First time using a tax advisor/accountant

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First time using a tax advisor/accountant

Christopher Mooney
Member since 2019 · 45 posts · 47 votes

Hi all!

Finally to the point in life where I realize I need someone savvy with taxes on my team. Would you all recommend I What start with a tax strategist or a good accountant? Should I look for someone who can do both?

Basically looking for ways to offset W2 income tax with real estate, as well as understanding how to most optimally draw money from real estate cash flow with the least tax impact. 

Thanks!

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Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
Moderator
Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Christopher Mooney:

Hi all!

Finally to the point in life where I realize I need someone savvy with taxes on my team. Would you all recommend I What start with a tax strategist or a good accountant? Should I look for someone who can do both?

Basically looking for ways to offset W2 income tax with real estate, as well as understanding how to most optimally draw money from real estate cash flow with the least tax impact. 

Thanks!


 I work with an accountant and they have real estate experience.

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  • Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Christopher Mooney:

    Hi all!

    Finally to the point in life where I realize I need someone savvy with taxes on my team. Would you all recommend I What start with a tax strategist or a good accountant? Should I look for someone who can do both?

    Basically looking for ways to offset W2 income tax with real estate, as well as understanding how to most optimally draw money from real estate cash flow with the least tax impact. 

    Thanks!


     I work with an accountant and they have real estate experience.

    7e investments53 Reviews
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    2Reply
  • Bill HamptonBusiness Member
    Accredited Investment Fiduciary, AIF®, Financial Planner, Tax Strategist, Real Estate Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 977 votes
    1y

    @Christopher Mooney

    You came to the right place. Bigger Pockets is a great place to find an accountant specializing in real estate taxation.

    A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation, 1031 exchanges and tax planning.

    I recommend finding an accountant specializing in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.

    Consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.

    I would also recommend looking for an accountant willing to work with you throughout the year. You want an accountant who can help you strategize and who is responsive when you want to know the consequences of the financial decisions you are making throughout the year.

    Good luck.

    404-482-3170
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  • Laura Newton
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2023 · 26 posts · 15 votes
    1y
    Quote from @Christopher Mooney:

    Hi all!

    Finally to the point in life where I realize I need someone savvy with taxes on my team. Would you all recommend I What start with a tax strategist or a good accountant? Should I look for someone who can do both?

    Basically looking for ways to offset W2 income tax with real estate, as well as understanding how to most optimally draw money from real estate cash flow with the least tax impact. 

    Thanks!

    I currently work with Real Estate CPA that handles advisory and filing but this hasn't always been the case. I think the important think is to find CPA that's great at one or the other or both. Don't go with a someone that doesn't no what there doing, isn't an expert in real estate, or that you found through ad. Referrals are the safes route to find someone that really knows what they're doing and has creditability. 

    1Reply
  • Joshua ThompsonBusiness Member
    Accountant · Melissa, TX (Remote) · Member since 2017 · 210 posts · 135 votes
    1y

    The above posts are spot on. Most tax strategists who understand real estate are typically good accountants, but it doesn't always go the other way. If you believe you're at the time in your life to work with a real estate tax professional, I would highly recommend finding them via:

    1. A referral from someone you already know and trust or from your local REIA group.

    2. Someone active on BP answering questions in the forums.

    3. BP tool above to "Build your investing team" and select a tax pro. Unfortunately, this doesn't always give you the best option as it's a pay-to-play, but it will give you 5 firms to interview and pick the best. 

    If you haven't acquired property yet and don't think you will for another 6+ months, I would recommend you sit down and write out your 3 most important tax questions. Then search the forum and YT for information related to those questions. One question may be "will the type of RE investing I want to do actually benefit my tax situation, if not how can it?" 


    After doing a bit of research then I would recommend reaching out to that real estate tax professional once you're maybe 3 months away from purchasing your first property, if you haven't already.

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  • Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member
    Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y

    @Christopher Mooney - what does your real estate portfolio look like? Regardless, I would definitely recommend exploring the advisory side in addition to the prep of the return. There are often things I point out that my clients aren't aware of or haven't considered. 

    My recommendation is for you to look for someone that does is a real estate cpa that does prep and advisory. As for finding CPAs, I would look at the forums, ask local investors, and use the find a tax pro finder that BP has 

    [email protected]
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  • Christopher Mooney
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 45 posts · 47 votes
    1y

    Thanks for everyone’s responses here! I have a primary residence, a portfolio of 7 properties (one short term rental), and pay too much in taxes through my W2 lol

    0Reply
  • Matthew SchumacherBusiness Member
    Member since 2025 · 43 posts · 26 votes
    1y

    Great question — and congrats on reaching this stage where you’re thinking proactively about building the right team. That’s a huge step toward protecting and growing your wealth.

