A simple return is genuinely simple, and if that is what you have we will tell you so and charge accordingly. What we are here for is everything else: rental property, a business on the side, stock compensation, a first year filing jointly, a spouse abroad, a house sold, a retirement account moved, or a year in which something significant changed.
New York is also its own problem. The city resident tax, the difference between residency and domicile, the part-year allocation when you moved in July, and the reciprocity questions for anyone who works in New Jersey — these are where returns prepared out of state go wrong.
Situations we handle constantly
Rental property
Depreciation set up correctly, the passive loss rules, and the basis records that will matter enormously when you sell.
Self-employment and gig income
Schedule C, the home office deduction done defensibly, quarterly estimates so April is not a shock.
Stock compensation
RSUs, ISOs and ESPP, where the broker's cost basis is very often wrong and quietly taxes you twice.
Sale of a home
The Section 121 exclusion, and what improvements over the years did to your basis.
Married filing jointly or separately
Run both ways where it is close, which in New York it sometimes is.
Part-year and non-resident New York
Allocation done properly, including the city residency question that is decided by domicile rather than by a mailing address.
Students and first returns
Education credits, and the question of whether a parent should still be claiming you.
Retirement distributions
The New York pension and annuity exclusion that out-of-state preparers routinely miss.
How it works
Appointments run about an hour, in person on Roosevelt Avenue or by video. During filing season we are open Saturdays.
Send documents ahead
Through the secure portal, or bring them in. We send a checklist based on last year's return.
We prepare and review
A preparer builds it, a CPA reviews it, and we compare it against last year before anyone signs.
We walk you through it
Not just the refund figure — what drove it, and what to change before next December.
E-file and track
Filed electronically, with the refund followed until it arrives.
Year-round after that
A letter in August about a return we filed in March is still our engagement, not a new one.
General information, current for the 2026 filing season and not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Tax law changes, and the answer for your situation may differ. Speak to us before acting on anything you read here.
Questions
Personal Tax Returns — the questions we are asked most
What do I need to bring to my appointment?
Photo ID, Social Security cards or ITIN letters for everyone on the return, all W-2s and 1099s, last year's return if we did not prepare it, and details of anything unusual that happened — a house, a business, a move, a marriage, an inheritance.
How much does a personal tax return cost?
From $175 for a straightforward W-2 return with the standard deduction. We quote your fee before starting, from your prior-year return, and it does not move unless the facts do.
Can you file returns for previous years I missed?
Yes, and it is a good idea to do it before the IRS files one for you — a substitute return gives you no deductions and no exemptions. Refunds are only claimable for three years back, but filing late is far better than not filing.
Do I have to come to the office?
No. Documents through the secure portal, a video call to review, and e-signature all work. Plenty of clients we see once a year in person because they prefer to.
Do you handle New York City residency questions?
Yes, and they are more common than people expect. City residency turns on domicile and on a day-count test, not on where your mail goes, and getting it wrong in either direction is expensive.
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Talk to a CPA before you decide anything
Twenty minutes on the phone or across a desk on Roosevelt Avenue. Bring last year's return if you have one — most of what we need in order to quote you is already in it.