How much does tax preparation cost?

Fees depend on the complexity of your return. We factor in the number of states, business entities, rental properties, and equity compensation events. Most individual returns fall in a narrow range, and we quote a price range before any work begins so there are no surprises. The fastest way to get an exact number is a short intro call.

Do you charge a flat fee or by the hour?

Tax preparation is billed dependent on the complexity of the return, agreed up front. Tax planning and IRS representation work that requires ongoing strategy are typically year-roud, flat fee engagements. We are not in the business of sending surprise invoices.

How does the process work?

After an intro call, you receive a tax organizer and a secure portal link. You upload your documents through Encyro (encrypted and audit-logged), we prepare the return, and we walk through the finished product together — in person at our Mapleton office or over a video call — before anything is filed. The whole process is built around your schedule, not ours.

What documents do I need to send?

It depends on your situation, but our tax organizers (linked from the Resources and Get Started pages) walk you through every common item: W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, brokerage statements, mortgage interest, and so on. If you are a returning client, we already have most of what we need from the prior year.

How long does it take to get my return done?

Once we have your documents and organizers, most returns are ready for review within one to two weeks. The best way to ensure your return gets completed timely is to schedule your wrap-up appointment as soon as you have everything uploaded. During the final two weeks before a deadline we may recommend an extension to give the work the attention it deserves.

What is an Enrolled Agent, and how is that different from a CPA?

An Enrolled Agent (EA) is the highest credential the IRS issues to tax practitioners. EAs specialize exclusively in taxation and are licensed federally to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all 50 states. CPAs are state-licensed accountants whose work spans audit, financial statements, and tax. For tax-specific work, an EA's authority is identical to a CPA's.

Are you authorized to prepare returns in my state?

Yes. Federal returns are filed through our IRS authorization, and we are set up to file individual and business returns in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Can you handle multi-state and out-of-state filings?

Yes. Multi-state work is one of the things we see most often. We allocate income correctly, claim resident credits, and handle non-resident filings without leaning on you to figure it out.

What if I get an IRS notice or audit after filing?

Send the notice to us as soon as you receive it. We draft the response, communicate with the IRS on your behalf, and take the conversation off your plate. If we left a document you provided to us off the return, we will fix this for no additional charge in most cases.

Do you work with clients year-round, or only at tax time?

Year-round. April is too late to make most tax decisions, so the value of working with us shows up in the conversations between filing seasons. Quarterly estimates, equity comp timing, S-Corp reasonable compensation, real estate transactions are all things we can help with. Our full-service tax planning clients have access throughout the year, not just at filing time.

The Journal / Equity Compensation

Section 1202 After OBBBA: A Better Deal for Founders and Early Employees

By Ewan Morkel, EAMay 5, 20267 min read

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act rewrote three of Section 1202's most important numbers: the holding period, the per-issuer cap, and the gross-assets test. Here's what the new QSBS math means for founders, early employees, and anyone weighing a C corporation conversion.

The question every founder eventually asks is which bucket the proceeds will land in: ordinary income, capital gains, or, if the planning has been done right, none of the above. The answer, increasingly, runs through Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Qualified Small Business Stock exclusion. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, made §1202 meaningfully better, and the changes are starting to drive real planning decisions in 2026.

Section 1202 has been on the books since 1993, but it became powerful only after 2010, when Congress allowed a full 100% exclusion of gain on qualifying stock held more than five years. For founders and early employees of a domestic C corporation, the exclusion is one of the most lopsided benefits in the code. Up to $10 million of gain per issuer, or 10 times the holder's adjusted basis, whichever is greater, completely free of federal tax. No 20% capital gains rate. No 3.8% net investment income tax. Zero, on potentially the largest single financial event of a person's life.

What changed

OBBBA rewrote three numbers.

The first change is the holding period. For stock acquired after July 4, 2025, §1202(a) now provides a tiered exclusion. Gain on stock held three years gets a 50% exclusion. Four years, 75%. Five years or more, 100%. The five-year rule didn't go away. It's still where the full benefit lives. But for stock issued under the new regime, an early exit no longer means losing the entire benefit. A founder pushed into a sale at year three by an acquirer can exclude half the gain, with the included portion taxed at the §1(h) 28% rate rather than as ordinary income.

The second change is the per-issuer cap. §1202(b)(1) used to limit the exclusion to the greater of $10 million or 10 times basis, per issuer, per taxpayer. OBBBA raised the dollar cap to $15 million for stock acquired after July 4, 2025, and indexed it for inflation beginning in 2027. The 10-times-basis alternative survives unchanged, and it remains the more powerful path for founders who paid real money for their shares.

The third change is the gross-assets test. §1202(d) requires that the issuing corporation's aggregate gross assets stay at or below a stated ceiling at and immediately after the time the stock is issued. OBBBA raised that ceiling from $50 million to $75 million for stock issued after July 4, 2025, also indexed beginning in 2027. The practical effect is that companies whose balance sheet pushes past the old line, but stays under $75 million, can keep issuing QSBS-eligible shares to later-stage investors and new hires who would have been locked out under prior law.

What didn't change

The qualifying rules are the same.

The issuer must be a domestic C corporation. The stock must be acquired at original issue, directly from the company, in exchange for cash, property, or services. At least 80% of the corporation's assets, by value, must be used in an active trade or business throughout substantially all of the holder's holding period. Service businesses in health, law, accounting, consulting, financial services, brokerage, performing arts, and athletics are excluded under §1202(e)(3). Hotels, motels, restaurants, and farming are out. Software, biotech, hardware, and most operating businesses are in.

Two planning angles

Rollovers and stacking.

The first is the §1045 rollover. If you sell QSBS before the holding period clears, you can defer the gain by reinvesting the proceeds into replacement QSBS within 60 days. The original holding period tacks. With OBBBA's tiered exclusion, this matters less than it used to, because a three-year holder isn't fully shut out anymore. It's still the right tool when the partial exclusion isn't enough.

The second is per-issuer cap stacking. The exclusion is per taxpayer, per issuer. Gifting QSBS to a non-grantor trust, or to a spouse who later files separately, can multiply the cap across more than one taxpayer. The IRS has noticed, and the structures need to be in place well before any liquidity event. Stacking that's papered the week before a sale doesn't survive scrutiny.

The transition rule

Old stock, old rules.

For founders sitting on stock acquired before July 5, 2025, none of this applies. Those shares stay under the prior $10 million, $50 million, five-year framework. For founders incorporating now, employees joining a C corp this year, or LLCs considering a C corp conversion before the next round, the new rules are the ones that will govern the eventual exit. The math has changed, and so has the timing of the conversations worth having.