Refunds usually take around 6 weeks to process but up to 3 months is not uncommon. You can monitor your refund status here: https://www.irs.gov/refunds

Most likely! When people ask this question, it means their situation has become too complicated for them. This is our most common situation. The only way to be sure is to ask, but here is a list of common complexities we see: rental properties, multi-state issues, small businesses, stock options, equity plans, foreign income, non-residents, partnerships, S Corps, C Corps, crypto currencies, and gifts.

We make it a goal to be very responsive to our clients. We strive to respond to all emails within 24 hours.

We’d love to meet you! It’s always great to put a face with a name. However, if you are busy or just don’t want to come, we can do everything remotely via video calls and email. There is no need to come into the office.

Also, please email us to make an appointment. While there is usually someone in the office, we are in and out of meetings most of the day.

We are located in Central Square in Cambridge. Our office is located at 625 Massachusetts Avenue. If you know where the Walgreens or Starbucks is; we’re on the second floor of that building in between those two store fronts.

The turnaround time for a tax return is anywhere between 1-2 weeks once all your information is submitted. Please note this can be longer or shorter depending on the time of year. We work on all projects in chronological order from when they were received.

In our industry, we take data protection very seriously. We use an encrypted client portal to store your data and we strictly follow our privacy policy which you can view on the website under the Resources tab.

This depends on your situation. We can give you guidance once we get started. For general guidance, please review the tax organizer under the Resources tab of this website for a comprehensive list.

Tax Software: ProSeries

Encrypted data storage: Smartvault

Bookkeeping: QuickBooks online

Email, word processing, and spreadsheets: Microsoft Office

Yes! We will always help you if you get audited or receive a notice. We go through your returns carefully to make sure we do not do anything to trigger a notice. We also use comparative tools to make sure we ask you about potential issues before they arise. However, sometimes audits are random, and nothing can be done to prevent them. Regardless of the reason, we can help.

Please note: This will be a separate engagement from the tax preparation and likely with additional fees. We do not sell “Audit Protection” or “Audit Insurance” because we believe it’s an unethical business practice.

The scope of all engagements will be detailed in the engagement letter. In general, tax planning and advising are not included with the tax preparation fees. During the tax return preparation process we will make an effort to answer reasonable questions and alert you of potential opportunities. We want you to understand your tax returns. However the engagement to prepare your tax returns is not an engagement to for planning, consulting, or teaching. We are happy to provide these services through a separate engagement.

You may be responsible for paying estimated taxes. Estimated tax payments are a method to pay tax on income that is not subject to withholding or when withholdings are insufficient. You might need to pay estimated taxes if you receive income that is not subject to withholding, such as:

• Dividends

• Gains from sales of stock

• Self-employment income

• Interest income

We are licensed in Massachusetts & Illinois. We can provide license numbers upon request. Even though we are licensed here, we can prepare returns in every state.

Your tax bracket is calculated based on your taxable income. Under the Resources tab you will find the most up to date information on your tax situation. We can also help you figure this out with a tax modeling exercise called a projection.

The best way to lower your tax bill is to through tax planning. Tax planning is the analysis of a financial situation or plan from a tax perspective. The purpose of tax planning is to ensure tax efficiency. Through tax planning, all elements of the financial plan work together in the most tax-efficient manner possible. Tax planning is an essential part of an individual investor’s financial plan. If successful, a tax plan will reduce your tax liability and maximize after-tax wealth.

A great way to start tax planning is with a tax projection. A tax projection allows us to estimate your tax liability based on your estimated income, expenses, and withholdings for the year. We start by making a model with your year-to-date information and then forecast, or project, it forward to look at the whole year. We can also layer in different items to see how they affect the tax liability. This can be done for multiple years to plan the best time to dispose of securities, retire, sell a property, or exercise Incentive stock options (ISOs).

People like doing this for estimated payments, planning capital gains, planning the exercise of stock options, or other changes/events. It’s a great planning tool if you are expecting changes.

Yes! We can provide upon request.

Yes, this means we are held to the highest professional standards and we comply with all reporting requirements. This is a very regulated industry and we take our compliance and regulatory obligations seriously.  

We don’t have an official minimum investment, but we do have a minimum annual fee.   As a guideline, we think we can provide the most value to clients with investable assets over $500,000 (including retirement accounts, like 401ks). Under that threshold our minimum fee might be more burdensome than the value we provide.  Over that investment level we are confident we can provide a lot of value in excess of our fees.  

Mostly normal people who want to plan for their future financial goals. We work with people who need help managing funds, planning for retirement, sometimes clients receive inheritances and don’t know how to handle the funds. We work with business owners who are selling their companies and a variety of other complexities around high earners, stock options, and equity compensation plans.

The adage goes “If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?” The planning process helps identify not only what is achievable given your resources, but sometimes what is being overlooked. Ideally, it solidifies that your goals are really your goals and helps balance the pull and push of today’s needs, wants, and wishes with those of the future.

Wealth Management is a dynamic process where clients work with a professional to identify goals, examine resources, and develop a roadmap to achieve their financial objectives. Wealth Management means much more than just investing. It can provide comfort in knowing how to stay financially on track throughout many stages of life.

The answer depends on many factors such as your age, circumstances, goals, and values. If saving isn’t already a habit, the important thing is to get started at a manageable level and then strive to increase that level whenever possible. Always make sure you are contributing enough to receive any company matching contributions to retirement plans. Don’t leave that compensation on the table.

A financial plan should include a review of your goals and objectives, net worth, cash flow, investment portfolio, insurance, and taxes. These are the building blocks used to create projections and to design a plan for implementing strategies to achieve your goals. It can also include probabilities of success for meeting your goals to ensure the peace of mind for which we all strive.

Financial planning covers all aspects of a person’s financial well-being. This includes savings, investments, retirement and college savings plans, insurance coverage, and estate planning. Retirement planning covers only investments made for retirement.

An Investment Manager will be able to connect all of the financial dots in order to provide you with an overall plan to meet your financial goals. He or she should have training and experience in all kinds of financial products and financial aspects of your life – equities, bonds, insurance, taxes, and estate planning – to make the right recommendations for your personal situation. An Investment Manager can also save you thousands of dollars in tax deductions and find higher-yielding investment products at little or no extra risk.