Tax preparation & planning
Returns prepared by the CPA who signs them.
Federal, state and multi-state returns for individuals and businesses — with the planning done during the year, while it can still change the outcome.
What we actually do
Most of the value in a tax engagement is decided before the return is prepared. We work on the year, not just the filing.
A return is the record of decisions you already made. By April, the entity election, the compensation split, the timing of a sale and the retirement contribution are all fixed. So the useful work happens earlier — which is why our clients hear from us in the fall rather than in a scramble in March.
We prepare individual and business returns across the country, and we handle the situations that make a return non-routine: equity compensation, rental and short-term rental activity, S corporation basis and reasonable compensation, multi-state residency, and cross-border income. Where a position is aggressive, we tell you it is aggressive and what supports it.
What we will not do is file something we cannot defend. If a deduction depends on records you do not have, we will say so before it goes on the return rather than after a notice arrives.
Included in a typical engagement
Scope is agreed in writing before work starts.
Federal and state returns
Individual, partnership, S corporation and C corporation returns, including every state where you have a filing obligation.
Multi-state and residency
Apportionment, part-year and non-resident filings, and residency positions where you have moved or work across state lines.
Planning through the year
Quarterly estimates, entity and compensation decisions, and timing questions raised while there is still time to act on them.
Equity and investment income
RSUs, options, ESPP, capital gains, and the withholding gaps that produce an unexpected April balance.
Rental and pass-through activity
Schedule E, depreciation, passive activity limits, basis tracking and K-1s that actually reconcile.
Notices, if they come
If the IRS or a state writes about a return we prepared, you are dealing with the CPA who signed it.
How the year runs
Fall: a planning conversation while decisions are still open — entity, compensation, retirement contributions, and anything you are thinking of selling.
January to February: organizer and document request, so nothing is discovered late.
Before filing: a draft and a call. You should understand your return before you sign it, including anything unusual in it.
After filing: estimates set for the following year, and a note of anything worth revisiting.
Frequently asked questions
Do you prepare returns for clients in other states?
Yes. We prepare federal returns and state returns in every state where you have a filing obligation, including part-year and non-resident filings after a move. Multi-state residency is one of the more common places we find both errors and savings on a return someone else prepared.
Can you handle a return with RSUs, options or ESPP?
Yes, and it is a common reason people come to us. Equity compensation is where returns most often go wrong, usually because withholding at vest is far below the actual marginal rate. We cover it in detail on our equity compensation page.
What if I have several years unfiled?
We can bring you current. The order matters and so does how you approach the IRS, particularly if there is a balance due or foreign reporting involved. Start with a call rather than filing them all at once and hoping.
Will you tell me if a strategy does not work for me?
Yes, and we would rather do it early. A strategy that does not fit your facts is worth more to you as a clear no than as an engagement that unravels later.
Do you offer planning without preparing the return?
We can, though most of the value comes from the two being joined up. If your return is prepared elsewhere, we will need to see it before advising on anything.
Start with a conversation about the year, not the form
Twenty minutes is usually enough to work out whether your situation needs planning, preparation, or both — and what that would cost.