Income Tax Reduction, Audit Deterrence, Penalty Avoidance and Tax Preparation

What Goes Into Preparing Your Income Tax Returns

1.           Audit Deterrence Measures - We continuously review our information sources about the IRS and Franchise Tax Board plans for auditing taxpayers, then develop and implement strategies to discourage them from auditing you.

2.           No Tax Season Overload - We limit our practice size to 100 clients to allow us time to complete your returns well before tax deadlines.  You won=t worry about getting an unpleasant surprise at the last minute.  You will never feel rushed.

3.           3-Day Turnaround - With a comfortable workload during tax season, we usually complete your tax returns within 3 business days after we have all your tax information and clarified any unresolved issues.

4.           All Tax Forms and Schedules Included - Your tax returns include all optional forms and detailed supporting schedules so all the information about your tax return is disclosed to deter inquiries or audits by taxing agencies.

5.           Client Copies Include Worksheets - Your tax return copies include all worksheets and carryover information not submitted to taxing agencies so you are completely aware about your tax attributes for planning purposes.

6.           Annual Comparative Analysis - This brief flash report compares your current and prior year tax return amounts and your federal and state tax rates and brackets so you see how your taxes changed from last year.

7.           Optimized Filing Status - For married taxpayers, this report shows how much you saved by filing your returns based on a "married-joint" filing status compared to a "married-separate" filing status.

8.           Savings from Packaged Plans - Clients save on preparation fees through several plans offering popular forms at package savings.

9.           Choice of Service Level - Clients may choose from comprehensive Classic full service level or lower priced Value service level for those with more modest needs.

10.       Client Satisfaction Surveys - We know quality service is important to the clients we are privileged to serve, so we always ask how well we have fulfilled our client's expectations.

11.       Detailed Invoicing - We realize clients have a right to know what forms and schedules we prepared, so our invoices show detail pricing on each form and service for full disclosure about our services.

12.       Internet Client Updates - We inform clients of the latest tax news, warnings, traps and opportunities through brief, informative messages which omit time-wasting marketing and trivia.

13.       Continuing Tax Education - We subscribe to several daily email newsletters from taxing agencies and other reliable sources, attend update seminars and complete courses to stay up to date with the latest tax law changes.

14.       Over 30 Years Experience - We have over 30 years of experience during which we have developed the judgment and understanding to capture emerging opportunities, minimize taxes and keep our clients out of harm=s way.

15.       CTEC Registered Tax Preparer - CRTP - We are qualified professional tax specialists, registered by the California Tax Education Council as a CRTP.  CTEC requires comprehensive training to obtain the CRTP designation and a minimum of 20 hours of education each year in both federal and California tax law to renew the designation.

16.       Client Bond Protection - CRTPs are bonded for $5,000 to protect clients and to offer recourse for grievances which may arise.  CPAs are not bonded.

17.       Tax Education Test Scores - We have continuously earned the highest scores on tax education examinations equivalent to a letter grade of A.  CPAs are not required to complete any continuing professional education in taxation.

18.       Notes to the Client - We often share insights and information about your tax returns and how they were prepared so you are informed about the issues we noticed while working on your taxes.

19.       Mensa Capability - Having qualified as a member of Mensa, we have the proven ability to thoroughly grasp complex tax concepts, so our clients can be confident that our proactive strategies are based on correct understandings.

20.       Expertise in Over 92 Industries - Our expertise covers specific industry knowledge of over 92 types of businesses, so we=re experienced with the issues unique to many business types.

21.       Advocate for Our Clients - Unlike tax "mills," do it yourself software, low-end tax preparers or strip mall franchises, we use our experience and judgment to uncover legitimate tax opportunities where the law is unclear or favors our client=s position, without reckless disregard for established law, our client=s security or peace of mind.

22.       Digital Copies of Tax Returns and Source Documents - We provide digital copies of your tax returns, tax organizer and your source documents on a CD (in addition to paper copies of your current year), so you can store your tax records on your computer=s hard drive, your safe or in a bank safe deposit box for safekeeping.

23.       University Accounting Degree - You can rely on us to know the concepts and application of accountancy by virtue of a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting.

24.       Direct Access to Preparer - You always have direct access to the principal preparer, because we limit our firm size to provide this time-saving benefit.  You'll never get shuffled around endlessly.

25.       Complete Preparation by Senior Preparer - Your tax returns are hand crafted from start to finish by the principal preparer, so your work is always under the careful control of a knowledgeable professional.

26.       No Offshore Outsourcing - Your tax return is not a commodity with us, so it cannot be processed in "labor mills" in India along with the potential risk for possible security breaches and identity theft.

27.       Four-hour Turnaround on Returned Calls - Because we limit our firm size, we usually return client telephone calls and most emails within 4 business hours.

28.       Proactive Advice - We realize you expect us to proactively inform you about emerging opportunities and potential threats, so we keep you updated through email newsletters, telephone consultations and planning meetings.

29.       Certified Bookkeeping - Our underlying bookkeeping is provided by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor⁷ so your work is accurate, correct, thorough and specifically matched to your tax entity type, with no guess work or forced figures.

30.       No Mysterious Categories - We exclude the careless use of expense descriptions such as "Other" and "Miscellaneous," which conveys sloppy workmanship and degrades the credibility of your tax returns.

31.       Detailed Breakdowns - Your expense categories are broken down in detail with carefully worded descriptions to provide taxing agencies with clear understandings of your deductions so they will realize the futility of auditing you.

32.       Final Reality Check - Before we sign your tax returns, we carefully perform a reality check, and ask ourselves,  Does it make sense?  Will it trigger questions or an audit?  Anything else we can say or do to predict or deter questions?

33.       No Reckless Schemes - We know you want to save money on taxes, but not at the expense of audit-triggering desperate measures that would jeopardize your peace of mind or sacrifice your security.

34.       Communicating Clearly - We want you to understand us, so we communicate with the viewpoint that you are not a tax expert, so we keep our explanations clear and avoid technical jargon.

35.       Written Commitments to Clients - Anyone can say they are committed to excellent service, but we put our commitments in writing and publish them broadly for the public to know we stand behind our promises.

36.       Mission Statement and Core Values - We accept our role as your advocate seriously which requires that we disclose and share our mission and our core values for all to evaluate our performance.

37.       Individual Assets Listed - We include individual listings and detailed descriptions for each depreciable asset for easy identification when later calculating the gain or loss upon a future sale, abandonment or disposal.

38.       Penalty Avoidance Measures - We provide clear instructions on how to file your tax returns to avoid penalties charged to you when taxing agencies or the post office loses your tax returns.