Q: How much will it cost to prepare my income tax return?
A: Our fee to prepare your income tax return is directly related to the amount of time that it takes to complete the project. If you have multiple income sources like rental properties and business income, our fees will be higher due to the complexity and length of time required to complete your return. For most income tax returns that do not contain complex data, our fees range from $150-$250.
Q: How long will it take to prepare my income tax return?
A: The length of time it takes to prepare any income tax return is based upon three factors:
- The types of income that you report on your income tax return dramatically affect the length of time to complete the project. For example, if you are self-employed and report income from multiple businesses or you own rental properties, these types of returns always take longer due to the level of detailed information.
- Well-organized data equates to less time to prepare a return. For example, if you report business income and use QuickBooks as your accounting system, we’ll be able to access that data and complete your return more quickly than if you use a manual accounting system.
- The time of year that you submit your data is also an important determinant in the length of time it takes to prepare your return. For example, submitting your data to our office on April 1 will always increase the length of time to prepare the return because all of our other clients may be submitting data at the same time. (Hint: the earlier you come in, the earlier your project is completed).
Q: What if I own a business? Can you handle that?
A: Yes! We specialize in medium to small-sized family-owned or closely-held businesses. For business clients, we offer tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll, and consulting services.
Q: What if I own rental properties? Can you handle that?
A: Yes! We also specialize in providing services to our clients who own any type of rental property.
Q: How can I get better organized?
A: There’s quite a lot you can do to organize your personal or business finances to keep your fees with our firm as low as possible.
- Adopt a bookkeeping system. For our businesses, we recommend QuickBooks Pro. For individuals, we recommend Mint.com.
- Use our Tax Organizer to better organize the information submitted annually to avoid omitting critical information that results in further communication with our staff.
- Digital Assistant – many banks and credit unions now offer, as a free service, a digital assistant that can review and categorize your online transactions. Check with your bank or credit union for details.
Q: I haven’t filed my tax returns in a few years. Can you help someone like me?
A: We’re very experienced in assisting clients in compliance with federal and state authorities. It’s possible you may qualify for the Offer in Compromise program with IRS. We also work with state authorities to assist with the abatement of penalties for late filing if you qualify.
Q: I received a notice from the Internal Revenue Service. What should I do?
A: First, don’t panic! Most notices from the Internal Revenue Service and state revenue authorities are simply requesting additional information and don’t necessarily mean that you’re being reviewed or audited. Second, contact our office immediately to schedule an appointment. There is no fee for our first meeting and we’ll be able to advise you about what the notice is requesting.
Q: What can I do to keep my fees as low as possible?
A: Organization has always been the key to lower fees. Request our Tax Organizer document every year to help assemble your tax information in a logical and consistent manner. The less time we spend on your project, the lower our fees.
Q: I’m moving out of state. Can I still work with your office?
A: Yes! We employ state-of-the-art web portal technology which allows us to securely accept or transmit information from you or to you anywhere in the world with a computer and internet access. We’re registered to electronically file your income tax returns in all 50 states.
Q: I’ve heard that incorporating my business can save me money on taxes. Is that true?
A: Yes. Every business is different and every taxpayer has a unique set of circumstances and issues that vary from any other taxpayers. We recommend to clients who wish to incorporate their businesses to create a Limited Liability Corporation and elect to be taxed as an S-corporation. Contact our office for a no-fee consultation to discuss the details of your business issues.
Q: Can you assist me with understanding my obligations under the Affordable Care Act?
A: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a complex piece of legislation. Your compliance with this law will require coordination with our office (for tax compliance) and your insurance company. We’re happy to assist our clients with compliance in any way that we can.
Q: Can you assist me with understanding my obligations under the Affordable Care Act?
A: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a complex piece of legislation. Your compliance with this law will require coordination with our office (for tax compliance) and your insurance company. We’re happy to assist our clients with compliance in any way that we can.
Q: I have a small business with 2-3 employees. Do you offer payroll services?
A: We offer an affordable cloud-based payroll solution to our clients. The monthly cost is $39.99. To visit our website for a short tour and tutorial, CLICK HERE>>