Dunham Associates, CPAs

If I could give 0 stars, I would. Frankly, if I could give –10 stars, I would.
We moved to the States in 2012. We needed an accountant with international taxation specialization as well as the ability to ‘hold our hands’ while learning the complicated tax system to avoid any financial disasters. Sadly, our accountant at Dunham & Associates failed miserably. In the three years that we were his clients (we moved firms this week) he has made numerous mistakes, missed some errors in employer paperwork two years in a row including that they’d been withholding state tax without our permission or knowledge consequently costing us 50% of a house downpayment in penalties, interest and taxes due. He also reported non-​existent, ‘guesstimated’ income from our home country as a shortcut which added to said pressure on us.
At no point did our accountant apologize to us. At no point did he even seem conscious of his errors or the impact they were having on us. At no point did he take responsibility for his actions and failings.
As one final nail in the coffin, our accountant decided to email us today, 8^th of October, to ask us if we wanted him to file our return. After filing extensions without bothering to notify us (and missing important details whilst doing so) it is hilarious that he waits until the eleventh hour to bother asking what we need from him. Thankfully, our wonderful new accountant had already filed 2014 for us AND pinpointed costly mistakes in 2013 that he’s now refiling so that we can make up ground.
It appears that we are not the only ones who have ended up ‘on the hook’ as a result of Dunham and Associates’ sheer incompetence. I could go into much more detail about this appalling saga, but I will spare you. Needless to say, we would suggest you go *anywhere* other than Dunham & Associates.
Seriously. 0 stars. Stay away.

I’ve been shopping around for a tax service as it is that time of year. The girl who answered the phone said that tax preparation starts at $ 400 – 600. That’s not even including my 1099 form (I’m assuming). I’m glad I called because that could’ve easily wiped most of my return.

Rick has been my CPA for 14 years now and has always done an incredible job. For both personal and business. He is an incredible accountant with an incredible staff. I highly recommend his firm.

As a further caveat to others considering this firm, following up on Unilocal to note that because of Dunham’s accounting errors on not one, but two years of our state and federal returns, we are now responsible for a significant amount of penalties and interest on top of taxes due that should have been included by Dunham on our original returns but weren’t. Independent review by two separate accountancy firms have subsequently confirmed that the errors were with Dunham, not with the information we provided to him.
Because Dunham has refused to cooperate, acknowledge his mistakes and/​or help rectify them, we are on the hook for penalties and interest for two years with the state and the feds. Doing our best to negotiate with both agencies to reduce or eliminate them because of «preparer error». Remains to be seen what transpires.
Thus, this cautionary tale. All that glitters… don’t assume… buyer beware!

I have been working with Jon Mills for several years and are very pleased with his work. He is pro-​active and makes the filing progress transparent. He was also able to handle complex international tax issues.

If you have a complicated tax return you want to avoid the big national companies like HR Block or do-​it-​yourself tax software because they always take the safe road with write-​offs. Private CPAs will be more aggressive. Dunham Associates have been doing my returns for several years now and they do a great job.
I had an initial consultation with Rick Dunham where he went over what I needed. He asked some questions and was very thorough and professional and answered any questions that I had. My returns have been prepared by Mike Park and I’ve never had any issues with any of them. I’ve both called and emailed Mike with questions and he’s always responded back in a timely manner. All of my returns have been completed quickly, granted they aren’t too complex.
Front office staff is friendly and courteous, and fee breakdown on your return is clear. Tax returns have been pain and stress free for years, I would recommend Dunham Associates to anyone.

I called Dunham based on several good reviews on Unilocal.With multiple businesses we knew that we needed professional help.
Jon Mills called me back and talked to me for quite a while about the existing business and the new business and our CPA needs and expectations. We decided to meet with him, he asked me to send him some of the documents that I had some questions about. He was flexible and was well prepared for the appointment. I found him to be a great communicator, and responsive to questions and concerns we had.
We decided to hire him for all of our tax needs. We look forward to working with Jon for filling this years taxes.
I highly recommend Jon for your tax needs.

