Posted Thursday, December 5, 2024
Table Of Contents
Real Estate Investor Services
WCG is happy to offer an additional service for our clients. On one hand we have our Business Advisory Service plans which are very comprehensive yet might contain some services that not everyone needs such as salary optimization, payroll processing, multiple tax planning events, among other things.
On the other hand we have transactional relationships where clients come in each spring for tax return preparation, and that’s all they need. No questions. No tax planning. Just a pile of tax documents and a few discussions later and bada bing bada boom they have a tax return and a nice summer.
Is there an in-between? Yes, and we created Tax Patrol in 2019 just for this!
Time marched on, and WCG CPAs & Advisors finds itself with more and more real estate investors who need something like Tax Patrol… right between Business Advisory and tax-only transactional relationships. Boom! We have Investor Patrol, and we are ripping off the classic real estate investor game of Monopoly as our theme!
Investor Patrol is a wonderful tax service for those who don’t need all the business advisory bells and whistles, but desire pro-active tax planning and scenario-based decision making assistance from an experienced tax consultant. Have a quick tax question? Need to know the depreciation rules as you furnish that new short-term rental? Want to kick around Real Estate Professional designation? Wondering what your April tax bill is going to be in August?
Investor Patrol is like ski patrol… you might not use it, but you sleep better knowing you have it. We offer three typical versions aptly labeled Houses, Hotels and Monopoly. However, each of these can be customized to fit your unique needs.
| A la Carte* | Houses | Hotels | Monopoly | |
| Individual Tax Return Prep (Form 1040, joint filing) | $800 to $1,200 | |||
| Real Estate Investor Activity (tax footprint) | Varies | Starting | Building | Extensive |
| Number of Rental Properties | $100 to $150 each | 1-3 | 4-6 | A Gaggle |
| Number of State Tax Returns | $150 to $200 each | 1-2 | 3-4 | Lots |
| Tax Planning, Tax Projection Worksheets | $350 to $800 | Pro-Active | Pro-Active | Advanced |
| Estimated Tax Payments Calcs | Included | |||
| IRS Audit Defense | NA | |||
| Complimentary Quick Chats (CQC) | $250 to $500 | Routine | Routine | Routine |
| Real Estate HoldCo Tax Return (Form 1065) | $1,000 to $1,200 | $750 add-on | $1,000 add-on | Quote |
| Annual Fee | $2,040 | $2,520 | Custom | |
| Paid Monthly | $170 | $210 | Custom |
(prorated based on onboarding date)
Investor Patrol Fine Print
With our Investor Patrol Services, everyone is a snowflake. Each real estate deal is unique, right? Each real estate investor is also unique. The above Investor Patrol Service plans are our attempt to give you an idea of the value proposition. Here are some pre-launch things we need to sort through-
Rental Setup
We might have a rental setup fee depending on the complexity (such as 1031 like kind exchange history) and number of depreciating assets (some rental property owners list everything under the sun, even a $25 shovel).
State Tax Returns
Our fees include state tax returns as detailed. Even if your real estate activities result in a tax loss, we must file a tax return since the taxing jurisdiction (fancy lingo for government) has the right to audit your books and records.
Partnership Holding Company
These fees assume a 1040 tax return filing. At times, reporting your rental activities on a partnership tax return (Form 1065) might be a good idea to lower audit rate risk and mechanically show at-risk basis in the assets. Should a partnership exist such as a multi-member LLC owning rental properties that would be an add-on fee as shown above. (see our fee page for partnerships).
Cost Segregation
If you have a cost segregation study completed on a rental property, there is a one-time fee of $250 to $500 depending on complexity. There is time spent booking the new 5, 7 and 15-year assets plus reviewing bonus and possibly Section 179 eligibility. It takes a bit of time and finesse.
Short-Term Rental
Short-term rental activities including the STR loophole are mostly included in these fees above. We say “mostly included” because it depends on the quality of your accounting records and overall tax readiness. If you are one hot mess or if we need to do a lot of cleanup then we might have an additional fee. We truly want to avoid a bunch of add-on fees and other nonsense.
Other Out of Scope Stuff
Our approach to starting off this relationship with you is to comprehensively understand your needs and objectives, and then design a malleable system as needed. Additionally, the following activities are considered out of scope and might incur a separate fee-
- handling IRS or state notices for matters that WCG was not originally engaged to perform,
- verification letters for mortgage loans,
- postage and delivery beyond simple letters,
- financial planning or investment advice,
- QuickBooks, QuickStart or other accounting software setup or training,
- annual corporate governance such as filings, resolutions and meetings,
- reviewing legal documents such as Operating Agreements, Shareholder Agreements, contracts, etc.,
- extensive coordination with attorneys and financial advisors, and
If we believe the requested service is outside of scope and not included in the Investor Patrol Services, we will have that awkward conversation with you ahead of time so an agreement can be reached. We will never do work and then bill you without an estimate of time from us and approval from you. In other words… ask away! It is up to us to pump the brakes with a “umm… yeah… can we chat about what’s involved for a bit first?”
