I'm looking for an investor friendly CPA that is taking new clients and soon

[Morgan Daniels]

Hey guys, 

I've been contacting loads of CPA leads and everyone seems to be full for the year and not accepting new clients. I'm needing a tax return in the next month. Any suggestions? Preferably specializing in Virginia and/or North Carolina. Can simply  be remote, as well :)

[Nicole Heasley Beitenman]

I'd attend some local meetups. You'll either meet CPAs there or you can find out who investors are using in your area. 

[Morgan Daniels]

I go to all of the local meetups and have contacted 4 local CPAs and they're all booked up for the year. Not taking on new clients.

[Curt Riffel]

What is the reason to not extend and finish your tax return in July/August like many others?

[Linda Weygant]

Quote from @Morgan Daniels:

Hey guys, 

I've been contacting loads of CPA leads and everyone seems to be full for the year and not accepting new clients. I'm needing a tax return in the next month. Any suggestions? Preferably specializing in Virginia and/or North Carolina. Can simply  be remote, as well :)

 Just to give you an understanding of what's going on:

In the last 4 years, approximately 8% of all tax professionals retired, sold their practices, died or otherwise exited the industry.  In the next 5 years, it is predicted an additional 15% will do so.  The fact of the matter is that this profession is aging out and there's not enough new people entering the industry to make up for it.  A friend of mine is a college professor and he said that in the last 3 years, not one student from his college sat for the CPA exam.

The tax professionals with the best reputations and the most focused areas of knowledge generally close their client lists in the fall.  That was always my habit.  This year, I had a bit of extra capacity, so I kept my client list open through mid February.  But have since closed it for the season as well.  

Frankly speaking, it is almost impossible to both interview/onboard new clients and also do the actual work needed to serve new clients.

What you end up with at this time of year for tax pro availability, is people who have just opened their practices, have just hired a lot of new employees (or are offshoring the work) or some other bizarre and unique issue.

The time to search for a tax professional is August thru December, not Jan thru April. 

I get that you're probably desperate to close on a house or some other issue that is suddenly making this an urgent issue for you.  So here is what you **should** do:

1.  Tell your lender that your tax return will not be ready.  Ask if they can confirm your income another way - bank statements, tax forms, etc.

2.  Put yourself on extension by going to this site:

1. https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/extension-of-time-to-file-your-tax-return
   1. Remember, an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. If you think you will owe either federal or state taxes, you should make a payment with your extension request.

3.  Contact tax professionals after April 19.  Have all of your financial data clean and ready to go.  If you're self employed or have rental properties, make sure you have an Income Statement and Balance Sheet report, that ALL of your accounts are reconciled and there is nothing outstanding.  If you use QuickBooks and there is anything in "Ask My Accountant" or Unclassified anything, then clean that up or use this time to get yourself to a GOOD bookkeeper who knows what your tax pro will need.

The last thing you want in April - when you're in a hurry - is looking for documents and data.  Have it packaged up and ready to upload or copied or whatever.

If you do find somebody who can do your tax return right now, I wish you well and hope they are talented.  If you're in doubt on their skills, then maybe ask somebody else to review it in the off season (note - this will not likely be a free service)

Best to you.

[Patti Robertson]

I have used Zukerman & Assoc in Virginia Beach for the last 20 years or so and highly recommend them.