Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with accountant

i am at a loss.

radiosilents — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:53:16 -0800

huge payroll issue. i'm lost and need direction. long story follows, but the short version is that i seem to have been overpaid by $15,000 and now my employer would like that money back. between november 2008 and june 2009 i seem to have been overpaid a grand total of just under $15,000 by my company. they seem to have not noticed this until a couple of weeks ago, and i have very recently received a letter detailing how they will be garnishing 20% of my wages per paycheck until this matter is resolved (which will take 44 pay cycles, or nearly two years).

there are two pieces of payroll software in play here, which we will refer to as the frontend software (which i have access to) and the backend software (which i do not). these are not different facets of the same piece of software, they are actually two wholly seperate systems which pass information back and forth.

we submit time on a weekly basis, and are paid every two weeks. we are paid in advance of time worked (something i will go into more detail about later).

all of my time was reported correctly on the front end.

the backend seems to have wholly ignored the time i reported and simply assumed things which were not true about my schedule.

in this particular case, i was working a 4x10 schedule (4 ten hour days a week) with my three days off all being weekdays. during the problem weeks, the backend system assumed that i must've worked 8 hours on each of the weekdays that i had off, and recorded that time for me as if i had been working. since i already had a full 40 hours reported, it counted all 24 hours as OT along the way.

the backend software is supposed to auto-generate an email to my supervisor requiring manual approval for any pay period that contains overtime.

the backend system recorded that OT for me on 28 seperate weeks, but only generated and sent that email on two of those weeks. on those two weeks, my manager went in and manually corrected my time on the backend and my pacheck was, as a result, as it should be.

on the remaining 26 weeks payroll paid me for those phantom 24 OT hours.

i recognize that an obvious question is "how did you not notice this was happening?" and the answer to that is just that we were specifically told by management when we were hired that even when working a standard set of hours week after week, we could expect to see fluctuations in our paychecks and that this was perfectly normal and that payroll had a complicated system but they were on top of things. sadly, i trusted them.

we sumbit time well before the close of the work week (submission of your anticipated time is due on tuesday, the work week ends on saturday) for the time we anticipate we will be working/on vacation/etc. payroll records hours and cuts the paycheck before that pay cycle is completed, and then on the subsequent paycheck corrects anything that changed after your time was submitted via a "prior period adjustment".

(side note, an example for illustrative purposes - way back when i was hired, it was just a couple of days before the end of a pay cycle and i was paid for a full two weeks of work despite having been employed by the company for only a handful of days. on the next paycheck, i was paid a much smaller amount of money to correct the previous "overpayment", and then on the third and subsequent paycheck things equalized and started paying out more-or-less "properly").

this can lead to some situations where corrections are reflected on your paycheck weeks after you correct your previously-reported time in the system.

(if you have a sick day after your time for the second week in the pay cycle is submitted, you can go back and correct your submitted time once the next pay period starts, and then on the pay period after that there will be a "prior period adjustment" which corrects whatever needs to be corrected at the end of the next pay cycle. as a result, corrections can often take up to three weeks to actually take effect.)

when payroll finally realized what had been happening, they communicated this to my manager (who then communicated it to me). my manager and i went back to my paper copies of all of my paystubs to try and sort out exactly what had happened, and then we came to the sad realization that the "prior period adjustments" seem to have been made with no sense of continuity or standardization.

as a single example, on one pay stub in the middle of all of this i see i was given money back in a category ("differential") which doesn't appear on any other paycheck. it is not an applicable pay category for me, nor was money ever taken out of that pay category.

after having looked over all of the paystubs from the months in question, i realized that there were far more categories than i had anticipated seeing and so i made a spreadsheet with as much data as i could glean. all of the following categories appear somewhere in the stack, some often and some rarely and a couple of them even have unique instances.

basic wages
overtime wages
overtime premium
holiday
vacation
excused day
short sickness
pay adjustment
OT adjustment
differential

in some cases i see money both being added and subtracted in the same category as a "prior period adjustment" on a single pay stub. in other cases, i see dollar amounts seemingly move between categories over time (i.e., a particular amount added as a "prior period adjustment" in a particular category on one paycheck, and seemingly that exact same dollar amount removed as a "prior period adjustment" from an entirely different category on a subsequent paycheck).

the "prior period adjustments" also do not note the date for which prior period they are adjusting on my paystub. payroll, it seems, can view this data on the backend but there are no tools available to me to view this information.