    When it comes to offsetting W2 income tax with real estate and drawing cash flow in the most tax-efficient way, ideally you want both a tax strategist and a good accountant — or someone who combines both skill sets. The strategist helps you plan ahead (things like cost segregation, bonus depreciation, entity structuring, etc.), while the accountant ensures accurate execution and compliance.

    At Tavola, this is exactly the kind of integrated planning we help investors with. We look at your full financial picture to identify strategies that align with your goals — whether that’s deferring taxes, maximizing deductions, or designing a smart plan for distributing cash flow.

    Feel free to reach out — I’d be happy to connect and chat about your situation in more detail!

    [email protected]847-380-3894
    Tavola Group — More Than a Tax Return.4.730 Reviews
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  • Mohamed YoussefBusiness Member
    Accountant · Brea, CA · Member since 2018 · 118 posts · 62 votes
    1y

    @Christopher Mooney

    In your situation as a W-2 earner, you might want to explore the short-term rental (STR) tax strategy with cost segregation, it's one of the few ways real estate can help offset active income if structured right. The key is meeting material participation requirements, like spending over 100 hours and more than anyone else on the activity, or exceeding 500 hours in total. Definitely worth discussing with your CPA to make sure you qualify and implement it correctly.

    [email protected]714-684-6840
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  • Michael PlaksPro Member
    Tax Accountant / Enrolled Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Christopher Mooney:


    Finally to the point in life where I realize I need someone savvy with taxes on my team. Would you all recommend I What start with a tax strategist or a good accountant? Should I look for someone who can do both?

    Basically looking for ways to offset W2 income tax with real estate, as well as understanding how to most optimally draw money from real estate cash flow with the least tax impact. 

    Hi Christopher, 

    Now when your post has been moved to Classifieds, we tax professionals are allowed to offer: we can help.

    Since you apparently have a high-paying full-time W2 job, you options might be limited. The one STR you have may bring you substantial tax savings, but they are typically for ONE year. Your other long-term rentals cannot really help you if your W2 is above $150k.

    There may be limited relief from your LTRs in the year when you milk your STR if it drops your overall income below $150k. Or if it's already below $150k, you may also get a bit of help from your LTRs but not too much.

    Your other options are case by case, depending on what else you do business-wise and investment-wise.

    If you contact my firm, we can look at your last tax returns at no charge and have a better picture of where you are.

    Meanwhile, please read these posts:
    https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1122635-the-s...
    https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1249780-expla...
    https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1222774-expla...

    0Reply
  • Basit SiddiqiBusiness Member
    Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    1y

    You likely want to engage an accountant who will work on your return and also provide you advice.

    The worse case situation is you have an advisory firm who provides advice where the advice may be incorrect/inapplicable to you in your situation or the firm you work with doing your return does not understand the advice that was given to you.

    Best of luck!

    [email protected]917-280-8544
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  • Kristen AmbroseBusiness Member
    Accountant · FL · Member since 2024 · 78 posts · 34 votes
    1y

    Great question. If possible, find someone who can do both tax strategy and tax prep. A regular accountant will just file your taxes. A strategist helps you plan ahead so you pay less.

    Make sure they really understand real estate. Things like depreciation, passive losses, and REPS are specific and easy to mess up if they don’t know the space.

    Also, make sure your books are clean. You can’t plan well without accurate numbers.

    Happy to share what I’ve learned. I run a bookkeeping firm just for real estate investors and work closely with tax pros who get it.

    [email protected]
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  • William ThompsonBusiness Member
    Accountant · Williamstown, NJ · Member since 2025 · 325 posts · 178 votes
    1y
    Quote from @Christopher Mooney:

    Hi all!

    Finally to the point in life where I realize I need someone savvy with taxes on my team. Would you all recommend I What start with a tax strategist or a good accountant? Should I look for someone who can do both?

    Basically looking for ways to offset W2 income tax with real estate, as well as understanding how to most optimally draw money from real estate cash flow with the least tax impact. 

    Thanks!


    Great question—it really comes down to finding someone who can do both. A traditional accountant will keep you compliant, but a tax strategist will help you proactively lower your tax bill and plan around your W-2 income plus real estate cash flow. The best setup is having one professional who understands real estate inside and out so you’re not piecing advice together. That way you can offset W-2 income, structure your entities smartly, and keep more of your cash flow working for you.
    [email protected]609-820-0891
    RE Accounting and Tax Professionals LLC522 Reviews
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