Editorial policy & corrections

How we build the calculators, where the numbers come from, how we stay independent, and how to tell us when something is wrong.

Our standards

  • Standard formulas. Every calculator uses the same accounting and finance formulas a CPA or finance textbook would use. Each tool explains the math it runs so you can check the result yourself.
  • Sourced rates and benchmarks. Tax rates, wage figures, filing fees, and industry benchmarks come from primary public sources, the IRS, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Small Business Administration, the Federation of Tax Administrators, and each state's Secretary of State.
  • Estimates are labeled as estimates. Where a figure is a benchmark, a midpoint, or a normalized assumption (for example, a $125/year registered-agent estimate), the page says so. We never present an assumption as an exact, official number.
  • No invented data. Where a value is genuinely unavailable, the page says so, we never fill a gap with a guess dressed up as a fact.

Independence

SmallBizCalc is editorially independent. We accept no payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from any company. Our only revenue is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense, and advertisers have no influence over the calculators, the guides, the rankings, or how results are presented.

How to report a correction

If you believe a formula or a figure is wrong, email corrections@smallbizcalc.com with the page URL, the value you think is wrong, what it should be, and a link to the official source. We follow a four-step process:

  1. Report - you send the page URL and the specific value, with the official source.
  2. Verify - we check the claim against the primary source (IRS, BLS, SBA, or the relevant state agency).
  3. Fix at the source - we correct the underlying formula or data constant in the site code, so every page that uses it is corrected at once, not just the one you flagged.
  4. Note - the corrected figures publish on the next site build.

Updates

Tax law, fees, and rates change frequently. We revise pages when the underlying sources change and label the data vintage on each page. Always confirm a figure with the official source before making a filing, tax, or financial decision based on it.