earlier this week payroll sent me a letter which states that for the next 44 pay cycles, i will have a charge of $330ish (20% of my gross pay) removed from my paycheck to account for the OT, the OT premium, some vacation, and some regular pay - all of which they claim were overpaid to me during the course of the year. they would like me to sign this letter, have my manager sign this letter, and then return the letter to them. at that point, they will begin to begin to deduct the listed amount from each paycheck.

by the way, this letter is the first communication payroll has had directly with me about anything in this whole mess.

i attempted to get more information from payroll and i was sent a very sparce spreadsheet with an incomplete legend and no explanation for the data on it. i'm assuming i don't know what i'm supposed to be asking for from them.

my manager said to me that payroll had mentioned to her that i would need to file a tax adjustment for the previous year, and then most likely again for the current year after this whole thing gets sorted. i don't understand exactly what that means.

do i need to consult a CPA? a lawyer? what questions do i need to ask of payroll? what data should i be seeking from them? i don't even know if i'm asking the right questions.

i live in oklahoma (near tulsa), if that's relevant.

please help guide me. i can survive on 80% pay for the next two years, but it's going to be awfully tight living and all of my plans to save money are completely shot.

throwaway email, if it's helpful : payrollwoes@gmail.com

How do I make it right - years of unpaid taxes

simplesharps — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:30:58 -0800

I haven't paid taxes since Feb 2007, how do I make it right? I'm Australian. Despite good intentions, I never got around to paying my taxes this year... or the year before... since Feb 2007 when I went out on my own as a web designer. I've travelled a fair bit and haven't made a great deal, but this has always been in the back of my mind. I need to make it right - start afresh. I'm Australian - What do I need to do?

I've scanned, OCR'd and imported all of my banking statements into an online money manager, which tells me what I've spent and how much I've earned. Then I calculated how much I would have had to pay (not including tax write-offs & if I paid on time) to give me a rough idea. This doesn't take into account late fees of course. Which I'm freaking out about.

I assume my next step is to take all of these figures to an accountant? Will they need anything else? Am I better off putting this off until I have significant reserves in my bank account? How harsh are the late fees going to be? How much should an accountant charge to submit these?

Thanks for your time - I appreciate it :)

I need a nerd

hayvac — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:46:42 -0800

Can anyone recommend a tech-startup-friendly accountant in Toronto? I could have sworn that I'd seen this question asked here before, but I can't find it.

I'm launching a tech business in the next six months and I need an accountant on board to advise me and help me get my books in order.

Any recommendations?

Live in Houston? Who does your taxes?

JPowers — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:16:03 -0800

Live in Houston? Who does your taxes? I'm looking for recommendations for a good personal accountant in Houston, Texas, that can help my brother understand the tax implications of being self-employed. He makes less than $50,000/year, is 24, and basically needs someone to help him understand how much he should set aside each paycheck for federal income and self employment tax, plus anything else he doesn't know about.

The accountant doesn't necessarily have to specialize in this area. And if you have no idea if your accountant deals with the self-employed, please recommend him/her anyway and I'll do the research. I'm basically just trying to avoid using Google to find an accountant here, since I figure personal MeFi recommendations will be much better.

Thanks in advance.

I'm looking for a good accountant for freelancers (and families) in the Philadelphia area

Deathalicious — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:06:58 -0800

I'm looking for a good accountant in the Philadelphia area. Ideally one that can help with both tax issues for a freelancer in the tech industry, as well as more general family accounting (I just got married and we just opened our joint account). Any recommendations? I reside within Philly city limits and I work from home, so I'd prefer someone familiar with Philadelphia tax issues (I have no idea what I owe the city) and with the particular needs of and deductions for freelancers in the tech industry.

I like building long term relationships, so I'd like to find someone who can help with all the other stuff that's going to come up in the next few years: children and raising a family, buying a house, saving for our potential kids' education, and retirement.

Also, if I want to figure out things like budgeting and getting on sound financial footing, is that something I would talk about with my accountant or is that someone else?

How much power does my ex-accountant hold?

TwilightKid — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:01:53 -0800

Can my accountant legally call the IRS and have my refund held up because he says he was not paid for his work, and/or he says there is a dispute on the return based on problesm I have had the last two years on my return? This is a continuation of my post from a few months back, (http://ask.metafilter.com/124400/I-got-taxt-problems-and-need-a-CPA-in-New-Joisey).

