; municipal bond interest.
Losses count too: investment losses cancel investment gains, and up to $3,000 of extra loss comes off normal income each year, with the rest carried forward. Enter box 7 after losses.
Estimated 2026 federal and state tax
Enter your numbers above.
We don't receive or gather any of your private information. Everything you enter or upload on this page stays in your browser.
Step three
Until 31 December, your 2026 tax bill is still changeable.
There are more deductions available that you may not know about. Some of them reduce what you owe and grow your income at the same time.
Strategic Stewardship is one of them: a one-year program for established leaders who want to grow their income without adding hours, funded by money that was going to leave anyway. It may be a tax deduction under Section 179. Whether you qualify is a question for us. The final call will be confirmed by your tax advisor.
Results vary. Typical results are 2 to 4 times starting income.