The button below is a sample proposal for our real estate Investor Patrol Service.
I Just Got A Rental, What Do I Do?
I just got a rental, what do I do? Purchasing a rental property is certainly challenging, but operating one to build wealth and find tax efficiency is equally challenging. This is our second book. Our first book, Taxpayer’s Comprehensive Guide to LLCs and S Corps, was first published in 2014 and was well-received by small business owners and tax professionals, so we thought a book on rental properties and real estate investments would be equally helpful. So, here we are with our first iteration, or the 2024-2025 edition. We plan to update annually.
Our rental property book starts with entity structures and moves into asset management such as acquisition, cost segregation, rental safe harbors, repairs versus improvements, accelerated depreciation, partial asset disposition, and 1031 like-kind exchange. From there we discuss various rental considerations like passive activity losses, short-term rental loophole, real estate professional status, and material participation including what time counts, and what time doesn’t count.
Finally, the good stuff! Rental property tax deductions such as travel, meals, automobiles, interest tracing, home office and common expenses. Fun!
It is available in paperback for $19.95 from Amazon and as an eBook for Kindle for 15.95. Our book is also available for purchase as a PDF from ClickBank for $12.95.
Business Advisory Services
WCG CPAs & Advisors specializes in small businesses who generally have fewer than 25 employees. Why? We want to help people, and more importantly we want to help the business owner directly. Frankly speaking, once a business gets to a certain size management layers get in the way of owner access. Access allows us to ensure the owner(s) are leveraging the most out of their business for themselves and their families.
Because small business is a core competency for us, we have created business advisory service plans which include these really cool things-
| A la Carte* | Vail | Telluride | Aspen | |
| 2024 Tax Planning and Preparation | ||||
| Pro-Active Household Tax Planning, Tax Projection Worksheets | $350 to $500 | Advanced | ||
| Pro-Active Business Entity Tax Planning, PTET Calcs, SALT Workaround | $500 to $750 | Add-On* | ||
| Annual Tax Reduction, Shifting, Deferral Analysis | $350 to $500 | |||
| Small Business Tax Deductions, Optimization | Included | |||
| Section 199A QBI Deduction, Tax and Salary Optimization | $300 | |||
| Estimated Income Taxes (via increased payroll withholdings) | Included | |||
| Business Entity Tax Return (Form 1065, 1120, 1120S) | $1,500 starting | |||
| Individual Tax Return (Form 1040, joint filing), One Owner | $800 starting | |||
| Expat, Foreign Income Calcs (Form 2555, FBAR, Form 8938) | $300 to $500 | Add-On | Add-On | Add-On |
| Tax Resolution, Audit Defense | Varies | As Req'd | As Req'd | As Req'd |
| Financial Planning, Calculations, Discussions | $900 to $2,500 | Add-On | Add-On | |
| Situational Tax Law Research (up to 3 hours annually) | $750 to $1,000 | |||
| Payroll and Accounting Services | ||||
| Reasonable Shareholder Salary Calculation (RCReports) | $500 | |||
| Monthly Shareholder Payroll Processing (includes spouse, kids extra) | $1,200 | |||
| Employee Payroll Processing (bi-weekly, direct deposit) | Varies | Add-On | Add-On | Add-On |
| Annual Payroll Processing (W-2s, other filings, up to ten 1099s) | Included | |||
| Accounting Services (bookkeeping + analysis, see below) | Varies | Add-On | Add-On | Add-On |
| Quarterly QuickBooks Consulting (QuickStart Launch) | $250, $750 | Add-On | Add-On | |
| Business Advisory Services | ||||
| Consultation | ||||
| Business Consultation, Periodic Business Reviews | $250 to $1,000 | Annually | Routine | Routine |
| Complimentary Quick Chats (CQC) | $250 to $500 | Routine | Routine | Routine |
| CPA Concierge Services | Varies | Add-On | Add-On | |
| Interfacing with Lenders, Attorneys, Financial Planners | $750 | Routine | Routine | |
| Financial Analysis | ||||
| Fractional Controller (monitoring 3rd party bookkeeping) | Varies | Add-On | Add-On | Routine |
| Quarterly Financial Statements Analysis, Comparisons | $1,200 | Add-On* | Add-On* | |
| Annual Cash Flow Management, Analysis | $1,500 to $2,500 | |||
| Annual Budgeting, Forecasting, Goal Setting | $750 to $1,000 | |||
| Annual First Research Reports, Industry-Focused Consulting | $350 to $600 | |||
