For solo and 2-3 person practices with profit

SEP vs Solo 401(k) vs SIMPLE on your actual profit.

A side-by-side comparison built for solo owners and 2-3 person practices. Match the plan to the business, not to the marketing.

Tax-aware retirement plan selection support. CPA-led, not investment management or product sales.

What's inside

SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, and defined benefit at a glance
Contribution-limit math for self-employed owners (the 25% trap explained)
When the Solo 401(k) catch-up and Roth options actually matter
A decision tree by profit level, payroll structure, and owner age
Setup deadlines and the one deadline that catches owners by surprise
When a plan you already have is the wrong plan for the next phase

Send me the selector.

The right plan depends on three numbers, not on which one a brochure pushes.

Small-business retirement plans look similar from the outside and diverge fast in practice. The right one depends on three things: business profit, whether the owner has W-2 wages from the entity, and whether there are employees who would also have to be funded.

This selector is built for solo owners and 2-3 person practices. It covers the SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, and a brief look at defined benefit plans for owners who can fund more than $70,000 per year. It includes the math, the deadlines, and the moments each plan goes from "fine" to "wrong."

The role here is CPA-led planning support: tax-side analysis of the plan choice, coordination with payroll, and the year-end execution. It is not investment management, advisor commissions, or product sales.

A Solo 401(k) opened on January 1 of next year cannot capture last year. A SEP can. Deadlines decide which plan you have, not preferences.

General information for small-business retirement plan selection. Not investment, legal, or insurance advice. Alex Sears CPA LLC provides tax and accounting support.