I have taken assistance from checkmate for several years until I got married and tried to do joint tax file. Me and my husband turned in our papers around Feb 2022. I received no indication from Them about high tax due until April 8th. By that time it's too late and after asking several questions about the file, they treated us very poorly. During this time tax preparer kept using my office email address that I told her not to use. As a client we want to understand the process of entries and line items. But they didn't do good job to look at their entries. They were adamant about their entries and won't double check their mistakes. We ended up going to a local place and we ended up getting refunds and turned out checkmate was doing the paperwork incorrectly . I suggest please don't take their service. I regret going to them when I was single. read more

I used Checkmate, working with Dennis Roberts, for many years. I am a freelancer with moderately complicated returns. Dennis helped me set up systems for tracking and keeping records to make the process as fast and efficient as possible every year. The folks at Checkmate were always helpful and responded quickly anytime I needed assistance or information. I came to actually look forward to sitting down with Dennis every year to file. Great guy, great company. read more

I just got an email from the IRS saying that they OWE me $2,500 from 2018. Seems Dennis failed to list me as Head of Household. The IRS shouldn't find more deductions than the person I am paying to do my taxes. I had caught a few smaller errors before we filed but I guess I missed the most obvious. I had already moved on to HR Block, but getting that letter from the IRS made me feel like I needed to warn others. read more

Dennis at Checkmate Tax Services is a lifesaver. He took the frustration and angst out of filing my taxes, and has continued to provide insight and information that allows me to make the best choices and avoid overpaying or making mistakes. read more

The staff of checkmate were both knowledgeable and thorough and helped me with complicated communications and I was happy with the refund ! so all in all I'm giving them five stars and boy I'm glad my Taxes are done! read more

I discovered CheckMate Tax Service a few years ago, when I got a letter from the IRS saying I owed them $12,000.00. AAAK! I went to Dennis Roberts at CheckMate for help, and it took him about two seconds to realize that this was just a paperwork error, and to tell me how to fix it. What a relief! And he didn't even charge me for the help. I've had Dennis do my taxes since then, and have been really happy with the service. I don't think it's very expensive, and it's definitely worth it. They're located in a no-frills office above the Gray Panthers, pretty much in the parking lot of the Andronico's on University Ave--buzz downstairs to be let in. read more

I cannot recommend this firm. I have tried, on 3 separate occasions, to make an appointment to do my taxes. Each time I called, Dennis Roberts answers the telephone but he cannot make appointments without the appointment maker/receptionist so I get put off to call again when the appointment scheduler is available. It seems the appointment maker has ultimate control over making appointments that Dennis cannot function independently to make appointments when the person is away. He leads me to believe he cannot multi-task and is too busy answering the telephone to take on new clients. I cannot recommend this firm if they do not have reliable help and are not receptive to new clients. read more

Whenever it's over my head, Dennis and Sharon are set the standards by which I reckon the ship. Been going here as needed since 1996 at least! read more

Dennis does a great job with personal taxes but sent my business taxes, when I formed an LLC, to a colleague who specializes in those. That led to some confusion, especially after the colleague lost my tax records with all the original documents. My taxes aren't really very complicated but dealing with two tax preparers, lost files, etc., made it difficult. read more

I have been going to this company for about 15 years and have been somewhat satisfied with my services. There have been many mistakes made on my taxes over the years and last year was the final straw. Dennis services are very expensive if ur tax filing is not that complicated and ur not overly aggressive about returns. This is how they roll and when then made a major mistake on my taxes last year, instead of acknowledging fault I was blamed. I DO NOT RECOMMEND CHECKMATE... read more

Dennis and his crew are responsive and always there when I call. Whenever I call I get to talk to the person who is doing my actual return. They've never made any major mistakes, and have gotten us money back. He is totally non-judgmental and patient if I am late, or my receipts are a mess. He's also affordable. I'd recommend Checkmate without hesitation. read more

Dennis is still the best. I currently live in Princeton, NJ. So he has done my taxes while I lived in Berkeley, LA, Providence, and now Princeton. He helped me through the taxes for two home sales, my rental properties, and my research travels as an academic. I feel very fortunate to have found him through Berkeley Parent Network. He has been doing my taxes for more than ten years now. He just knows how the process works, what to deduct, the limits of deduction, etc. I more than highly recommend him. read more

