The Blog

Now we’re cooking with gas. After weeks of reports that refunds were down, last week’s data from the IRS shows a new trend. Although overall quantity of refunds are down, now the average refund is up 1.9%. After so many headlines to the contrary, I suppose that qualifies as good, national tax news. But here is the thing to remember … Read More

  Word on the tax professional “street” is that tax filing numbers are down across the board so far. That is from data released by software providers (though this year, of all years, I simply don’t understand why somebody would use software), as well as overall numbers from the IRS, AND those who are using a professional. It seems that … Read More

Believe it or not, we have less than two months before federal taxes are due. Yikes. We have been meeting with so many Oakland clients (including a fair number of new ones, thanks to YOUR referrals — keep them coming!), finding so many wonderful ways to help people save on their taxes, that it hardly seems possible that there could … Read More

Not only are we entering into the thick of tax season, but based on our political situation, we could be staring at another federal government shutdown on Friday. Which means, well … we don’t know exactly what it will mean except that God bless you if you are trying to get help directly from the IRS these days. Not only … Read More

Unless you’re a Patriots fan, the Super Bowl sure was a snoozefest, eh? The snarky tweets were in full force, and there were many sad bettors who might want to check this out (unless, of course, they just want to let us handle it for them, which is always wise). Even the commercials weren’t very good. (I did like the … Read More

Politics aside, I think we can all breathe just a little easier knowing that the federal government is no longer in shutdown mode. And on top of that, this morning, as I write, the IRS has begun accepting filed tax returns. Which means, well … it’s about to get real. Now, leaving aside the fact that the IRS will probably … Read More

As of this writing, the federal government is STILL in its partial shutdown. And 800,000+ people are affected — including a whole slew of IRS workers who have been called in, regardless of paychecks, because come Trump or high water: tax filing will indeed begin on January 28th, 2019. So, we’re still buckling up around here, and meeting with Oakland … Read More

As of this writing, the federal government is still in a “partial shutdown”, and things are starting to fray around the edges, even for those whose paychecks aren’t being affected. Already, it’s the longest in history. Which, for a media starving for any kind of controversy … well, no doubt you’ve already heard about it. Who knows … by the … Read More

Oh, you thought that calendar on your phone was accurate, did you? You thought 2018 was DONE WITH. OVER. (Hurrah)? Whoops. The fact is that over the following weeks and months, you will be reliving all of your financial decisions from 2018 while we put together your tax return. We can’t go back and undo any bad decisions, but we … Read More

Well, we’re staring into the fresh light of 2019 — and that means that we can now take a good, dispassionate look back at our progress towards what we were aiming for in 2018. Which leads to the big question: How was your 2018? I often believe that reviewing your year is better than setting goals — because resolutions are … Read More