Doris Forman has been the only CPA our small business has used for many years. She is always conscientious, informative, helpful, understanding of our unique needs. She knows her stuff. She takes care of whatever is needed. She deserves the highest recommendation. read more

Doris Forman, CPA - Accountants Near Me - Emeryville, California

I've been using Doris for 10+ years for some pretty complicated taxes. Domestic Partnership stuff before federal and state were aligned, a combo of art jobs / day jobs with pretty unique challenges, multiple income streams, inheritance issues - we've been through it all - and always she is super responsive, unflappable, and amazing at making sure we get the most back on our taxes. HIGHLY recommend. read more

Doris offers her many years of experience and depth of knowledge at a reasonable price. She's helpful throughout the year in answering my random questions and is always prompt with her reply. read more

Doris is my hero. Just the most caring, knowledgable, personable person about your issues that you can find. I'm very happy to have found her. read more

I purchased my first new home in April 2010; I wanted to make sure all fronts were handled correctly and that I was advised of all the details I would not otherwise know to look. I was referred to Doris by my loan agent to specifically assist me with the home credits (at the time there was the state credit and the larger 10k fed credit). Several months before my purchase, I met with Doris. Becouse she was referred to me, I made a point to look past her lack of customer service and cluttered/unorganized office becouse honestly this makes no difference to me as long as she does the job I pay her for. But she did not. I paid her her fee and asked her to let me know any/all details for these credits to assure that I do everything that I can to be sure I recieve both the state and federal credit. I recieved the state credit just fine but the Federal 10k credit was denied due to key information that she did not give me regarding the process. The 10k credit was denied for the sole reason that there was a deadline that they need to recieve the form before 14 days after the close of escrow. Doris was advised of when my purchase had closed and in our several prior communications regarding the credits; she never mentioned the 14 day requirement. I happened to go to her office 19 days after escrow (not knowing of any time requirements), and she sent off my fax requests for the credits. When I asked her after I recieved the denial notice for the credit due to the form being sent 5 days late and why she did not let me know of the time requirement- she said she was aware of the 14 days and made no comment on why she didn't share this information with me at any point in the past year that I have been talking to her. Needless to say I am very frustrated with her handling of what I hired her for and I will not be using her services again. read more

I had worked with Doris for I think at least 5 years. Last year, I emailed her with a simple, clearly worded question about long term cap gains tax prior to selling stock. Her answer was factually incorrect, which led to an unexpected and avoidable $12k increase in my 2019 tax bill. Everyone makes mistakes and I would have looked past that if she had acted professionally once I brought it to her attention, but she failed to do that. Just a one sentence answer amounting essentially to a shrug at a long time client. So I've lost all confidence in her integrity and competence and switched to someone else. read more

Oh man.. its this time again? Sheeze, can't they get rid of this waste of time called paying taxes? Of course not. Tax is a way of life, and if you are a stuffed lion, you may know your taxidermist quite well. Doris Forman is no taxidermist, but she is fantastic at taxes. Able to fill out those blank spaces that seem to get us mortals audited, you can write off that new Mercedes Benz, mountain bike or your "business trip" to a sunny beach resort in Aruba! Collect all your receipts, drop them into a shoe box and basically eye ball your income and presto... you're good to go another year. If you make any money other than your flat income at retail stores like CVS, don't waste your money on Turbo Tax or bother filling out forms yourself; you'll end up getting audited. read more

This was my first visit to a tax accountant. My partner and I bought a house last year, a first for both of us, so we were anxious about doing our taxes ourselves. My partner had used H&R in the past, but I had heard reports that more complicated taxes don't always come out well through them. I was more comfortable with a CPA. Especially with the added confusion of DP status. When we first arrived at her office there was a lot of papers on her desk , that didn't appear organized to us (as a previous reviewer stated). However, as she asked us questions she pulled papers and books out for reference, seeming to know where everything she needed was located. She asked us questions I never would have thought of, to find more write-offs. She had already prepped us on the phone, so we had most of the needed documents with us, but she was very open (with extended hours during tax season) to us dropping items off as needed. She had a great sense of humor that set us more at ease the more we spoke with her. She completed our taxes within two weeks of us getting her the final documents. And her fee was not much more than my friend spent at H&R . I look forward to using her again next year! read more

Doris is a tax goddess. Both my husband and I are self-employed. I get all of our financial info together, and she somehow makes heads or tales out of it. She has answered every question we have ever had. We filed for an extension this year. We dropped our taxes off last Wednesday, and she called me yesterday (Monday) to tell us they were done. Her fees are so reasonable, especially since I trust her, and know my taxes are being done properly. She is worth so much more than she charges. If you want a CPA who knows the "ins and outs" of anything taxes, she is your woman! If I could give her more than 5 stars I would! read more