Update:
I finally heard from my accountant, and he gave me my 2008 taxes for my family and business. I am due a refund in the neighborhood of $10,000.

To keep it simple, I have decided to hold off on paying him his fee 1) the last two years that he has done my returns, there have been errors on it, that it has taken two years to clear up. I have paid fines, interest, and penalty fee's to clear this stuff up. and 2) He dissappeared for 4 months , and (partly spiteful), I don't feel I should pay him so quickly after him refusing to contact me or finish up my tax return....I suspect he had a drug/alcohol problem.

So anyways, he gave me my taxes, on August 10th, and I mailed them in on the 11th. I understand it takes 6-8 weeks for processing and my return to be sent to me.

A week ago, he wrote and called me demanding payment or he would call the IRS and have my refund held up. I spoke with an IRS receptionist today (she wouldnt let me speak to an actual customer service rep), and told me that he cannot hold up my refund because he wasn't paid, but he 'may' be able to, if he claims there are errors on it...He did sign my return as a tax preparer.

So, does he have any grounds to actually stop my refund?
I'm close to hiring an attourney of my own, but figured I'd ask the mefi masses first.

If i can provide any other details that will help someone share a more educated response, please feel free to ask or email me....It is is in depth, Id be willing to consult on the phone as well.

When the dust is finally settled, I will never be using him again.

Thanks Mefites!

How to choose an accountant.

thebestsophist — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:25:10 -0800

I am looking for a good accountant in the Milwaukee, WI area. I am starting a two-person LLC, any tips on either what to look for in an accountant or know of good ones in the area?

Jobs for tax accountants?

velvet winter — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:44:25 -0800

What kinds of jobs are available for tax accountants? In a few weeks I will be finished with my post-baccalaureate certificate in accounting, and I’m looking for entry-level work in the tax field in the US. This is a new career direction for me; I’m 41 years old, and I have no professional accounting experience yet. Most of my previous work experience is as a teaching assistant, freelance writer, and administrative assistant.

I’m a hardcore tax nerd. I enjoy tax research, reading tax blogs and books about tax theory and history, and even digging through the Internal Revenue Code. I’m also a classic introvert, am very organized and self-motivated, and work well independently. I’m happiest when I have a certain level of creative and intellectual challenge – doing things like helping to solve technical problems, tracking down arcane details, or writing summaries of complex information for laypeople or non-specialists.

I’m having trouble figuring out what kinds of tax jobs would best suit me. I don't mind preparing tax returns, but I'm not sure I'd want to do that full time. What other choices do I have? Tax associate? Tax researcher? Compliance (international, federal, state, or local)? Something else entirely?

So far I’ve ruled out tax law, since I have virtually no interest in going to law school. I’ve also ruled out continuing on in academia, because I’ve already spent many years as an academic (I have two liberal arts B.S. degrees), I don’t have much interest in teaching, and I don’t want to pile on any more student debt. I need to have a steady income coming in soon. I do plan to obtain my CPA credential in the future, but I want to get a good bit of work experience under my belt first.

I’m looking for book recommendations, websites, and any other resources that would help me decide what kind of job would suit me best. I would especially welcome first-hand “day in the life” accounts from people who work in the tax field. What do you do, and what is your job title? What kind of background is necessary to do your work? What do you like and dislike about your job? What kind of hours do you work, and what are your co-workers like? Are there layoffs going on where you work, or do you feel like your job is relatively recession-proof? What do you wish you’d known before you started your job? What advice would you give to someone just starting out in tax accounting?

Maybe he's in some sort of tax shelter?

Spyder's Game — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:04:15 -0800

Help me find out what happened to my accountant!! A little sleuthing help, please.... Early April of 2008, I called my tax guy to get everything set up for my '07 taxes. A week went by and I hadn't heard from him, but I figured he was up to his eyeballs in last minute tax prep for people like me. I called back a few days before the 15th to see if we were going to file an extension, and his answering machine was maxed out, and unable to take new messages. Needless to say, I went ahead and filed the extension myself.

It's been a year and a half. I haven't heard from him. His number was disconnected. His website is still up, but hasn't been updated since 2005. This guy was very nice and friendly and has done my taxes since 1995. I have a new tax guy now, but I'd really like to find out what happened to him. His first name was Robert, and if it's really necessary, I'll put his last name up as well, but would rather withhold it for the time being out of respect for his privacy.

