I am extremely disappointed with my experience with TaxCounsel. When I first contacted the firm, I was quoted a fee range of $2000-2500. I made it clear that I could not afford anything higher and that I needed to be notified if the work was ever going to exceed that amount. I was never warned of any increase and no clear communication was given as the bill grew. Their hourly rate of $275 per hour was not properly explained to me. My final bill ended up FAR!!! beyond the original estimate and the total was shocking If I had known the real cost or how many hours they would charge for basic communication and corrections, I would have never hired this firm. This experience has caused me significant financial stress and I cannot recommend their services based on what I went through. They did not honour their orginal quote. DO NOT trust these people. awful awful awful. read more

I have been using Tax Ninja for the past 20 years! They are hands down the best in their field. The last couple of years, Jayson Vantuyl has been preparing my taxes. Jayson is by far the most competent, helpful and knowledgeable tax preparer I have ever worked with. Highly recommend! read more

STAY AWAY! Bait-and-switch with watered down "advice" from a junior resource. They charge you $1095 for Matt Whatley to NO-SHOW to a consultation (despite the calendar invite clearly saying the appointment is with him personally). They'll have someone junior (who isn't listed on the "TEAM" page of the website and also hasn't even reviewed your paperwork submitted 5 days earlier) call you and give you generic non-advice. I was referred to Matt Whatley and Tax Ninja by my mentor at a FAANG company. I regret acting upon the referral. I should've taken heed of the fact that all the recent reviews on Yelp are negative when you Sort by Date. This firm preyed on me for $1095 at my weakest when I'd been working through family member death, the estate and inheritance. Don't let Matt Whatley and his firm prey on you. read more

The taxes themselves were both expensive and resulted in the IRS contacting me for missing forms - not the end of the world, but also not confidence-inspiring. This plus some other small issues led us to use a different company for the subsequent taxes, which is when I lost all faith in this company. I tried for a month (emails, calling every day, the works, and no this was not at tax time) to get a simple document from Tax Ninja - a depreciation schedule. After a month they finally sent several documents, none of which was the actual schedule. We found that the schedule E they gave me didn't reflected my actual receipts and the depreciation amounts listed made no sense. After trying and failing to untangle their work, we both had to recreate, and correct, the taxes I had already paid Tax Ninja to do. At an additional cost of hundreds of dollars. I cannot imagine a situation in which I would use Tax Ninja's services again. read more

The person I spoke with who agreed to work on my returns was not available to work on my return, and I was given vague answers as to whether the senior accountant was still working with the outfit. I reluctantly filed with an accountant who was on site because of a deadline and decided not to have Tax Ninja work on the remainder of what I initially intended, as I literally sat there and the accountant filed a minimum barebones return that required amending. There is no quality quarantine; they attempted to bill me for the filings I decided not to have them work on, and I basically paid a criminal amount for a waste of my time! They are still trying to bill me for what I have already paid and where blatantly rude and thug-like! DO NOT TRUST THESE INCOMPETENT SKETCHY PEOPLE! Extremely unprofessional and I venture to call their services a scam! read more

Tax Ninja - Tax Ninja is still trying to bill me for what I have already paid and are blatantly thug-like! - Tax Services Near Me - Oakland, California

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If you can get Matt Whatley, then things ought to go well. However, the issues arise if anyone else is working on your file. I have used Tax Ninja service a few times over the years and for my early work the service was top notch. However, for my 2017 returns the experience, or lack thereof, was unexcusable. Extension was filed as their workload was unlikely to have time to complete my return... okay, fine cool. No follow up at all... in fact, well after the deadline had passed (this is after the extension was filed) I had to contact and inquire about my returns being completed. I had clearly slipped through the cracks. Several weeks later my returns are completed. Okay, groovy... here's your bill for 2700.00 (not your vanilla return... but not that complicated either). Ouch, but they're done... and a decent sized return should be coming... or so I thought. Oh, but then a letter arrives from the IRS that the returns were NEVER filed. Contact Tax Ninja... WTF... fix it (seriously, just E-file the shit or own up to the fact that you need to mail them and do it)... nothing... nothing... nothing. I print out my returns and snail mail my returns. Still waiting on follow up from Tax Ninja and/or partial refund. Administrative staff is on top of things, but that's pretty much where it stopped. Prior to this experience I would recommend the Tax Ninja... but definitely not anymore. read more

