Tax estimates on Business HQ combine monthly revenue you enter with deductible spend pulled from sorted invoices. The panel shows only active months by default (months with revenue or deductible spend), grouped by quarter, with a Recalculate taxes button to refresh rates.
What this guide covers
Opening Tax estimates, entering revenue, reading quarter groups, and syncing with the Estimated tax stat on Dashboard.
Before you begin
- Business plan with tax reports enabled.
- Company details saved at /account/company (legal name, state, country).
- Vendor PDFs processed so deductible spend exists.
Step-by-step: open Tax estimates
- Log in at /login.
- Open Business HQ (/account/business).
- Scroll to the Tax estimates panel (not "VAT & tax preview").
- Or use Open tax calculator from the Tax estimates card on Dashboard.
Step-by-step: enter monthly revenue
- In the month grid, only months with revenue or deductible spend appear by default.
- Expand a quarter group to see its months together.
- Type revenue for each month you track.
- Deductible spend auto-fills from sorted invoices by due date.
- Click Recalculate taxes to save revenue and run the rate check.
Step-by-step: read results
- After recalculation, review Estimated taxes for {year}.
- Read Income: revenue, deductible spend, net income.
- Read Estimated tax: state, federal, and total estimated tax lines.
- Scroll to Deductible spend by category for a breakdown.
- Check the AI rate summary for warnings about assumptions.
Dashboard connection
- The Estimated tax stat tile on Dashboard reflects your latest calculation when data exists.
- If the tile is empty, complete company details and run Recalculate taxes once.
What you should see
- Quarter headers (Q1, Q2, etc.) collapsing month rows you use.
- Empty months hidden until you add revenue or have deductible spend.
- Last recalculated timestamp after each successful run.
- No forced 12-month grid of blank rows.
Tips and common issues
- Add Company details before recalculating; missing state/country blocks accurate rates.
- Deductible spend comes from categorized vendor PDFs; upload bills before estimating.
- This tool provides estimates, not tax advice; share exports with your CPA.
- Pair with Executive P&L reports for owner-level summaries.
Related guides
Tip: Recalculate taxes after each month-end upload batch so deductible spend matches your latest PDFs.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I not see all 12 months?
Tax estimates hides empty months until you enter revenue or have deductible spend. Quarters group the active months.
What changed from VAT & tax preview?
The panel is now Tax estimates with quarter grouping and Recalculate taxes.
Does this file my taxes?
No. Export numbers to your CPA. FilePile estimates from uploaded expenses plus revenue you type.
Before tax season
- Upload full-year vendor PDFs.
- Enter revenue for each active month.
- Click Recalculate taxes after major uploads.
- Download executive or export reports if your CPA needs CSV detail.
Scenario walkthrough
Imagine it is the 28th of the month. You log in at /login, land on Dashboard (/dashboard), and scan the stat tiles: Tracked spend, Estimated tax (if on Business), Account credit, and Open invoices for your FilePile subscription. You open the Upload tab, add any PDFs that arrived today, then switch to Processing until each row shows completed. You check Ledger for amounts and Browse for folder paths. If Business HQ (/account/business) applies to your plan, you open the relevant panel next. Finally you visit /docs if you need a deeper guide.
Glossary (FilePile terms)
- Dashboard: main workspace at /dashboard with Upload, Processing, Ledger, Tasks, Browse tabs.
- Business HQ: owner tools at /account/business including Payment Command Center, Email Invoice Inbox, Spend Budgets, Approval Workflows, Bank Reconciliation, Tax estimates, Executive P&L, and Accounting export/import.
- Profile: separate business archive under one login; see /account/profiles.
- Ledger: searchable table of processed vendor invoices.
- Tasks: review queue for missing fields or billing mismatches.
Keyboard and navigation habits
Use the left sidebar consistently: Dashboard for daily PDF work, Business HQ for payables and reporting, Reminders at /account/reminders for email preferences, Help center at /docs for articles like this one. The Invoice workspace never uses a tab named Process; uploads always start on Upload.
When to contact support
Contact support if a valid PDF fails after three retries on Processing, if team invites never arrive, if billing charges look incorrect on /account/invoices, or if Business HQ panels stay locked after a confirmed upgrade. Include your account email, active profile name, and screenshot of the error row.
Record-keeping reminder
FilePile sorts and extracts PDFs you provide. It does not replace professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. Keep original vendor emails and bank records alongside your FilePile Browse archive for audit readiness.
Dashboard tile sync
After Recalculate taxes on Business HQ, refresh Dashboard to confirm Estimated tax stat tile updated. Enter revenue for a new month and recalculate whenever you add large deductible PDF batches.
Quick reference card
| Item | Value |
|------|-------|
| Login | /login |
| Register | /register |
| Dashboard | /dashboard |
| Business HQ | /account/business |
| Company | /account/company |
| Reminders | /account/reminders |
| Help | /docs |
| Plans | Free (25/mo), Pro, Business |
| Upload types | PDF only on Dashboard |
| Workspace tabs | Upload, Processing, Ledger, Tasks, Browse |
Keep this table handy when onboarding teammates so nobody searches for a Upload tab that does not exist.