Wondering about using our services?
Let’s talk about whether and how we can work together to grind down your tax burden.
Our work centers on preparing your tax returns
Okay, so our work for you centers around preparing your income tax returns.
Key to that effort, however? We’re going to point out tax planning strategies available to you to reduce taxes. That “pointing out” of strategies is what makes our firm different.
More than a few CPA firms and consultants make this claim, of course. But many fail to deliver.
We do deliver.
As a sample of the sorts of strategies we help taxpayers with, check out the popular small business blog Nelson CPA publishes, EvergreenSmallBusiness.com. In particular, the following posts on how S corporations save a business owner taxes, how active real estate investment allows high income investors to build wealth and shelter income from taxes, and when physicians can get the powerful Section 199A tax deduction on their returns.
Getting a price estimate
If you do want to explore having us prepare your tax returns? Email or telephone. And then use our secure portal to upload a pdf copy of the tax return or returns you may want us to prepare.
A partner or manager will review your return and then either email or telephone you with comments and a firm price.
Usually, we can respond in a work day or two. But predictably, response times lengthen close to the tax return deadlines. And the days before and after holidays.
Hourly consultations
Some clients need way more help than just a tax return. For those situations, we provide hourly consultations at rates that generally run from $275 to $350 an hour.
If you think you will need more than just tax returns, accordingly, budget to buy an hour or two of consulting from one of the CPAs every year or two. (This amount of extra help is usually all most clients need.)
A related remark: We reserve nearly all the time we have available for folks for whom we’re preparing returns. Especially during tax season and extension season.
Outside of tax season, we may be able to schedule a consultation even when you aren’t a tax return client.
TurboTax vs CPA firm
One last comment about using a CPA firm.
Sometimes people wonder if a CPA firm only makes sense if you pay a lot in taxes. Or when you earn a very high income. But we say this: We think you use a CPA when your financial affairs get too complicated to easily handle yourself with do-it-yourself tax software. Or too complicated to have a modestly skilled return preparer do your return.
Someone with a W-2 showing a large income may, in spite of their high income, get a good result from using TurboTax, TaxCut or a similar product. Someone who thinks of their family as essentially middle class may due to self-employment or active real estate investment need more than TurboTax.
This question—whether a particular taxpayer’s situation warrants bringing in CPAs—is the reason we want to start by looking at your previous year tax return.