I met with Michael after finding Dunham & Assoc. here on Unilocal.I had some back personal taxes and an LLC to set up. Michael was quick, friendly, and handled all of my (complicated) tax matters without me having to get my hands dirty. It even turned out better than I expected with the IRS. I will be using Michael for all my business and personal taxes from now on.

For the past 10 years I’ve done my own taxes and I’ve always been a little bit skeptical about hiring a CPA to do them.
Well, this year they finally got complicated to the point where I began to wonder if I was doing them correctly, so I decided to bite the bullet and get an accountant.
I worked with Michael Park at Dunham CPAs and couldn’t be happier with the experience. He was very fast, professional, took the time to explain everything to me and a pleasure to work with. Not only that, he also managed to save me $ 1500 on my taxes this year compared to what I had calculated myself using TurboTax.
I whole heartedly recommend Michael as an accountant and will be using him from here on out.

I started my business (an LLC) a little over 1yr ago. Jon Mills helped me with my taxes, and even helped me get my books together. He is fantastic to work with and really helped me understand things clearly. Thanks Jon!

I’ve been having my taxes prepared by Rick Dunham for years and I couldn’t be happier. He has helped me open a business, sell a business and start another business. In my latest venture I have been working with both Mike Park and Ryan Nunnally. They are great and they keep me on track. I’ve recommended at least 10 friends to this firm and from what I know they are all pleased with the service, too.

I was very satisfied with my consultation with Rick Dunham. If I had more than one visit to judge by, I would probably give five stars. I am being conservative just because we are talking about our financial lives here.
I had questions about taxes, home buying, investments, and a variety of worries all of which were addressed before I left. Rick made sure that he was not skipping anything, but also made sure to stay on track and not fluff out the visit, which you would later have to pay for.
I mentioned to Rick that I would be getting a second opinion form anotehr accountant. He took no offense and said he encourages it — that made me happy.
In summary, I would say: knowledgeable, modern, professional, down to earth, and I will definitely go back when/​if I need to.

I was very impressed with the professionalism of Dunham Associates. Mike Park spent 2 hours talking to me about tax issues and my 2006 return. I was impressed by his level of knowledge, enthusiasm, and his positive attitude — all things you generally DO NOT receive at H&R Block or a firm that uses a non-​CPA tax specialist.
I want a professional who is looking out for me and minimizing my exposure to an audit. Therefore, I don’t mind paying a professional for advice. Don’t get wrapped up in the fees folks… the misery and unforeseen costs of an audit outweigh the benefit of a cheap tax return today. Frankly, I think $ 1,000 would be a bargain for the attention I received from Mike Park and the staff at Dunham.

Rick’s been my CPA for 7 years and I highly recommend him. He is truely a trusted advisor to me for anything relating to taxes and business. Sure the cost is higher than your H&R Block folks… that is because he is all about watching your best interests and not about working during the tax season for some extra pocket money.

Rick has done my taxes for 4+ years now and is a total pro. Straight no-​nonsense advice and a top notch staff. Even though my situation is pretty straightforward, the peace of mind and advice I receive is worth every penny.

Mike Park did my taxes. He was nice and helpful and found some deductions I didn’t know that I qualified for. The total price was $ 350, and I don’t think my taxes were exceptionally complicated: single, with (very) small business, some stock trades, and no house (read: not itemized). That seems pricey to me, about three times what my CPA in Omaha cost. Apparently that cost includes impromptu advice througout the year, so maybe it will be worth it.
There were a few things that were less than desirable:
— When helping me decide whether to turn my borderline hobby into a business, Mike didn’t inform me that I would have to pay business taxes to the city of San Jose to do so (found out in passing from a conversation with a friend).
— I wasn’t contacted when my taxes were ready. After waiting three weeks, I finally contacted them and found out they were in fact ready.

Rick used to do my taxes, and as far as value for money goes, he is great. He also did the taxes of a whole bunch of PayPal people.

Rick Dunham does my taxes. I’ve used him for 3 years and never had a problem.