As an Accountant, you do not need a CPA until year-end. You want an accountant to manage your books and can communicate efficiently with the CPA.

@Ramiro Salinas I highly recommend reaching out to a tax preparer before the end of the year. Once the calendar changes, we tend to shift gears and time is much more limited. Engage a pro now (or at least start the process) so you aren't scrambling at tax time.

@Ramiro Salinas a CPA is an accountant, an accountant is not necessarily a CPA. A CPA is a designation that shows the accountant has met certain standards of education and knowledge. When I switched to my current CPA, I said "My current accountant is not a CPA." The CPA responded "That is not a good reason to change. If he is doing a good job keep him" Just make sure you choose someone who knows real estate and has real estate clients. You should meet with a tax professional now. You want to make sure you fix the things you can, before the end of the year. A good accountant/CPA can help save you taxes and make sure you are doing things the proper way.

@Ramiro SalinasI would recommend connecting with a CPA/Accountant before the end of the year.If you wait until April to connect with an accountant you lose out the ability to talking to him before the end of the year to see if there is anything you can do now to save on taxes.Furthermore, a lot of the good accountants will be busy in April so you are potentially risking not getting with a good accountant.If you are debating on getting an accountant, enrolled agent or CPA - make sure to prioritize whether he/she is capable of handling your tax situation.

It kinda depends, actually. CPAs are supposed to know the ins and outs of taxes. Accountants are fine also if they're working for a CPA firm. It ultimately depends if you're needing advice or someone to do your taxes for you. I have a CPA that I files my annual tax returns. A question I have for your is if you have a property manager managing the property or if you're doing it alone? In any case, it'd just be a little easier to have a manager but if not, you should be keeping track of ALL income and expenditures by transaction that way when you do your taxes at the end of the year you can give them a breakdown of all transactions. When you do file your taxes your accountant/CPA will need to know the appraised value to determine depreciation (mine did), as well as all the income and expenditures. If you just need them to file your taxes, you can wait til later. If you need advice, then contact them now.

CPA or Accountant???CPA or Accountant???

Ramiro Salinas · 2018-12-03T17:21:58-08:00

I am just now renting out my first single-family home! I am new to this should I contact a CPA or accountant right now or wait till later and just keep up with basic expenses from the property? I am new to this and could use some sound advice! Thank you!

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