Every year, we take an opportunity to review our business practices and determine better and more efficient ways to serve our clients.  This year has been especially challenging due to the changes in tax law, the time and costs to educate our staff in these changes and the increased responsibility for keeping our client information secure.

Our profession has seen unprecedented changes in 2018!  With the passing of TCJA (Tax Cut and Jobs Act), we are tasked with learning and understanding a whole new set of tax rules and regulations – keeping in mind that California does not conform with the TCJA.  This sweeping tax package drastically changed the way federal income taxes are calculated. From brand new provisions to significantly revised forms, extra time and resources will be needed to ensure we properly report your tax situation next year.

As we have seen too often, many companies have had their systems compromised and unknowingly released confidential information.  We take our systems and security very serious and make sure that we are always protecting our client information.  This particular dedication to securing the data comes at a high cost, but we feel it is necessary and worth the extra expenditure to give our clients’ an added security level for their private information.

Based on these considerations, we’ve determined that a fee increase is necessary to prepare your 2018 federal and state income tax returns along with year-end planning and strategies. The good news is that more work on our end typically means a lower tax bill for you, even after considering our fee increase We feel this increase is necessary due to the additional time required to comply with the new rules and ensure we take advantage of all opportunities to minimize your tax.

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Again, we appreciate your business and hope to continue our relationship.