CPAs — Friend or Foe?

One thing is for certain — we all hate overpaying our taxes.

No matter what side of the aisle you fall on, and whether you think the government spends your tax dollars wisely, I think we can all agree that no one will spend our money in better ways than we will.

Who is the most likely gatekeeper between you and how much you pay in taxes annually?

For most, that’s their CPA.

What is your relationship like with your CPA?

Are they a friend or family member? Have you been working with them for a decade or more? OR do you barely know them? Only speak to them once a year and don’t hear from them til next April?

Regardless of how good/bad you feel your relationship is with them, I’d like to offer you some questions to ask yourself to assess your own needs/desires and audit their performance.

Sound good? Let’s get started!

1. How many times a year do you speak to your accountant/CPA?

• Is it monthly? Quarterly? Annually?
• Is this level of communication satisfactory? Do you wish you communicated with them more? Less?

2. What do conversations with your CPA or tax professional look like?

• Are they just asking about your expenses, your budget and collecting receipts? Or are they bringing outside-the-box and creative strategies to help you pay less in taxes each year?
• Would you consider your CPA to be more of a tax recorder or a tax strategist?
• Does your CPA explain tax saving strategies to you, if they’re applying any at all, or are you not acutely aware of what they’re doing on your behalf? Do you want to be in the know? Or do you prefer and trust them to handle everything so you don’t spend time and energy worrying about it?

3. Are you “happy” with the amount of taxes you’re paying? [very few people like paying taxes, but I‘ll define “happy” as paying what you believe to be a reasonable amount]

• Are you aware of how much you pay quarterly/annually in taxes? Or is it an out-of-sight out-of-mind kind of thing for you?
• Do you feel like your CPA or tax professional helps mitigate the amount you're paying or not so much?

4. On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your current tax strategy?
1 being you have no idea how much you're paying and 10 being you are always on top of your taxes and making strategic plans to reduce your tax bill as much as possible.

• Depending on how you graded your strategy, my follow-up question would be how much does your CPA factor into that plan? Are they bringing proactive plans and strategies to you? Are you the one bringing all the ideas to the table? Or is it a little bit of both?

The bottom line is: Everyone deserves to feel confident in their tax strategy and know that their tax professional(s) are doing the best they can to help prevent them from overpaying.

If you’ve been feeling like you’re giving too much of your hard-earned money to Uncle Sam, and you’re ready to put a plan in place to take control of your tax bill, then we should talk.

I should tell you, I am NOT a CPA, but I am a tax and wealth strategist. My team and I pick up where your CPA leaves off. What that means is we are able, and would love, to work hand-in-hand with your CPA to get you the results you desire. Should you want to make a change, we do have CPAs we can recommend you to based on your needs. However, we love empowering the strategies your tax professionals are already helping you implement and only seek to supplement what they’re already do to help!

If you're tired of paying to much in taxes and want to make a plan to keep more money in your family’s pocket, book a call with me here.

Here’s to your continued success!