If you use a CPA or Tax Professional, how did you find him or her?

[Katie Miller]

How did you find your CPA or tax professional? 

If you haven't yet found a CPA or tax professional to help you save on your tax bill each year, would you want BP to help recommend a tax professional for you? We're here to help! 

Post your thoughts below 👇👇👇👇

[Dave Rav]

Quote from @Rebecca E.:

@Katie Miller

I came here because I just had my yearly with my new accountant. I've gone through 4 different ones in the past 4 years and I've finally found a good one.

I had recommdations from people who didn't do real estate, terrible. I used one frequently discussed in BP, TERRIBLE AND EXPENSIVE. Now I found one that specializes in real estate investors that was recommended by an online mentor. This one is good.

 Rebecca, I'm having a similar experience with CPAs.  We've gone through 3 in about 4 years' time.  Our current CPA isn't particularly friendly and doesnt appear to like what she does.  I would love to get a contact for your current CPA.  Can you please share? (feel free to DM me)

[Sean O'Keefe]

Quote from @Dave Rav:

Quote from @Rebecca E.:

@Katie Miller

I came here because I just had my yearly with my new accountant. I've gone through 4 different ones in the past 4 years and I've finally found a good one.

I had recommdations from people who didn't do real estate, terrible. I used one frequently discussed in BP, TERRIBLE AND EXPENSIVE. Now I found one that specializes in real estate investors that was recommended by an online mentor. This one is good.

 Rebecca, I'm having a similar experience with CPAs.  We've gone through 3 in about 4 years' time.  Our current CPA isn't particularly friendly and doesnt appear to like what she does.  I would love to get a contact for your current CPA.  Can you please share? (feel free to DM me)

@Dave Rav @@Rebecca E. Sorry to hear you both have had such a bad experience with CPAs(e.g. moving to a new CPA every year). Can you share more feedback about what the biggest issues are with the CPAs you fired? Also, when I hear this I'm curious how you are managing tracking income / expenses across portfolio, and generally, impt tax docs since some CPAs don't have great processes and well organize operations to help you help them.

[Dave Rav]

Sean, thank you.  Our primary issue on both previous CPAs was lack of engagement/enthusiasm in their work.  Response times began to lag as well.  One CPA got rude on more than 1 occasion, for us merely asking a simple question.  I'm sorry, I dont pay you to be rude!

All our data was well-organized and cleanly presented (no dropping off boxes of unorganized documents in their lap).  I'm not sure we could have made it any easier!  I spent several man-hours organizing our data for easy interpretation.  At their request, we uploaded docs via dropbox.

[Sean O'Keefe]

Quote from @Dave Rav:

Sean, thank you.  Our primary issue on both previous CPAs was lack of engagement/enthusiasm in their work.  Response times began to lag as well.  One CPA got rude on more than 1 occasion, for us merely asking a simple question.  I'm sorry, I dont pay you to be rude!

All our data was well-organized and cleanly presented (no dropping off boxes of unorganized documents in their lap).  I'm not sure we could have made it any easier!  I spent several man-hours organizing our data for easy interpretation.  At their request, we uploaded docs via dropbox.

Thanks for the feedback and sorry to hear this. It sounds like it's the CPA(s). Based on what you say you are good clients. 

[Aram Albaro]

Quote from @Keegan Wetzel:

Quote from @Eddie Ray:

Im currently looking for a RE tax professional/preparer in San Diego, CA. Obviously they need to specialize in real estate rentals, holdings, and LLC.

Any help and direction would be great! BP would be great too but I do prefer to work in person so hopefully someone local

Eddie

 @Eddie Ray I found a guy in San Diego that went to West Point and specialized in Real Estate - he has been great for me!

 Who is it?

[Sean O'Keefe]

Quote from @Aram Albaro:

Quote from @Keegan Wetzel:

Quote from @Eddie Ray:

Im currently looking for a RE tax professional/preparer in San Diego, CA. Obviously they need to specialize in real estate rentals, holdings, and LLC.

Any help and direction would be great! BP would be great too but I do prefer to work in person so hopefully someone local

Eddie

 @Eddie Ray I found a guy in San Diego that went to West Point and specialized in Real Estate - he has been great for me!

 Who is it?

It's me :) 

[Danya Diaz]

@Sean O'Keefe are you licensed for Arizona? If not, do you have a referral I could reach out to? I was recommended to use the following website ascsp.org to locate one but I haven't had much luck. You're insight is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks, Danya

[Sean O'Keefe]

Quote from @Danya Diaz:

@Sean O'Keefe are you licensed for Arizona? If not, do you have a referral I could reach out to? I was recommended to use the following website ascsp.org to locate one but I haven't had much luck. You're insight is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks, Danya

I'm licensed to support taxpayers in AZ.

