I am curious how people found their CPAs. What do you look for in a CPA? Do you ever use CPAs out of state? What do you pay, in general, to have your returns prepared? (it would be helpful to know if you have LLCs, are just a W2, or a mix of both)
I talked to several CPAs and just can't find a good fit. The highly recommended local ones aren't taking new clients. A few seemed way too eager to set up complex tax planning schemes, others wouldn't return calls, and some didn't understand basic concepts like affiliated service groups and solo-401ks (could have gotten me in a lot of trouble if I followed their advice...)
I found a CPA I thought would work and we had a quick phone call to go over some basic tax planning questions, and then I get a big bill in the mail a few weeks later. I have no problem paying people for their time and good advice, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth when you don't tell me ahead of time that you are billing me or what you are billing me (the bill doesn't even show what they bill per hour). I can only imagine what they would charge if they did my returns.
It would be great to know how other docs found CPAs they trust and are familiar with the tax situations we have.
I talked to several CPAs and just can't find a good fit. The highly recommended local ones aren't taking new clients. A few seemed way too eager to set up complex tax planning schemes, others wouldn't return calls, and some didn't understand basic concepts like affiliated service groups and solo-401ks (could have gotten me in a lot of trouble if I followed their advice...)
I found a CPA I thought would work and we had a quick phone call to go over some basic tax planning questions, and then I get a big bill in the mail a few weeks later. I have no problem paying people for their time and good advice, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth when you don't tell me ahead of time that you are billing me or what you are billing me (the bill doesn't even show what they bill per hour). I can only imagine what they would charge if they did my returns.
It would be great to know how other docs found CPAs they trust and are familiar with the tax situations we have.
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