Wow. Just wow. I would say that I am at a loss for words..but I have enough words left to write this review! I seriously caution anyone that uses this firm for tax preparation--just based alone on the lack of professionalism I experienced. So, I had an appointment scheduled for Saturday @ 11am. Everything was all good. Then less than 48 hours before the appointment (mind you they have a VERY strict no cancellation policy where they will charge you $200 if YOU cancel less than 48 hours) I get an email saying that they have to move my appointment and they gave me some options. I couldn't do the proposed options. Instead of emailing back I wanted to get a hold of them ASAP, so I called them. A woman (Christine the Receptionist) picked up the phone in a huff. I started talking to her and she cut me off by talking to someone else. OK. Then I proceeded to tell her the issue. She told me that she was actually at Peet's so was unable to help me "unless I wanted her to order me a coffee". Umm..OK, so I asked if there was anyone else I could call. She said nope that this was her cell and she was not at the office. Although this was the number listed on the email from the business. I told her that there was no need to be rude. She scoffed and asked for my name--but she "didn't need my number since she had it on her phone". So I emailed the office manager back and told her what happened. I said that, due to the fact I couldn't make the proposed appointments and the rude receptionist, I would pass. I mean, who wants to work with that kind of attitude. No big deal--let's just cut our losses and move on. About an hour later I got a text from the owner asking if he could call me. OK, I as expecting an apology. I got on the phone with Matthew Whatley, the owner. He said he was told to cal me and asked what I wanted. Not really, he called me. I had already severed ties. So I told him the situation. No apologies whatsoever. He said that everyone was stressed so that is why his receptionist was rude. I proceeded to tell him that I couldn't make the new times. He told me that his tax preparer was out because his wife was having surgery "and it's not like he isn't going to go to that for you". Totally legit excuse, but how was I supposed to know that from the initial correspondence? And then he said he would schedule a new meeting and "wouldn't hold this against me". So I said never mind then. He told me to have a nice life and hung up. Super unprofessional. But, you would think that would be the end of this. But no, he proceeded to harass me and text me this: "I'm very sorry we were not able to meet your expectations. You made one of my staff members cry [because i called her rude at Peet's] and another is quite upset [I never spoke to anyone else]. Is there some conflict or other situation in your life that is possibly the root of your stress or aggression that maybe we can help you solve?". Like, why even continue contacting me on my personal number??? SHOCKING lack of professionalism. Is this a real business??? Like just let it go! They could have left it with my email to cancel. Instead, this guy had to call me, be rude on the phone to me, and then text me. WTF! read more

As a Doctor fresh out of residency, trying to start my own practice, I have more than enough on my plate. Combine this with the hassle of 1040s, Deductions, Business expenses? Man, I was lost. Maybe I should have had a class in this stuff... So, I took some advice and contacted Tax Ninja, even though I clearly didn't have the kind of money he would be charging. He was great though, offered me about 15 minutes of his time, since my problems weren't very difficult for a ninja. We discussed my finances, private business strategies, and he explained everything I needed to do in order to file. Easy. Man, I can't tell you how great that feels- to not be overwhelmed by the threat of the IRS. He even gave me a free sticker to put on my laptop. Now that's kickass! While I may not be paying the Ninja this year, I'll be sure to give him a call next year. The ease of mind is surely worth it. read more

I'm adding an extra star for the time being. Matt contacted us to apologize for the errors and offered us a partial refund and discount for 2008 if we give a second chance. As I suspected, his success (especially with yelpers) lead him to have a ton of clients, so things may have grown a bit too fast at first. He has mentioned some of the changes he has undergone to make things better, and I appreciated his candor. It is sadly rare to see a business owner respond humbly and thoughfully to a customer's specific complaints and issues and Matt is handling this very professionally. One of the benefit of the yelp community is the opportunity for the second chance option, so I'm totally up for it. Will let you know how it goes. read more

Off to a bad start. Sent an email to them asking for assistance with an FTB issue. A "Communication Specialist" responded with a somewhat generic email offering help with "my" issue with the IRS. This could not have been a mistake, because it happened three times in the message, when I clearly did not say anything about the IRS, only the FTB. Will update this review depending on how future communications go in addition to other factors. read more

I guess this place is only for the rich people. The cost of the agent is $475/hour!!! They don't seem to care at all if you can't afford that outrageous amount of money to fill up a single and simple tax return paper.... Who makes $475/hour????? I barely make $25.... read more