[Account Closed]

referral of course! Funny enough that is how good accounting firms grow. We get all of our new leads from referrals right now, but I'm trying to grow even faster by trying to be helpful to folks here on BP! 

[Jeff Love]

Quote from @Cliff Benner:

Right now my real estate portfolio is not big enough to justify a Real Estate CPA or Tax Accountant yet. 

 Cliff, how would someone know if their portfolio is big enough to justify? Would you say your perception may be different from most people because of your accountant background? I only have a single rental (at the moment) and a simple W2 job. Because I'm not an accountant or versed in tax code and law wouldn't I want a CPA to ensure everything is legally tight and as advantageous as it can be?

[Sean O'Keefe]

@Jeff Love Here are the things that many CPAs support their clients with:

• Understanding tax impact of short-term vs. long-term vs. flip before you buy
• Which entity structure is best for goals and investment property type
• Tax and compliance on LLC or S-Corp
• How to transfer property out of personal name into LLC (hard to buy 1st through entity)
• Ways to optimize taxes throughout the year
• How best to set up accounting to track income and expenses (doing this late is a mess)
• Feedback on property management systems, accounting systems. systems, etc
• Estimated payments to avoid penalties
• Knowing when to file and getting things in on time

Maybe a few things I missed, but this is the high-level ….. if you can get answers to the above questions on your own, plan, and file your own taxes then you can avoid the expense of a CPA. Some investors are better at doing their research, financials, and taxes than others - it depends on the investor.
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*This post does not create a CPA-client relationship. The information contained in this post is not to be relied upon. Readers are advised to seek professional advice.

[Account Closed]

Quote from @Jeff Love:

Quote from @Cliff Benner:

Right now my real estate portfolio is not big enough to justify a Real Estate CPA or Tax Accountant yet. 

 Cliff, how would someone know if their portfolio is big enough to justify? Would you say your perception may be different from most people because of your accountant background? I only have a single rental (at the moment) and a simple W2 job. Because I'm not an accountant or versed in tax code and law wouldn't I want a CPA to ensure everything is legally tight and as advantageous as it can be?

 Hey Jeff, 

This is a great question and one we get all the time as we specialize in working with real estate folks, but the size of the portfolio can vary widely. 

As we have an accounting firm, note I am a bit biased, but here is what I see folks have the most success do: 

You should start with an accountant who is very familiar with your investment strategy and grow with them until you cant anymore. Along the way, we see so many folks make mistakes that they need to get amended and that can take years to finally recoup all of the money lost from paying to much. 

If your serious about growing a portfolio, best to partner with a tax firm that has helped 1000s of others do it, so you don't mistakes along the way. Its almost like a finance mentor your getting, along with someone you can trust to prepare your taxes. 

But be wary, there are expensive accountants out there that try to overly charge clients due to their knowledge. In a way, its not their fault, its just they have become so in demand and they cant hire fast enough to keep up, so the only way to keep growing is via price. 

In short: 
A great accountant will help you get wealthy faster, a bad one will have you make mistakes faster, and no accountant will ensure you keep making the mistakes your currently making. I strongly encourage finding a fairly priced, knowledgable accountant you can trust. 

[Cliff Benner]

Quote from @Jeff Love:

Quote from @Cliff Benner:

Right now my real estate portfolio is not big enough to justify a Real Estate CPA or Tax Accountant yet. 

 Cliff, how would someone know if their portfolio is big enough to justify? Would you say your perception may be different from most people because of your accountant background? I only have a single rental (at the moment) and a simple W2 job. Because I'm not an accountant or versed in tax code and law wouldn't I want a CPA to ensure everything is legally tight and as advantageous as it can be?

 I do outsource my Taxes, but I meant having a Real Estate Tax Accountant or a CPA who I chat with to help create me a long term strategy. My Real Estate plan is slow and long, I don't plan to live on the income so it may take me a few years to justify a $2k expense for a conversation or for a CPA to handle my returns. When I worked in Public Accounting, the firms charged way more than I think they are worth for a small portfolio. Yes, they have an Accountant whose job is it to know all Real Estate and Tax, but is me saving $1,500 a year with their strategy worth the $2k bill? That is what I meant, get the best bang for your buck. If you think hiring a CPA to discuss your plan, how you can do it, and all the roads you can take with that, than that is the best option for you! I like to think of it like the BP Money Podcast thinks of it, find the best value but if something is emotionally affecting you, than target that and do what it takes to get that solved and then you don't have to worry about it when you go to sleep. 

For your situation, one rental and just W2 Income, I would suggest finding a Tax Accountant, CPA or not. Ask them all the Tax questions you could to get a basic understanding of it. Then as you build your portfolio look to hire a new Tax Accountant or CPA to match your growing needs. Again though, focus on what you think is best for your business and helps you sleep at night.

