Real questions. Real answers.

We use a secure client portal for document exchange, not email attachments and not shared drives. Files are encrypted in transit and at rest. We never offshore data. We treat your records the way we would want our own family’s records treated.

Yes. The complimentary 30-minute conversation is exactly for that. We ask, we listen, and we tell you what we honestly think you need, even if that means recommending a different kind of professional.

You are not alone. The majority of new clients arrive with messy books. There is no judgment here. We diagnose what we are working with, give you a clear scope and quote, and get you back to clean.

Yes. If a report or a return makes sense only to an accountant, we have not done our job.

No. We work with California clients across the state by video call, secure portal, and phone. Our office is in Fairfield, and our clients are everywhere from San Diego to Crescent City.

Within 12 hours, every business day. During the peak of tax season, mid-March through April 15, responses may take up to two business days. We will always respond, even if it is to say we are at capacity.

Use the contact form or the Start a Conversation button anywhere on this site. We will be in touch within 12 hours to confirm a time.

A CRTP, a California Tax Education Council Registered Tax Preparer, is one of the four credentials California legally allows for paid tax preparation, alongside CPAs, Enrolled Agents, and attorneys. The CRTP credential focuses specifically on tax preparation. CPAs hold a broader license that includes attest work such as audits and reviews, and a different educational path. CRTPs complete state-mandated tax education every year, hold a $5,000 surety bond, and are regulated under California Business and Professions Code section 22253.

We do not perform financial statement audits, reviews, or compilations. Those are reserved for licensed CPAs. We do not represent clients in IRS audits or in U.S. Tax Court. We do not prepare Form 1120, Form 1120-S, or Form 1065 returns. Those go to a CPA partner. We are open about every line.

Yes. We keep a small network of trusted California CPAs for audits, S-corporation and partnership returns, and complex matters. We coordinate, we stay in the loop, and we make the handoff easy for you.

Yes, and automatically. Miss the IRS 990 series three years running and federal law revokes your exemption. No hearing, no appeal, and getting it back means applying all over again. California mirrors this on the state side: three missed Form 199 filings and the FTB revokes too, and a lapsed RRF-1 gets you listed as delinquent, which bars raising or spending charitable funds. We track every one of these dates so none of it ever starts.

Yes, and it’s the most-missed filing in California charity compliance. It’s the annual renewal filed with the Attorney General’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, separate from anything you file with the IRS or the FTB. Small charities that don’t file a full IRS 990 or 990-EZ attach the CT-TR-1 treasurer’s report with it. Skipping the RRF-1 means delinquency, and a delinquent charity cannot legally solicit or spend charitable funds in California.

Yes. Even the smallest 501(c)(3) must file at least the Form 990-N each year. Three consecutive missed filings means automatic loss of tax-exempt status.

That’s a restricted fund. It has to stay separate from operating money, in your books and on your statements. We set that up and reconcile it monthly.

Both are common, and both are recoverable. The steps depend on which agency sent it. Send us the notice. We’ve walked clients through every version of this.

It depends on your net number, income minus business expenses. Once that reaches $400 for the year, the IRS adds self-employment tax on top of income tax, the calculation DIY software most often mishandles. Below $400 the income is still reportable, there’s just no SE tax. Either way, a conversation costs nothing.

Instead of one large bill in April, the IRS and California collect through the year when withholding won’t cover what you owe. Federally that starts once you expect to owe $1,000. California starts at $500, or $250 if you’re married filing separately. We calculate each payment and tell you what to pay and when.

Yes, on the Pro tier. For payments made on or after January 1, 2026, a Form 1099-NEC is generally required once you pay a contractor $2,000 or more in the year. Payments made in 2025 still follow the old $600 rule. We collect the W-9s, prepare the forms, and file them.

Probably, and the bigger risk is overpaying. The vesting value was already taxed on your W-2, yet brokers routinely report a cost basis that omits it. An uncorrected return taxes the same money twice. We review every 1099-B and make the IRS’s prescribed correction.

A part-year California return on Form 540NR, plus a return in your prior state. We handle both.

Yes. An ITIN is a tax ID number for someone who needs to be on a return but can’t get a Social Security number. We handle the Form W-7 application and file accordingly.

Our annual program. One California nonprofit receives six months of full monthly bookkeeping, in-kind. It’s rooted in the principle “the welfare of all.” Details, criteria, and the application window are on the Give Back page.

October 1 through November 15 each year. The recipient is announced in early December, and service runs January through June. Every applicant, selected or not, receives the California Nonprofit Compliance Checklist and a free 30-minute conversation.