My question is - how do I find him? I've done numerous searches. Brings up his website (with no working phone number to use) and a LinkedIn profile. I'm not a detective, but if something happened to him, I'd like to know. How do I go about getting that information?

Tax advice, UK?

tavegyl — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 01:04:13 -0800

Where can I get good tax advice in the UK? I am not a UK national, but moved here a few months ago to marry one. Two money related questions - if they can be answered on AskMeFi, great, otherwise recommending a London accountant you or an acquaintance have had experience with would be great.

1. I've got permission to work in the UK (National Insurance number on its way), but my employment is a little complicated, as I work remotely, as a consultant, with an international development organisation's country office in another country. How should I sort out tax? As a self-employed individual?

2. My savings, a few thousand pounds, are still in a bank account in my home country. Will transferring them to my UK account (electronically) mean they'll have to be taxed? Having already paid tax on them once it seems a pity, but if that's how it is... I thought of transferring part of them to an ISA immediately but of course, they'll move through my account first.

3. Do you know of a good London accountant whom I could consult about all this? I'm not enough of a high roller to employ an accountant, but I think a consultation should do to avoid problems in the future.

How do I start an S-Corp/LLC in NYC?

helios410 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:21:54 -0800

I have to start up an LLC or S-Corp. How do I begin this process? Also, if you have experience with a good accountant in NYC who is familiar with this process, care to pass a recommendation? I freelance in NYC for two cable networks under the MTV umbrella. MTV has just implemented a nine month work limit for freelancers. Once nine months is reached, three months time must pass before being hired again.

In order for me to get around this I need to start an LLC or S-Corp, so I can bill them as a company. So I ask:

1) What are the tax implications and associated costs in NYC to do this?

2) Can you recommend an accountant to help me along?

Thanks!

Need an Accountant in the Alamo City

Fiat124 — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:26:23 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good accountant in San Antonio, Tx who will do my taxes and not charge an arm and a leg? I am an American living overseas, so I need an accountant familiar with the foreign earned income exclusion, foreign housing exclusion and eligibilty for a Roth IRAs (i'm VERY close to the income limit).

Oh, and I messed up on my 401k last year and had too much taken out. I've already asked my 401k administrator for a refund of the excess, but they'll need to help me with that as well.

I've gotten one referral for an accountant in SA but he wanted $800 which seems a little high. I don't feel comfortable just sending my stuff to H&R block (or equivalent), I'd like a licensed accountant to take care of it all for me.

Thanks!

P.S. I'd like an accountant in San Antonio because that is where all my family is.

Should I pay an accountant to do my taxes? What are my options to protect me if I do them myself but make an error?

mintchip — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:33:50 -0800

Should I pay an accountant to do my taxes? What are my options to protect me if I do them myself but make an error? Ideally, I would like to do my own taxes. However, I have several W2s, some self employment income, a period of 2008 when I was still a full time student, etc...these things make one's taxes that much more complicated.

I did a test run of my 2008 taxes online using H&R Block software. There are a bunch of things on the return I have questions about and I'm wondering if it would just be better to go to a professional. It would cost at least $300.

Is the peace of mind offered by a professional accountant worth it or is it better to learn it oneself? How "dummy proof" is this software? I'm not sure how to handle the questions I have...I guess I'm really afraid to make a mistake and get dinged with back taxes at some future date! I feel that what I really need is a second set of eyes to review my return and check it for errors and also to make sure I didn't miss any deductions...is there any service that offers to check your return for errors without charging a full fee for completing it?

i can haz Port4nd M4in3 CP4?

sully75 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:47:14 -0800

I need an accountant in Portland Maine as soon as possible. Pretty simple probably but I have some equipment deductions (photography equipment) and depreciation and stuff I can't really figure out. I need to get this done this week as my FAFSA for school is delayed while I'm dealing with it. I'd try it with software is someone knows of something that's particularly great. I was trying to do it with forms last night and it was a mess. I think that I have a fair amount of deductions and a bit of money riding on this that I'd rather not lose, so I don't mind paying. On the other hand, I'm poor so don't want to pay too much!

If anyone has any suggestions I'd really appreciate it.

I'm hoping to get this done this week. I know it's the busy time, is this something that I could expect to deal with in a week?