Terrible experience. I was told to just do it myself. I didn't feel listened to or supported. I was also told that I was being paid wrongly as an independent contractor and that I should do everything I could to come up wth some deductions, which I do not have. I've been a Massage Therapist for 7 years and I've work at multiple places as an independent contractor. It is common practice to be paid this way. He insisted that I was wrong. I found the interaction very insulting and uncomfortable. Definitely would not recommend this place. read more

We worked with Dennis on our taxes for the first time this year. Although our tax situation is not complicated (we really don't own anything) it's my first time filing as an independent contractor and an initial run through Turbo Tax showed that we owed over 6K! Dennis helped us find deductions and gave guidance for investment decisions that saved us a lot of money and resulted in a net refund! Dennis and his staff were so friendly, responsive, professional, fairly priced and fast. We will definitely be working with him from now on. read more

I can't recommend Dennis highly enough. He did my taxes for several years, but I have been on disability for the last couple of years, so I haven't needed to file. However, he has been extremely helpful even now, when I haven't been a paying client. I am hoping that I will be working again soon and he can be my accountant once again. read more

I have used this tax service for some years (over 12) now, and I pleased at the quality of the service offered by Dennis the owner. Very knowledgeable about taxes and current laws and makes sure you receive every benefit that you are be entitled to. I would recommend Checkmate to anyone who needs responsible help with tax filing...this is definitely not one of the tax mills that are prevalent in the tax preparation industry. read more

Dennis is amazingly patient and kind. He and his staff are so helpful and take the time to explain everything. We are lucky to have found this team! read more

I have been a client of Checkmate and Dennis Roberts for over 20 years now. He has helped me through several scary IRS battles and has always done a flawless (and relatively inexpensive), speedy, and very professional job on my taxes. I have recommended him to friends (including one who became my wife - and she still loves me, best recommendation ever!) who have had serious issues and he successfully helped all of them, too. Morever, he is consistently kind, patient, and willing to help even if it is a problem he does not get paid for. His staff is also helpful to boot. In short, I cannot recommend Checkmate highly enough - five stars is too low. Use them; it will be one of your best decisions. read more

Oh Lordy, this was the worst accounting person I have ever done business with. A lot of people in my profession hire him, he mentioned. Great. The good news was - not only did I not owe any taxes, but I was due a huge tax refund! Awesome, right? Wrong! Well, I didn't realize until it was too late that this man can not read a simple profit and loss statement. A few random things that were in the expense column he calculated as income. A few random things in the income column were counted as expenses. The whole thing was a big MESS. But it was too late. Everything had been sent electronically to the IRS. Now I was susceptible for an audit since my taxes were suddenly completely different than anything in prior years for the past two decades. (Usually I do my taxes myself, but because of a divorce, there was a complicated part that TurboTax couldn't do - hence my seeking the services of someone with a more sophisticated program.) I tried to explain to him how a Profit and Loss statement works. "Everything in the RED column is an EXPENSE. Everything in the BLUE column is INCOME. Does that makes sense?" He stared at it for a minute, then looked at me and said: "No." I swear, the man has the education of a third grader. Sorry, but this was unbelievable. I sat with him for half an hour feeding him the correct numbers to enter into his program. He did it gladly. But I did all the work. And he did NOT give me any refund from the $350 I'd paid him to do my taxes. By the way, I had my work double-checked by a friend who does taxes for people (she was in complete dismay at how badly he messed everything up!). The only reason I can think of for why he'd get such great reviews is because he mixes up the numbers so you'll get a great tax refund! Ha! I don't know .. but I would never go back. I'm still sorting out this mess with IRS. If you have the most basic of tax returns, he's probably fine. read more

I went to Dennis Roberts at Checkmate Tax Service after seeing all his stellar reviews. He is AMAZING! I had questions about the tax service I received from a 'chain' tax service (shall remain unnamed), and unbelievably, Dennis offered to look at my already completed return for free!! I would have paid him, but he said he looked upon it as 'asking a question.' He is extremely nice, thorough, and down to earth. I will DEFINITELY be going back to him with my tax questions. I can't recommend him highly enough - If there were more than 5 stars, I'd award those to him! read more

Dennis did my 2008 taxes and redid my 2007 taxes much more quickly and less expensively than the CPA I used previously. He impresses me as very knowledgable, efficient and honest. He is doing my taxes for 2009 as well. read more