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 [more] | $350 to $500 | Streamlined | Pro-Active* | Pro-Active* |
| Estimated Tax Payments Calcs | Included | |||
| Tax Resolution, Audit Defense [more] | 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) | ||||
*The Asterisk
Yeah, we all dislike the little asterisk. The gotcha! The fine print! Well, here is one of those situations. Pro-active and Pro-active Biz Tax Planning are different. Pro-active tax planning is limited (for individuals and households) and does not include business-entity tax planning and payments (California’s Franchise Tax, New Jersey’s BAIT, Portland’s overall madness, NYC, etc.), pass-through entity tax (PTET) calculations and payments, among other things. Not every business entity needs separate tax planning! Texas, No. California, Yes. Please see our Tax Planning Services page and Master Service Agreement for more information.
Our Telluride Business Advisory plan includes the pro-active business tax planning plus interfacing with lenders, attorneys and financial planners.
Afraid of bait and switch? Yeah, we think that stinks too. Our annual fee for Vail, as an example, is $4,500. What can make this fee go up? The most prominent reason is additional state tax returns (taxing jurisdictions). However, we will detail that in your proposal. Please see our individual and business entity tax return preparation pages for more information.
Quarterly financial statements analysis is an add-on service, however it is included automatically if you use our accounting services.
Investor Patrol Services
We also have Investor Patrol which is like Tax Patrol, but with a Monopoly flair. This is a valuable service to our rental property owners and real estate investors. Tax return preparation aside, investor patrol provides access and comfort including pro-active tax planning and routine consultation on rental property tax deductions, material participation, short-term rental loophole, real estate professional status, repairs versus improvements, and other common real estate questions.
| A la Carte* | Houses | Hotels | Monopoly | |
| Individual Tax Return Prep (Form 1040, joint filing) | $800 to $1,000 | |||
| Real Estate Investor Activity (tax footprint) | Starting | Building | Extensive | |
| Number of Rental Properties | $100 to $150 | 1-3 | 4-6 | A Gaggle |
| Number of State Tax Returns | $150 to $250 | 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?”