[Ane Deys]

Hello,

I recently transferred my traditional IRA into a SDIRA / checkbook LLC account and am working on closing on my 1st investment property. Do I need to complete & submit the FMV to my custodian?

[Vladimir Del Valle]

Hello!
Looking for a real estate Cost Segregation Study specialist for my house in Virginia. We also own a property in Florida, but the primary study is for the Virginia home, purchased in 2019, rented out since 14 month. 

Thanks
Sabrina&Vladimir

[Sean O'Keefe]

@Vladimir Del Valle I don't think the location of the CPA matters provided that they have a solid background in Real Estate and software/tools to support you remotely.

There are 20+ real estate CPAs commenting in this forum. Pick one that is commenting on your specific situation and DM them.

[Siry Paul]

Looking for a good CPA/Tax professional in GA who is familiar with real estate investments, LLC/S Corp.

Referrals appreciated. If you are a Tax professional, please feel to reach out.

Thank You.

[Michael Calvey]

Quote from @Troy P.:

I'm currently in the market for a Tax Pro that can assist with my relatively basic returns and continue to assist with a tax strategy moving forward.

 Hey Troy - We totally get your struggle in finding the tax advisor, especially one who knows the ins and outs of real estate investing. That's exactly why we're rolling out our new Tax Pro and Financial Pro tool this March. 

Our goal is to bridge the gap between real estate investors and tax & financial advisors who truly get the nuances of REI.

This tool is all about connecting folks like you with advisors who aren't just about managing investments or doing basic tax returns. They are pros who understand real estate and can help you make a solid plan to help you accomplish your goals. They're the kind of pros who can dig into your plan, give it a good shake, and offer smart advice on everything from portfolio strategies to tax stuff.

Sounds like it could be a game changer for you, right? Keep an eye out for it in March, and feel free to shoot any questions my way!

And if you know any Tax Pros or Financial Advisors who are looking to take on new clients, have them fill out this form so we can talk with them about advertising and working with our BiggerPockets audience.

[Account Closed]

Quote from @Michael Calvey:

Quote from @Troy P.:

I'm currently in the market for a Tax Pro that can assist with my relatively basic returns and continue to assist with a tax strategy moving forward.

 Hey Troy - We totally get your struggle in finding the tax advisor, especially one who knows the ins and outs of real estate investing. That's exactly why we're rolling out our new Tax Pro and Financial Pro tool this March. 

Our goal is to bridge the gap between real estate investors and tax & financial advisors who truly get the nuances of REI.

This tool is all about connecting folks like you with advisors who aren't just about managing investments or doing basic tax returns. They are pros who understand real estate and can help you make a solid plan to help you accomplish your goals. They're the kind of pros who can dig into your plan, give it a good shake, and offer smart advice on everything from portfolio strategies to tax stuff.

Sounds like it could be a game changer for you, right? Keep an eye out for it in March, and feel free to shoot any questions my way!

And if you know any Tax Pros or Financial Advisors who are looking to take on new clients, have them fill out this form so we can talk with them about advertising and working with our BiggerPockets audience.

 Ill fill out this form! We are filling up fast for the 2023 season but I can always squeeze in a few more folks from the bigger pockets family :D 

[Account Closed]

To identify a proficient real estate CPA, investors should prioritize professionals with a proven track record in handling real estate portfolios, transactions, and tax planning. 

Look for CPAs who stay abreast of evolving tax codes related to real estate and possess a comprehensive understanding of deductions, credits, and depreciation strategies unique to the industry. 

Additionally, seek out testimonials or referrals from other real estate clients to gauge the CPA's expertise and reliability.

[Sean O'Keefe]

Quote from @Account Closed:

To identify a proficient real estate CPA, investors should prioritize professionals with a proven track record in handling real estate portfolios, transactions, and tax planning. 

Look for CPAs who stay abreast of evolving tax codes related to real estate and possess a comprehensive understanding of deductions, credits, and depreciation strategies unique to the industry. 

Additionally, seek out testimonials or referrals from other real estate clients to gauge the CPA's expertise and reliability.

[Michelle Cohen]

I thought there used to be a tax professional category under "build your team," but now it's not there. Darn it! I live in Florida and have my own business (in the marketing industry) and in 2023, we bought our first investment property in Ohio. Can anyone recommend someone to do our taxes for us? Thanks!

[Joshua Davidson]

I am one! Lol

[Randall Tannen]

@Michelle Cohen If you are open to working remotely, there are a number of competent tax professionals commenting on the forums here. Pick a few and message them to see who will work best with you. Good luck!

[Bill Hampton]

@Michelle Cohen

I recommend finding an accountant that specializes in real estate taxation. You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.

I would also recommend looking for a tax strategist who is willing to work with you throughout the year, not just when preparing your tax return. You want an accountant that can help you strategize and who is responsive when you want to know the tax consequences of the decisions you are making throughout the year.

Good luck in your search.