Tax Guru – Ker$tetter Letter

I am scheduled to have a phone interview tomorrow with a writer for SmartMoney on the subject of being smarter about looking for tax pros, which is obviously a topic I have long been very vocal about.

The writer is also interested in hearing from others on this topic.  Specifically:

Also, I’m looking to talk to some people who have been dissatisfied with a tax preparer’s service (including but not limited to CPAs, enrolled agents, joe shmoes, & storefronts). Can you think of anyone I might get in touch with, or would you be willing to post a query on your blog?
 

When we talk tomorrow, I plan on giving her some examples of tax preparer screw-ups I have seen.  When we first relocated here from the SF Bay Area, it was like shooting fish in a barrel, correcting huge expensive mistakes that other preparers had made and recovering hundreds of thousands of dollars for people.

Anyone else – tax pros, as well as clients – who would like to contribute to this article by sharing their bad experiences getting their taxes done should contact Janet Paskin via email at jpaskin@hearst.com

Q-1:

Subject: Illinois CPA Recommendation?

Would you happen to know a good Tax Advisor in Chicago, IL.
I am starting my new business and would like to start in the right foot.
I appreciate your feedback,
Thanks

A-1:

The only names I have are on this page.

As I say in my tips for selecting tax advisors, geographic location shouldn’t be the main basis for selection.  Most good professionals have clients all over the country.

I hope this helps.  Good luck.

Kerry Kerstetter

Q-2:

I believe your point of view on selecting the best Tax Advisor not necessary being close to client’s location. But I was thinking in the view that my business will operate in the State of Illinois. Wouldn’t I need a tax advisor in the state of Illinois for State Taxes?

 

Also can you help me in your perspective about incorporating in Nevada? I heard many advantages incorporating in Nevada than in Delaware or Illinois. I would like to start on the best route for my start-up company. I am thinking about choosing C-Corp as my entity because of the tax deductions and tax bracket compare to LLC and S-Corps. Can you provide me with your insight on this?

 

I am excited to start thinking as an Entrepreneur and not as an employee. There is a lot of benefits that an average employee does not have. I been reading and listening to audio books on RichDad by Robert Kiyosaki and as well as other Leadership and Tax benefits audio books. But mainly its my passion to service my clients in Computer Information Technology Services because that is what I do best.

Thank you for your quick response to my first question

A-2:

While it would be nice to have someone intimately familiar with your state’s tax system by being located within the state, that’s not as critical as you think. Most tax pros routinely handle out of state tax issues.  Back in my California CPA practice, I had a CPA on staff who we gave all non-California tax returns to do by  hand.  Now, the Lacerte tax software has added several state programs to its mix, so I use it to prepare several different state tax returns every month. 

Since you are considering operating a Nevada corp, that brings up the issue of who would handle its taxes if being within the state is critical.  Would you have one tax pro for your Illinois activities and a different one for your Nevada operations?  While dividing the workload can sometimes make sense, you will generally find that working with one firm that can better appreciate the big picture will be more efficient.

I do have extensive experience with Nevada corps and have actually written about it several times on my blog and website; so I don’t have time to rehash everything here.  That is another key issue you need to work on with your personal professional tax advisor.

I will warn you about the number one misconception I constantly encounter.  Just establishing a corp in Nevada will do nothing to reduce your Illinois income taxes if you actually conduct your business operations inside the borders of Illinois.  You will still need to file Illinois income tax returns and pay taxes to that state.  Depending on how your business activities are handled, there may be ways in which to source the income to Nevada and legally avoid having any Illinois tax obligation.  That is something that you need to work on with an experienced professional tax advisor because if you do it incorrectly, you could subject yourself to some serious penalties.

Good luck.  I hope this helps.

Kerry Kerstetter