| Annual National and Metro Economic Reports | $150 | |||
| KPI Analysis, Benchmarking, Hot Sheets, Trend Analysis | $500 to $1,500 | |||
| Strategy and Maintenance | ||||
| C-Level Financial Advice, Strategic Planning (Fractional CFO) | Varies | |||
| Succession Planning, Ownership Changes Consultation | $750 to $1,000 | Routine | ||
| Annual Business Valuation | $2,500 to $3,000 | |||
| Annual Corporate Governance, Resolutions, Meetings | $150 + filing fee | Add-On | Add-On | |
| Annual Fee* | $4,500 | $4,980 | Custom | |
| Paid Monthly | $375 | $415 | Custom |
(prorated based on onboarding date)
Tax Patrol Services
We also have Tax Patrol! This is a wonderful tax service for those who don’t need all the business advisory bells and whistles above, but from time to time want some love from an experienced tax consultant and business advisor. Have a quick tax question? Need to know the depreciation rules as you buy that new car? Wondering what your April tax bill is going to be in August? Tax Patrol is like ski patrol… you might not use it, but you sleep better knowing you have it.
| A la Carte* | Keystone | Copper | Breck | |
| Individual Tax Return Prep (Form 1040, joint filing) | $800 starting | |||
| Business Entity Tax Return Prep (Form 1065, 1120, 1120S) | $1,500 starting | |||
| Tax Planning, Tax Projection Worksheets | $350 to $500 | Streamlined | Pro-Active* | Pro-Active* |
| Estimated Tax Payments Calcs | Included | |||
| Tax Resolution, Audit Defense | NA | Add-On | Add-On | Add-On |
| Complimentary Quick Chats (CQC) | $250 to $500 | Routine | Routine | Routine |
| Annual Fee* | $1,500 | $2,400 | $3,360 | |
| Paid Monthly | $125 | $200 | $280 |
(prorated based on onboarding date)
Our Way of Business
Here are some quickie FAQs to learn more about WCG CPAs & Advisors, and how we do business-
Do you extend a lot of tax returns?
Nope. We have a t-shirt that reads, “Hate extensions. Love our summers.” We file 70% of our tax returns by April 15, and only extend per the client’s request or if there is missing data such as a rogue K-1. We’ll go as quickly as you let us! Also, we don’t have A listers… we prepare tax returns in first-in first-out sequence. Sure, we leave room for emergencies or other issues that allow for jumping the line.
How is Business Advisory different than Tax Patrol or Investor Patrol?
Good question! Our Business Advisory Service plans (Vail, Telluride and Aspen) are more advisory forward like a robust old-fashioned with lots of planning, tax strategies and business consultation to help you make decisions. Our Tax Patrol Services (Keystone, Copper and Breck) are more tax return preparation forward like a refreshing vodka-lemonade with less tax planning, or at least less-intensive planning and consultation.
Investor Patrol Services for our rental property owners and investors is somewhere in-between since real estate is a business like any other requiring more planning, strategy and consultation but falls short of needing shareholder payroll planning and processing.
How often do we schedule meetings?
Up to you! In the past, we would pro-actively schedule quarterly meetings with all Business Advisory and Tax Patrol clients, but it was cumbersome for everyone. Today, we generally connect at least 3 times a year in a meaningful way. Once for tax return preparation, once for tax planning and then another for a myriad of reasons (“hey, I am buying a car” or “hey, we sold a rental”). This is all back-filled with emailed correspondence and touch-ups throughout the year. Having said that, with routine consultation offered above, your goal is to extract everything you need from us.
We prefer scheduled meetings over Teams. Check out our CPA Concierge Service as well. Priority boarding. HOV lane. Early check-in.
What is your communication style?
We rely heavily on emails and text message alerts. However, we do not have an allergy to the telephone. During friendly hours (let’s say 8AM to 7PM including weekends) we will usually call first if we have a question or need clarification. We are committed to responding to your email within 3 business days.
To get work chores done, the tax team responds to emails on Mondays and Thursdays only (what we call our “comms” days). Other teams such as payroll and accounting have similar email cadences.
Have an emergency or need an answer sooner? Call us! So much can be done in short order with a phone call (please keep in mind that scheduled meetings is still ideal to ensure availability and readiness).
