Looking for a good tax preparer in the Boston area

December 9, 2008 7:12 PM

Looking for a good tax preparer in the Boston area.

I like to think that I know tax code but my taxes are kinda complicated and I think I need a tax preparer anyway. My last two preparers I got on the basis of recommendations but they weren't that great (missed deductions; forgot deductions so that I had to remind them; argued with me over whether I was eligible for deductions I was definitely eligible for) and they were expensive. I figure if I wanted to miss deductions I could do it myself, for much less money. I live in Somerville, so, the closer the better.

Particular topics of interest: self-employment combined with regular employment, oil and gas lease income, inherited IRAs, trust income, foreign income.

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (6 answers total)

My tax preparer, Feenan Financial , is in Quincy, but I do everything through the mail. They send me an organizer that I fill out and I mail that with any supporting documents. If there needs to be a conversation, we talk. They aren't cheap, but I don't think they are expensive either (usually my state refund covers my prep with a little left over), and I've never had any problems. The gentlemen who specifically handles my taxes is Rick MacAleese. Hope this helps!
posted by katemcd at 7:32 PM on December 9, 2008

Although you may have some complications, I think Turbo Tax can handle them. Try it out before spending a lot more on a human preparer.
posted by beagle at 7:33 PM on December 9, 2008

Well, I like Financial Framework in Arlington, but they ain't cheap. I trust them with everything and they handled my mixture of self-employment with aplomb.
posted by tcv at 8:12 PM on December 9, 2008

donohue and associates.. they helped me out with a particularly complicated year of taxes. i'll probably use them for this year as well as it's very complicated. they also do the taxes for some small businesses i know.
posted by rmd1023 at 8:21 PM on December 9, 2008

Seconding Donahue & Assoc. -- they've done my relatively complicated (regular W2's + freelance musician + landlord, etc) taxes for years now and I have no interest in returning to the TurboTax days. I completely disagree with the idea that it's not worth it -- if you're over a certain level of complexity a pro is almost guaranteed to save you more than you spend on their services, and if nothing else the ~1 hour I spend per year with my preparer is far, far superior to the day-long TurboTax Battles Royale of years ago.
posted by range at 9:13 PM on December 9, 2008

I use James Assoc on Highland Ave in Davis Sq and they've been great. My taxes aren't terribly complicated--they sit and go through everything with me and then call when I'm all set. A few friends of mine use them too and are happy. It's a family run business.
posted by jdl at 6:33 AM on December 10, 2008