Looking for general questions to ask CPA's

[Wayne Marques]

Hi all,

I have consultations set up with CPA's in coming weeks and I am looking for some questions that I should be asking them?  I have some specific questions regarding my personal situation, but I would like some other ideas on things I should ask or consider when choosing one to work with.  I have never worked with a CPA and I generally prepared my own taxes, but I don't want to do so any further.  Thank you in advance!

[Will Kenner]

@Wayne Marques Great step towards maximizing your RE investing as having a competent CPA is crucial. If you haven't already, check out the BP Real Estate podcast #569 with Tom Wheelright. Tom also has several great books that help break-down what a CPA should be doing for you. I highly recommend starting with his book "Tax-free Wealth". 

Some of the broad questions I would ask a potential CPAs may include 1) their experience with rental real estate as a whole, 2) are they a tax-planner or just a tax preparer - huge difference, 3) how often they will update your books (monthly, quarterly, or at the end of the year), 4) their strategies for depreciation, 5) how they would handle deductions/depreciation on a rental unit re-hab, 6) their recommendations for cost-segregations, and 7) how they approach the addition of more rental properties. There will be more specific questions based on your individual needs that will come up, but by starting with these higher-level questions, you can flush out if they are fluent in maximizing real estate tax strategies and if they will be pro-active in tax planning vs. reactive, after the fact, and simply prepare your taxes. Once you've determined they will be pro-active and a tax-planner, then you can dive into the finer details of your specific situation.