Seeking Accountant in St. Louis

tomwheeler — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:39:55 -0800

Looking for an accountant in St. Louis. I've had my personal and corporate taxes done by a local firm, but lately their price has far exceeded their quality and I've decided to find someone better.

Considerations: must be accurate, knowledgeable, professional, trustworthy and honest. In addition to just preparing my taxes, they should be able to offer advice and guidance about how to simplify things or (legally and ethically) reduce my tax obligation in the future.

They need to be big enough to handle my (relatively simple) needs, but small enough that they'll know who I am when I call. In other words, I'm looking for something smaller than Price Waterhouse and better than H&R Block.

St. Louisians: if you know of accountants matching that description, I'd love to hear about it.

Good accountant for a small LLC in the Chicago area?

korpios — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:16:23 -0800

I'm looking to start an LLC in the near future (as I'd like to start doing web development as a part-time business beyond my day job); considering that my taxes are about to get a bit more complicated, I'd like to find a decent small-business accountant in the Chicago area. Any suggestions? For my personal taxes, I've continued to make use of the same accountant(s) for the past few years; they're back in New York, though, and I haven't lived in NY for a few years now. Besides the matter of the LLC, it's probably about time anyway to find a local replacement to use after I file for 2008.

I have indeed seen this post from 2005, but it only received one reply. Might 2009 bring any more tips? :-) FWIW, I'm trying to do this on a shoestring (since web development doesn't really have much in the way of "startup" costs); just seeing the Illinois $500 LLC registration fee made me wince! (Sadly, it's the most expensive state for creating an LLC in the nation.) I'm trying to go as far as I can on my own with the Nolo books, but an accountant's advice just seems prudent at this point.

Should I do my own taxes or hire a pro?

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:36:38 -0800

I'm making four times what I have in the past, so should I continue to do my own taxes or should I try an accountant this year? I'm in the US.

I've done my own taxes since I started working at 15, and I don't actually mind the process. This year however is my first full year at my "career" job, and I've earned at least four times what I have in the past. My family is very working class so they have no experience with this sort of income and they have suggested that it might be worthwhile to use an accountant to make sure I'm not overpaying taxes.

I'm skeptical, because in many respects this is a more straightforward return than I have filed in the past. For example, I've only worked in one state/city and I live in that state/city (as opposed to when I worked four jobs in three states during my college years, for example). I have only one employer, and since I haven't been in school this year, I don't have any tuition deductions or credits. I don't own any property (live in NYC) or stocks (no capital gains/losses), and I make too much to be able to deduct my student loan interest. I have some charitable donations, but those are fairly straightforward and I have receipts. I don't have any client or business expenses I've shouldered personally (anything I've spent has been reimbursed by my employer) and I haven't spent any money on continuing education, etc. In short, I worry that going to H & R Block or finding a private accountant will be a waste of money because I don't know that they will find any deductions I'm missing.

Am I being cheap/naive/short-sighted? Should I find an accountant to make sure that I'm not overpaying my taxes? Or should I do my own taxes and only rely on a professional if my situation gets more complicated?

Help me get a great accountant in the UK (pref Manchester), who understands on-line businesses.

Andorinha — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:39:52 -0800

Help me get a great accountant in the UK (pref Manchester), who understands on-line businesses. So! I started a business without really knowing I was starting one. Now it's time to pay my taxes and I have no idea what I'm doing. I'd like to pay someone to do this for me - everything was conducted through Paypal (expenses and sales), and so I have the Excel file with all the transactions for the year. I need someone to take this, sort everything out, and advise on what else I can take off my payment (rent, utilities, etc - I work from home) I am registered as self-employed but that's as far as I've gone.

Anyone has some fantastic personal recommendations? I have a few contacts but most don't even have an e-mail address, which worries me since 100% of my business is conducted on-line. E-mail is vandapn@gmail.com.

Any help would be incredibly appreciated!

Master's programs in accounting for non-accountants: Where?

onepapertiger — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:41:00 -0800

I'm looking for a more complete list of Master's in Accounting or Master's in Professional Accounting programs designed for people with non-accounting bachelor's degrees. So far I have identified ones at UNC, Vanderbilt, San Jose State, University of Texas (Austin and Arlington campuses), Arizona State and University of New Mexico. Am I missing any?

