Getting frustrated with Horizon CPA. They've been doing our taxes for years, however questions we ask between annual preparations go unanswered and not acknowledged. We've moved to an app/online portal which is really convenient and mostly works well. But I am frustrated by lack of professionalism from an assistant when I called to ask my unanswered question from the portal. I understand that it's probably a stressful time being a week before the April 15 deadline; but this is just another instance confirming my growing frustration. For the amount we pay for our taxes to be completed I expect a certain level of professionalism. Will be researching other firms for next year, something I've thought I needed to do; but now motivated to do so. read more

I have been a client for over a decade. Brad and his associates are top notch CPA's. I highly recommend them! read more

My father, now deceased, used this firm for years. Because of the long history and familiarity I continued to use them and was very satisfied. The accountant that had handed the return passed away last year. I asked to continue the relationship and was assigned a new accountant who was professional and responsive. Imagine my surprise when a bill arrived with the return that was more than twice the prior year, with no change in income, assets or work. I should have asked ahead of time but after decades of good service at reasonable cost I assumed the same cost or a modest increase. I asked for some consideration given the history and circumstances and was told they had a minimum for trust work regardless of size. 325 to 750 for the same work, look before you leap, and assume nothing with these guys. read more

I recently received a letter from the IRS stating that I owed $7876 due three weeks from notice. I use tax-preparation software, such as Liberty, TurboTax, HRBlock, and Tax Slayer. Obviously, I need to educate myself. I am not a wealthy person, but my taxes are a bit complicated due to my investments. The IRS received an earnings statement from my investment brokerage stating that I made $25,000 in capital gains for the sale of some stocks. I do not perform any transactions other than send my broker a check every month. I just knew that I didn't notice any extra $25k in my pocket or in my portfolio. I called the IRS. After about thirty minutes, I actually spoke to a being. I won't say she was human, because I'm not sure. I explained the situation, and her response was, "Oh, it's probably nothing." I pressed her on it. She said she couldn't help me discern the audit but assured me that this happens all the time and it might even be that the IRS owes ME that much. The only thing I was able to do was get her to extend the deadline by another month, as I was going to be traveling most of April and May. Next I went to the IRS office. I pulled number 910. The monitor indicated they were on 507! When the called the number 510, no one answered, so I accidentally pretended to hear "910" and went to the cubicle of the next available agent. Her goal was to get me out of her space. I countered with a not-so-subtle "I'm"m not leaving til I get some answers." I sat down, showed her my letter, my return, and my 1099. She looked at it for two minutes then proclaimed: "I'm not the one who wrote this letter. I don't know why the sent it." I asked for the manager. The manager looked over my paperwork and was finally able to offer advice: "Your brokerage did not send the cost basis of these stocks, they only sent the proceeds." She helped me discern the 1099-D, which I neglected to fill out when preparing my taxes. My fault, I guess...except that it's never been required before. I would need to fill out several forms proving the cost basis of these stocks, which I did, and determined that I paid $24,300 for said stocks, meaning I had $700 of capital gains that I did not report on my taxes. She gave the necessary form to fill out. When I got it home, it became evident that in order to fill it out, I would need to fill out three other forms, all from the year 2010. I finally located these forms on the IRS website, which I give a big ZERO for usability, by the way. I could make no sense of these forms. Written in 4 pt. font and written in legalese, I was feeling very stupid. I made an appointment with Brian Ford of Horizons CPA. I do have a problem with the fact that we have to pay someone to do our taxes. I believe our tax code is purposely convoluted so that people like me, who have a nest egg and some cushion, but not enough for nifty lawyers of the likes of Romney and Gingrich. Yes, they were coming after someone like me so that the ultra rich can continue not paying taxes. Brian put me at ease right a way. he was down to earth and warm and it seemed like he cared about my stress. I explained that I just filled out my 2011 taxes and similarly did not report the capital gains on that return either. He spent a while explaining how tax laws change every year and that accountants themselves do not bother reviewing the changes until after the first of the following year because they change constantly. He gravely added that things are about to get a lot worse. Over the next couple of weeks, Brian was in consistent communication with me, writing or calling anytime he needed clarification. He even found other mistakes on my return. He also explained that he would also do the state taxes because once the returns re sent to federal, the state is notified, and I would receive another bill. A few weeks later, he called to tell me that my returns were complete. I explained to him my frustration in not being able to do this for myself, and he stated that tax laws are purposely made complicated, and then he proceeded to explain every single line on the return. In the end, I owed $116, as opposed to $8,000, and I also had the invaluable service of peace of mind. For this service--amending and redressing tax returns for two years, I expected to pay several hundred dollars, which I was not exactly pleased about but felt I had no choice. My total bill was $300 for both returns, and he explained that was based on the sheer man hours of entering my info into the database. He added that if they if they'd already had that info, then the bill might have been more along the lines of $175. Yes, it really does infuriate me that I had to pay someone $300 to tell me that I had to pay the IRS $161, but I received excellent service in a situation in which I had absolutely no expertise to argue. read more