Does your tax professional HAVE to be a CPA?

[Dustin Lee Cotliar]

Hey BP community —

I am a neophyte investor who is trying to figure out how to plan my tax strategy, Implement a good bookkeeping system etc. In the hopes of finding an accountant, I asked a local real estate professional (who also happened to finance my first loan) who he recommended; he set me up with a person who does all of his taxes. He also invests in real estate.

This tax professional thus far has made a fantastic impression on me, sounds super knowledgeable, is very real estate focused, is available to help me plan and strategize and so forth. They have 25 years of experience doing peoples taxes and investing in real estate. They also help clients with bookkeeping.

Only ‘hiccup’ is that this person not an official CPA, though I believe they are a ‘certified tax professional or preparer’. I was under the impression that they couldn’t represent people in an audit but they said that they definitely have represented clients in the past during audits.

I trust them but I am hung up on them not being a CPA. Is this a deal breaker?? Anyone out there work with non CPAs who are fantastic and who meet all of their accounting needs? Looking for advice and thoughts on both sides of the coin. Thank you!