For Individuals / Tax Planning / FAQs

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you don't find answers to your questions here, please do not hesitate to Contact Us.

TAX PLANNING

How do I get started?
What is tax planning?
What are some of key things you look at during tax planning?
What tax documents do you need?
How much does it cost?
I've completed the request form and submitted required documents. Now what?

TAX PLANNING

1. How do I get started?

To get started, complete the Request for Services form and submit tax returns for at least two years (only for new clients). Email the tax documents to taxdocs@taxcpadirect.com or fax them to 925-226-4032. Upon receiving your information, one of our professionals will contact you within one to two business days.

2. What is tax planning?

Tax planning involves analyzing your current tax profile and prior tax returns in order to identify areas of improvement and to develop strategies that will lead to the lowest possible taxes. Re-arranging your financial affairs and being intentional about organizing your finances in a tax-efficient manner, in our experience, have resulted in significant tax savings for our clients. We recommend our clients to have tax planning sessions with a tax professional at least once every three years.

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3. What are some of key things you look at during tax planning?

Every client has his/her unique issues and challenges and, consequently, we take a "one-to-one" approach in tax planning. However, there are four main things look at as starting points in our planning process:

1. Opportunities to reduce taxable income (Adjusted Gross Income - AGI)
2. Structuring your finances to maximize tax deductions
3. Examining whether any tax credits have been overlooked
4. Aligning your financial activities to benefit from the change tax laws

Special planning considerations are given to those with self-employment income, including converting from sole proprietorship to S-corporation. Whatever your situation maybe, we will perform an in-depth diagnostics and communicate our key findings and recommendations.

4. What tax documents do you need?

For existing clients, simply complete the Request for Services form and we already have the tax documents we need. For new clients, please send us a complete set of tax returns for the last two years in addition to completing the Request for Services form. Please forward your tax documents to taxdocs@taxcpadirect.com or fax them to 925-226-4032.

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5. How much does it cost?

All our tax planning services are offered at at an hourly rate of $150/hr.

6. I've completed the request form and submitted required documents. Now what?

Your request has been forwarded to one of our professionals for review and he/she will contact you within two business days to set up a preliminary conference call to discuss key issues and questions. After the discussion and follow up research/analysis, we will put together a summary report outlining our findings and recommendations. The final step involves going over our findings and recommendations one by one and making sure that all questions are answered and it's clear what actions need to be taken as a result.

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