Jacques Financial

I recently moved from California to Maryland and being new to the area used Angie’s List to find an accountant. So delighted that JACQUES FINANCIAL was offering a promotion. Joe is as personable as he is professional. He listened to my singular issues that needed extra attention and took care of everything to the letter. His staff, Margaret is as helpful and efficient as she is delightful and when I didn’t understand my completed returns, Jeremy came out immediately to offer me a detailed explanation. All his staff are as accommodating and proficient as Joe and went out of their way to help me complete all the forms, which were sent out electronically. I will be sure to use JACQUES FINANCIAL and his team again next year and highly recommend anyone to use their services.

The firm is professional, they get your taxes done quickly and accurately. When I have received all my forms and completed their questionnaire I drop my information off (they also send you a mailing envelope) and within a week or so I get an e-​mail telling me they’re done and we just need to sign the returns. They e-​file and if you give them your bank information your refund (hopefully you haven’t underpaid your taxes!) will be automatically deposited into your account. Your tax information is returned to you in a neat folder for your records. Highly recommend them.

Over the years I have either done my taxes or utilized a relative that was an accountant for most of her career. Our returns are not complicated, but they do involve schedule C and schedule A along with a few other minor items. Since this was the first year that I was looking for a true outside accountant I cast the net far and wide and got a large array of options ranging from $ 160 to $ 750 to do my taxes. The issue with most of the quotes I received was that they were quoted by the hour with no clear answer of how many hours it would take to finish the task (the guesstimate was 3 – 4 hours). In speaking and meeting with Joe and his staff, not only were they personable but their pricing is a fixed price per form. So for $ 425, all the basic tax forms were covered (1040, Schedule A, state) and then for an extra $ 75 he completed the required Schedule C. (As a plus, he took $ 100 off of the overall bill for being an Angie’s List referral)
Joe took one hour for an initial meeting where he gathered information and provided me with «homework» (aka. items I had forgotten). He also took the time to explain why in my case it made sense to utilize an accountant rather than having a DIY project (I’m under the impression that he has told others that they could do their taxes on their own). Once I got back to him with the additional information, he turn around my tax returns in a few days. Not only that, but after tax season is over, he will look at prior year returns to see if any of them could be advantaged by a refiling. Finally, he will meet with us without any additional charge to discuss tax planning/​prep for 2011.
For my first time, it was a good and smooth experience and I would definitely recommend him to anyone that is looking for help with tax prep.