Services
Tax Preparation
Tax Preparation for Individuals
Every tax return is important to us and is given individualized care. Through conversations and a questionnaire we assess your individual tax situation to provide you with a timely and correctly prepared tax return. All tax returns are prepared in-house, reviewed by a CPA and delivered securely through a shared drive. Each return will be prepared utilizing all available and beneficial deductions and credits. Additionally, we will provide you feedback to help mitigate tax liability in future years.
Business Tax Preparation
We work with and have extensive experience with most business entity types including Sole Proprietorships, LLCs, Partnerships, S-corporations and Non-Profits. We will work with you to understand the components of your business and your specific business financial situation to ensure all compliance needs are met and to maximize all beneficial deductions and credits. Furthermore, we will identify advantageous tax planning opportunities. All business returns are prepared and reviewed in-house by a CPA.
Tax Controversy Resolution
IRS & State Agency Inquiries
The IRS and state agencies constantly send inquires and letters to taxpayers. Many are relatively benign, addressing some minor oversight. Other inquiries can be more serious; failure to file/pay, employment tax issues, threat of a tax levy, an actual tax levy or an inquiry into a specific deduction or an item of income require immediate attention. If caught early enough we can stop or delay the process which will allow us the time to assess the situation and provide you with the most optimal solution.
IRS & State Agency Audits
Over the past number of years, IRS and state audits have become rare, however, there is current momentum from federal and state governments to improve collections. Unfortunately, this means more audits in the future. Audits can be very stressful and usually come at the worst time. Complicating the issue, is that they require responses to their questions within a short time frame. Audits can be a result of a specific “red flag” in your tax filing or the agencies are casting a net to verify that all income and deductions are substantiated. The proper response to an audit is identifying possible weaknesses of substantiation, collecting supporting documentation, formulating a sound and intelligent response, and most importantly delivering a timely and effective reply.
Understanding the IRS and state agency collection and audit process is key to a successful response. Tax controversy resolution is our strength. We are incredibly familiar with the specific communications sent by these agencies and can respond quickly and effectively. We’ll follow your dispute to closure. We have helped hundreds of taxpayers overcome or mitigate their tax issues through explanatory responses that close the issue, educating taxpayers on filing or bookkeeping errors that generated the issue, applying for penalty abatement, and/or utilizing the IRS or state agency appeal process when appropriate.
Tax Planning
For most individuals and businesses, federal and state taxes can represent their single largest expense and regulatory burden. Most of us expend a lot of effort to find ways to generate income. Some invest in education that will allow them to obtain the qualifications for the best jobs. Others might start businesses and invest in assets that will provide the best possible return on investment. Usually neglected in all this effort is planning for the affect of federal and state taxes.
Protect Your Wealth
Tax planning has a thousand faces. At the individual taxpayer level, retirement and estate issues are the most common challenges. We spend a lifetime acquiring retirement assets such as IRA & 401K accounts, annuities, life insurance products and the many other available securities and financial tools. When the day comes to start drawing on these, most have not considered the combined effect of these products and can be surprised by the amount of taxes they are subject to. Effective planning, at the least, will provide you with the correct expectation of cash flows and its associated tax liability. The best plans will work to mitigate your tax liability and provide you an actionable plan to help you in retirement and through the disbursement of your assets.
Smarter Business Taxes
Tax planning for your business is as essential as the planning for your annual operating budget. Typically, federal and state taxes will represent one of the largest percentages of your cash needs. Managing your cash flow expectations is crucial for on-going operations and further investment in your business. Small businesses tend to go through a specific life-cycle. They start-up operations then move into a growth phase, afterwards it will start to plateau into a maturity phase, when the owners might start considering selling the business or making succession plans. Each of these phases require a different tax-mindset. Through your business’ journey, there are many tools and policies within the federal and state tax codes that, when applied appropriately, will help your business alleviate its tax liability.
Successful tax planning requires communication and understanding between the individual or business and their CPA. Tax policy and regulations are always changing. Obviously, we can’t predict the future, however, our knowledge of federal and state tax codes and our goal of understanding each clients’ situation allows us to build a coherent tax plan that will help moderate your uncertainty about your financial future.