HARMAN CPA LLC

What to expect when working with Harman CPA LLC?

• Peace of mind.  Taxes can be stressful if you try and prepare your returns yourself.  You are going to be asked questions that may or may not apply to you.  If you make a mistake, the IRS and the state can come back and assess penalties and interest over the next three years and create a lot of stress for you.  You don't need that kind of stress.  Spend your time doing what you enjoy and have a professional who is an experienced CPA take care of your taxes for you.  If you were being sued, would you try writing the legal documents and motions yourself?  Why would you try to do your taxes yourself?

To further provide peace of mind to our clients, we accept multiple forms of payments including having your fees taken out of your federal refund.  We also offer Protection Plus audit and notice resolution and identity theft protection as an add-on benefit free-of-charge to our clients.  Click on the link above to learn more information about Protection Plus.  

• Knowledgeable service.  Todd has being preparing tax returns for friends, family and clients for over 25 years.  At age 16 (a sophomore in high school), he prepared his first personal tax return.  His parents tried to convince him to use "their guy" but he insisted on doing it himself.  He went to the post office and got every form and instruction booklet they had.  He went home, read them, and prepared his first federal and state Form 1040.  Six weeks later, a check came in the mail from the Department of the Treasury and from the Iowa Department of Revenue for the exact refund amount he had on those tax returns and he was HOOKED.  

Fast forward to the present day, Todd has been a licensed CPA since 2011.  For education, he has an undergraduate degree majoring in accounting and two graduate degrees majoring in business administration and finance.  Throughout his career, he has been an accountant and a financial analyst for a health care organization, an internal auditor for a Fortune 500 financial services company, an external auditor for governmental and not-for-profit clients, an external auditor for PwC, one of the "Big 4" public accounting firms, and most recently a Director of Finance for two different cities and a state agency. 

But yet, his inter-geek still comes out on tax preparation.  As his wife says, it's the "thrill of the kill" involved in putting everything together and ensuring his clients are paying everything that are legally obliged to pay but not one penny more.  Composers compose.  Painters paint.  For Todd, a masterpiece is a finely put together tax return that was accepted by the IRS and taxing authorities.      

• Convenient service.  You can have your tax returns prepared by the knowledgeable, licensed CPA without ever leaving your home or office.  We offer a straightforward Client Information Form when you can tell us about your tax situation.  Todd will call and discuss your tax situation with you, ask any questions he may have, answer any questions you may have for him, and then prepare your tax returns.  When the returns are done, he will call and discuss the end results, your refund or the amount due, and once again answer any questions you may have.  Remember, our overall goal is convenience and peace-of-mind to the clients.

• Accurate service.  Your tax returns will be prepared accurately by an experience licensed CPA using cloud-based professional tax preparation software solution designed by Intuit, a leading name in the tax preparation industry.  Once your returns are prepared and clear all computer system accuracy checks, you'll have a CPA do a final review of your returns just to make sure everything looks right.  As you've probably noticed the firm logo at the top of this page says "Certified Public Accountant" and not accountants.  That means the only person who with be preparing your tax return is Todd himself and he does this to ensure accuracy.  

• Straightforward service.  Everything about our service is straightforward.  We charge by the form prepared and not by the hour.  The pricing for everything that we do is posted in the link above.  We tell you what you can expect and then we deliver on what we commit to.  

How Our Tax Preparation Process Works?

1.   Review the Price List linked above and make sure you are comfortable with our fees.  Harman CPA LLC is not the "cheapest" option.  If you are looking for "cheap", you will probably be best off by not using us.  We provide a fair service and peace-of-mind to the client, not the "cheapest option" available.  The fees paid by the majority of our clients last year ranged between $200 and $500 for federal and state returns depending on their tax situation.     

2. Review the Engagement Letter and make sure you are comfortable with what our responsibilities will be, what your responsibilities will be, and other terms and conditions.  We require signed engagement letters by both the taxpayers and the spouse (if applicable) before we begin the return.  See the Engagement Letter form linked above.  

3. If you agree with our fees and sign our engagement letter at the link above, please complete the Client Information Form.  This is a secure form encrypted to HIPPA level security standards and online credit card processing security standards to keep you information safe.  Click on what applies to you and upload whatever tax documents you have.  While going through the form, there are comment boxes available for almost every option.  If you have questions, please put them in the comment boxes and you can discuss them when you speak with Todd to review your submission.  When you are done with the form, click Submit.

4. A call will be scheduled to discuss submitted items and any questions each of you may have.  Fees are based on the Price List linked above.  You will then make an appointment to discuss the completed tax returns.    

5. Once we receive all the necessary documents and information, Todd will prepare your tax returns.  Our goal is to have all clients meeting done and your tax returns ready to electronically file with 48 hours of receiving all documents.  Last year, we met this goal with 92% of our clients.  

6. We will call you to discuss the final results of your tax return and how much your refund or amount due will be.  Todd will walk you through a summary of your taxes and answer any questions you have.  

7. An invoice will be sent to you for payment.  Returns will not be electronically filed until full payment is made.  We accept debit or credit cards, CashApp, Venmo, Zelle, or you can have your fees taken out of your federal income tax refund.  

8. After payment is made, the tax returns will be sent for electronic signature via DocuSign.  Upon signature, the tax returns will be electronically filed with the IRS and state tax authorities.  If the returns are rejected (extremely rare), you and Todd will work through the rejections.  When the returns are accepted, PDF versions of the tax returns will be sent to you for your files and you are officially done until tax time next year.