Accountant, please.

anthropoid — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:34:17 -0800

YANMA, so any suggestions for an accountant in/around Providence, RI? And how much should it cost for a consultation? I moved to Providence from Brooklyn a few months back and I need an accountant to help me understand what taxes I am going to owe to each state.

Part I: Any suggestions for a good accountant in/around Providence? I have a car, so I'm willing to drive far if needed (including Boston).

Part II: What should I expect to pay? I would like a consultation upfront to discuss my multi-state tax issues and to help me determine if I need to put money away for tax time next year. I would also like to have this person prepare my '08 tax return as well.

Thanks, as always.

How do I find a good accountant?

Meagan — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:08:20 -0800

How do I go about finding the right accountant for my needs? So I'm at the point in my life now where it would be wise to sit down with an accountant and talk finances. My goals in such a meeting would be to learn and discuss the following:

* different types of investments and their benefits;
* the Canadian tax process, and to potentially have the accountant take over my own taxes;
* running a home business, more specifically a web design business, so internet-savvy is a major plus.

First off, I'm in Ottawa, Canada, so if you know of this perfect accountant I would graciously request their details. However since this ideal accountant may not exist, how should I go about finding an accountant that's right for me? What items would I need to prepare before going to see one? I would also be open to book recommendations prior to meeting with the accountant. If you have any tips please do share!

Sailing on the wide accountant-cy -- help me find a captain!

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:55:24 -0800

Bean-counterFilter: How do I find an accountant? I'd ask around, but we have special needs.... Well, I never EVER thought I'd need an accountant, but then I married this British fella (we're adjusting his status) with his own company and the bank sent him some W-8BEN form and... we're confused. Substantial presence test? Wha? Permanent Alien or Non-Permanent? Huh?

We need an accountant that has experience working with recent immigrants and US tax law. My husband has an accountant back in Britain, but A. he's retiring soon and B. he doesn't know US tax law (why should he?)

I've poked around some ex-pat sites, and I've not come up with anything. But what (and where) specifically should we be looking for in an accountant? Certain society memberships? No bad marks on the BBB web site? If it helps, we live in the SF Bay Area.

Thanks!

How do I report Section 1250 Related Party Capital Gains?

Incognita — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 10:22:32 -0800

Accountant Filter: I'm a taxation student, working on a theoretical 1065 Return of Partnership Income (real tax return, theoretical situation). I've got a gain on the sale of a building that is a related-party transaction... A 70% partner buys a section 1250 building from the partnership at a very small gain. There are no recaptured gains involved, but because it's a related party, this particular situation involves capital gain treatment of the gain.

Do I report the sale on the 4797 or is it reported on the schedule D instead?

Also, are there any suggested resources that would provide me more information? I've read everything I can get my hands on, but as a lowly student, there isn't much available to me at this point!

Thank you!

Accountants in Portland

J-Garr — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:00:08 -0800

Can you recommend a CPA in Portland, Oregon? My taxes are now complicated enough that I think it might be worth it to pay someone else to deal with filing for me this year.

No one I know in town uses a local CPA, I am not going to an H&R Block place, and I don't want to just choose someone at random from the phone book... so here I am asking the hive-mind for a recommendation. This is just for personal income taxes, but does involve 50% ownership of my house so my taxes are a little wacky.

Recommendations for a financial advisor/accountant for a young couple?

scazza — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:51:24 -0800

Recommendations for a financial advisor/accountant for a young couple in NYC? We've read a lot about finances, but I would like to sit down with a person. I'd prefer someone who can do it all; to slog through all of our financial life, to ask questions of, to plan, to do taxes, not just someone interested in investing. I don't know if it should be someone who specialises in freelancers (arts and computing) if there is such a thing, and I think I'm looking for someone independent because I don't want to worry about prejudiced advice.

We both have irregular careers: his as a specialized-but-underpaid programmer doing both freelance work and a day job that changes every couple of years; hers currently studying but eventually working in a performing art that involves lots of travel and work accomodation (apartments) paid out of pocket (but tax-deductible) and pay on a performance-only basis.

With this in mind, we have no idea how to achieve our goals. We are relatively good at our basic budgeting and financial management but need help with saving for retirement (IRA) and a baby someday, managing his 401K (503b), improving credit, buying a home as soon as practicable (we feel like we're throwing money away on NYC rent), affording travel to stay close to family on three coasts of the US, plus the UK and NZ, and very necessary vacations. A wedding would be nice too but it seems too complicated already.

Thanks!