All Forum Posts by: Mike Wells

I see people keep referring to tax strategy and buying/selling properties. I understand that how you structure your business could benefit from tax strategy, but how many ways can you buy or sell a property to avoid capitol gains, etc, unless you're doing a 1031 exchange?

Alecia, I also have 6 properties, no trusts, basic stocks, etc. I previously paid $700-$900 to my previous CPA. My new CPA charged me $2,900 this year! I feel like it's double what it should be, but feel that I should just find someone new rather than have someone justify their pricing to me. Is that consistent with what you paid?

I dont think $3k is expensive for a self-employed return. That could get rather complicated. I dont think our situations are comparable at all.

I was indeed told that there was additional cost initially this year to setting me up as a new client, and next year wouldn't be as significant, probably only $2,500. That's still $1,000 to $1,200 more than I think is reasonable for what I am having done.

When I turned in my taxes, she expressed that she was shocked at how organized my tax prep was. Everything is organized with an index page, separated and typed onto spreadsheets. NO receipts to copy or review because all receipts are consolidated onto a spreadsheet by house with a description for each purchase. I try to be courteous and spend tens of hours into my tax prep before I ever send them off to reduce the time and frustration of the person preparing my returns.

I have 6 rental properties, all Single Family Homes. I was previously paying a tax professional around $800 to $900 to prepare my tax returns for my 6 properties as well as my personal. I am using a new tax professional on the recommendation of another investor, who has since passed away- he recommended his daughter. I understand that pricing can vary from one tax professional to another, and I honestly expected $1,000 up to $1,600, but I had to scrape my Jaw off of the floor when I opened the email with my invoice to see that it was $3,000!

$3,000 for a personal return (filing single) and 6 properties (no LLC or Corp) does not seem reasonable. I only have experience with my previous tax professional as an investor, so I have nothing else to compare this to. I was with them from the time I had 1 up to all 6 properties. Is this consistent with what I should expect to pay for the returns I had performed? I had zero one-on-one time consulting or tax strategization, only submission of my tax criteria and completion of my returns. This is roughly $500 per door! If I had 100 doors, would I expect a $50,000 bill?