Doris was great. I had some tax issues, let's just say. I'm an independent contractor, and have had a hard time finding someone that really knows what they're doing when it comes to deductions and quarterly estimated payments. She took the time to explain everything to me, and when she had completed everything, she included envelopes already addressed to the proper IRS places. She cost me a lot less than H&R block, and did a much better job, finding additional deductions I didn't know about, and explaining all my options to me. I hope to return to Doris in the spring, and for as long as I'm living in the area. I've been in CA for 6 years and she's the best I've found. Yeah, her office is a little messy. But guess what? So is mine! Who cares? read more

Doris Forman has filed my taxes for 3 or 4 years. I am a small business owner, and my taxes are bit complicated. She was recommended to me by another small-business person, and I am very satisfied with her work. Doris has helped me save money on my taxes by exploring various business expenses options. She is clearly knowledgable and experienced, and she cares about her clients. She is hard-working, and in VERY high demand, so I try to have my tax prep work done by the end of February, so that she can squeeze me in. Speaking of which - look at the time! Gotta go... read more

My 1st year going to Doris to get my taxes done. I work a regular full time job and a small part time gig as well (most of the work I do from home). Doris had my current taxes completed and filed within 2 weeks of our first appointment. She also helped me correct my taxes from last year and helped me reduce some fees cause of errors I made. She has advised me on setting up a retirement plan and helped me understand the process of how to manage my money better now that I am considering buying a house. Doris explained that it takes a certain amount of time for CPA's every year to "learn" the new tax laws. She puts in extra time so that she can be of the best service to her clients. She is very matter-of-fact; despite the piles of paper, she knows where everything is and is very efficient about getting paperwork done, signed, and filed. She is GREAT at what she does. read more

This woman is the rudest person I have ever encountered. She literally SLAMMED the door in an elderly's customer's face. After all but throwing his paperwork at him. Completely unprofessional and disrespectful towards the elderly and should have her license revoked. Never again. read more

I've been dealing with the IRS for my business for some time now and finally decided to search a CPA in my neighborhood. As luck would have it, Doris was just a block away! I called her office and she was able to see me right away. I ended up have a consultation with her for about an hour as she went through my income tax examination reports. She sited a few items on the report that I would be able to come back to the IRS and dispute. So I called up the IRS and explained and they said it was a mistake on their part! Admitting to their mistake is BIG people! I couldn't believe it! So to make a long story short, Doris was a big help in reducing my amount owed to the IRS with just an hour of consultation! Thank you Doris, I will definitely be back next year with my taxes! read more

very bad with numbers. customer service is zero. very rude !!! I don't recommend !!!! read more

Doris is generous with her time and very knowledgeable. However, as a new small business owner, I did not understand a lot of tax stuff and while with Doris made many many tax related mistakes and am still getting out of the complicated and expensive Jam now with another tax person who explained everything to me. i wished I had a better review to write as she is a nice person who helps her neighbors and tried to help me. I guess I needed someone who would anticipate the common errors of a new business owner and be clear about who to write checks to and with which vouchers and all that. ;-) read more

Nice person, but office clutter is frightening. She was too scatterbrained to assist my simple tax needs. Wasted my time and money.

Doris and her office were great to work with. She responds almost immediately and works long hours to accommodate you. I also appreciated her low fee. Not the place to go if you need detailed guidelines but great to be able to drop off your info and let her take care of you. read more

We've used Doris Forman for the past 2 years...She's great. We own a company and she's helped out a lot...she came over to my office and we went thru my quick books...and she's given lots of advice...Love her, Love her. read more

Wow, I cannot believe how RUDE this woman is. As a small business owner, you would think she could find a way to communicate more respectfully with clients. We will be taking our business elsewhere. read more

Doris is really great. I totally agree with the other reviewer, Lisa f. As small business owners, Doris has helped my wife and I for many years and we totally trust her, her fees are reasonable, and taxes are being done properly. I highly recommend her! Our extended family have also used her services for many years and she has always been fantastic to work with. I highly recommend Doris! You would be lucky to have her services. read more

Can add and subtract well enough but is very scattered and her office is a mess. When you call, she rushes you off the phone. I'll look elsewhere. read more

First time we went to her was fine. Second and third times--mistakes that cost us. Second time, our basic information was not recorded correctly AND she missed a major refund for us. It took us many weeks to get the correct amount back. Gave her a second chance, and the third time (third tax year), there was another mistake on our taxes that cost us money. If you have a straightforward return, I would suggest doing it yourself. I could have messed mine up for free instead of paying $150 for it. read more

Doris has been doing my taxes for years and I highly recommend her! Don't be put off by her usually messy office..... she has always saved me money and her fees are really low. Last year I was out of the country and unable to file a tax extension. When I arrived back I was sweating a little that my taxes would be late, but when I contacted Doris she informed me she had already filed the extension because she hadn't heard from me. That's what I need...someone backing me up:) read more