Who will I be working with?
For tax, we have two-person teams so there is always a backup. Teams are assigned based on who first spoke with you, bandwidth and subject matter expertise. We also have accounting, payroll and business formation / governance. As such, you might have 4 people you work with. Yay! The two tax peeps, and if applicable, a payroll peep and an accounting peep (if you are using our Accounting Services team for bookkeeping + analysis). We also have dedicated Client Support and Tax Support teams to… well… support you and the other teams.
| Accounting, Payroll | |
| Monthly Accounting (bookkeeping + analysis) | starting at $500 per month |
| Bi-Monthly Accounting (bookkeeping + analysis every 2 months) | starting at $250 per month |
| Quad-Monthly Accounting (bookkeeping + analysis every 4 months) | starting at $175 per month |
| Annual Compliance Bookkeeping | typically $1,200 annually |
| Annual Accounting | starting at $1,800 annually |
| Rental Property Bookkeeping | starting at $1,200 annually |
| Sales Tax, Personal Property Tax | typically $75 per month |
| typically $150 per quarter | |
| Employee Payroll (direct deposit, bi-weekly) | 1 employee, $100 per month |
| 2-5 employees, $175 per month | |
| 6-10 employees, $250 per month |
| Business Formation | |
| Articles of Organization or Incorporation, or Dissolution | $625 + state filing fee |
| Initial Report (if required) | $125 + state filing fee |
| Annual Report | $350 + state filing fee |
| Employer Identification Number (EIN) | Included |
| Single Member Operating Agreement (SMLLC) | Included |
| MS Word Templated Bylaws Agreement (Corporations) | Included |
| S Corp Election, Timely Election (made with formation) | Included |
| Accountable Plan | Included |
| Onboarding Fees (one and done) | |
| Payroll Accounts Setup, Transfer, Closing | $550 to $650 depending on state |
| Employee Data Transfer | $25 per EE, >5 |
| Accounting Setup or Transfer (Fractional Controller) | Varies |
| QuickStart, QuickBooks Setup and Support (90 days) | $750 |
| S Corp Election, Timely Election (within 75 days) | $450 |
| Late S Corp Election Back to January 2023 | $600, $1,200 after Jan 1 2024* |
| Examine Prior Tax Return | Included |
| Business Maintenance | |
| Entity Relocation Package (payroll closure and opening, entity move) | $800 (some are $1,050) + state filing fees |
| Address Changes w/o Payroll (IRS, State Dept of Revenue, Secretary of State) | $250 + state filing fees |
| Address Changes with Payroll (above + state and local payroll agencies) | $350 to $450 + state filing fees |
No BS
We are not salespeople. We are not putting lipstick on a pig, and trying to convince you to love it, even if Tom Ford’s Wild Ginger looks amazing. Our job remains being professionally detached, giving you information and letting you decide.
Moreover, many CPAs and tax professionals thrust their risk aversion onto their clients. This is bad. At WCG CPAs & Advisors we must perform our due diligence and hurdle our ethical and professional standards. However, after those gymnastics we present a risk-based analysis to the tax return and let you, the client and taxpayer, decide how to proceed. Having said that, we don’t entertain tax scammers or those who can take down the ship. Arthur Anderson anyone? No thanks.
We also see far too many crazy schemes and half-baked ideas from attorneys and wealth managers. In some cases, they are good ideas. In most cases, all the entities, layering and mixed ownership is only the illusion of precision. Just because you can complicate the crap out of your life doesn’t mean you must. Just like Chris Rock says, just because you can drive your car with your feet doesn’t make it a good idea.
Our Business Expertise
As mentioned elsewhere we primarily focus on small business owners and their unique consultation and tax preparation needs. With over 60 full-time consultation professionals including Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents and Certified Financial Planners on your team, WCG CPAs & Advisors consults on custom business structures, multiple entity arrangements, S corp elections (even late S corp elections back to January), tax strategies, business coaching, industry analysis, executive benefits, retirement planning including individual 401k plans, exit strategies, business valuations, income tax planning and modeling, and tax representation.
We also work with business law attorneys for business owners who have additional needs such as drafting Operating Agreements, fee for service contracts, buying or selling a business including employee stock ownership plans and partner buy-ins. In addition, WCG coordinates with third party plan administrators create age-based profit sharing plans and cash balance (defined benefit) plans. We can run point on whatever your business needs to ensure that communication is effective and efficient allowing you to sell widgets.
Here are some additional resources you might find useful.
Adding Your Spouse to Payroll
Table Of Contents
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Text WCG Offices
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Call Our Amazing Team
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Chat With a Tax Pro
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