Update: I've spent over six months haggling back and forth with the CA State Franchise Tax Board regarding my 2010 filing. You have no idea how scary it is to receive very official paperwork via certified mail, saying you owe the state several thousand dollars. Matt was somewhat helpful, but hard to reach regarding this issue. Since he prepared my return and I paid him a fair amount to do so, I was expecting a bit more customer service. Quite honestly, he sort of blew it off as no big deal, emailing over some suggested verbiage to send the state in a letter. This started in June and when the state threatened to offset my wages in early December, I started to really panic. Matt emailed me an amended return, but according to the tax lawyer I met with, that wasn't done correctly either. After several phone calls and meetings, Matt agreed to meet in-person to go over my paperwork. He really didn't know why the State of California was sending those pesky letters (every time I called their 1-800 number we received different information) but we worked together to draft up an official letter to take to the SF Tax Franchise Board office. When I made the trip to the Franchise Tax Board office in the FiDi, the government representative informed me that my state taxes were filed wrong. Period. She also informed me that any tax expert should have known better. It was suggested I file a complaint with the state, since I basically paid someone to mess up my taxes. Apparently that's not OK. Obviously my case is an exception. As you can see from the multiple 5-star reviews, The Tax Ninja does A-OK. I will definitely find someone else to do my taxes this year not only out of principle, but I don't feel comfortable having my taxes handled by someone who might not know what he's doing. Especially if I'm paying several hundred dollars to do so. At the end of the day, I don't owe California any money and am happy about that. read more

So being the good son that I am and seeing how I have one of those middle aged moms (who like many has difficulty doing their taxes) I thought I'd go on Yelp to find a four or five star rated place to help my mom out... (yay sounds like a win-win situation for all parties involved) Enter "Matthew" - my mom went to this guy three weeks ago and after crunching some numbers he told her that she should expect to receive around $1700 back in tax returns... cool beans right? She picks up her paperwork from his office yesterday to find she will only be receiving around $300! Now I'd like to express here that it's not so much the $1400 discrepancy in the amount that she's shocked with (she would of been perfectly fine having received $300) but rather that she's been promised one thing only to find something well short of what Matthew stated. If he had said to expect $300 and she got $250 or $350 the amount is much more trivial, no? So my mom sends a very cordial e-mail to the guy last night asking if he could review the paperwork to see if something was amiss or in general why there was such a large difference in what he originally stated and what actually transpired. He calls her today peeved about the whole thing and then here's the kicker- He PERSONALLY ATTACKS HER CHARACTER as well as mine! Sweet. How so you ask? 1.He claims that I (her son aged 22) should be grateful for receiving as much money as I did from UC during my undergraduate education. - I am! Thank you UC/Fed. Gov. for providing myself and millions of lower and middle class Americans the ability to go to college even if our parents cannot pay for it! However, what he may not know is that I also have almost $30,000 in Federal Loan debt after completing dual degrees in Global Economics and Political Science and now find myself in one of the most difficult job markets that Matthew has ever been alive to witness. 2.He said that most students work through school. For four out of five years that I have been at UCSC I have been completing Federal Work Study as part of my aid (I worked at dining Halls, cafes, and the Office of International Education on campus and I am not a stranger to hard work and knowing how to balance work with a full time academic schedule) 3. He said that most parents pay for their child's education themselves. Sorry Matthew! My mom who was a teacher for SFUSD couldn't afford all 20 grand a year for five years. That's a 100 G's. YUP. Additionally my mom raised me right and I am not resentful about taking responsibility to PAY FOR MY OWN EDUCATION. I salute you if you have the financial means to foot the bill for your children (if you have any) - I aspire to do the same one day for my own children but as for now I have 30 G's in debt and getting a job to worry about. Maybe you can hire me as an accountant? I did complete an Economics degree! (In your dreams sir) Bottom Line here. This guy may have done an excellent job for many other customers but at least in this case my mom (and I for that matter) will never give Turbo Tax Sheister another cent. The aforementioned conduct was completely unprofessional, unnecessary and could have been handled in the same cordial manner in which my mom engaged. I advise you to take this review into account when deciding where to have your taxes done and hope you have a much better experience wherever you decide to go! Puran read more

The gross incompetence of this business is astounding. I was unhappy with the experience as it was happening, but one year later as I started working with a new accountant it is becoming clear how terrible this was from start to finish. My initial phone consult with Matthew, but then I was handed off to Zoe, who was so aggressive and hostile throughout our phone call to finish up the filing that I wanted to cry and consistently felt like I was doing/answering everything wrong. This year we realized that OUR CHILDREN had been left off of our filing done by Tax Ninja. Even an idiot filling out a return using TurboTax can handle that portion. That was just the beginning of many, many idiotic mistakes that leave me to believe this is the last place you should be going to get your taxes done. Our taxes will now have to be refiled by our new accountant. I emailed explaining the poor work done by Tax Ninja, asking for a refund or some other offer to make things right. Never heard a response. read more

Matt and his team did a worse-than-terrible job on my taxes. They actually never got them done. They were minimally responsive. They ended up refunding my money, but that hardy made up for the giant tax mess I was landed with when I had to file all kinds of extensions and amended returns. They even misspelled my name on the forms. Because of Matt, I was digging myself out of an IRS mess for a year. Phone calls, letters. It was the worst. I am impressed they managed to get all these positive reviews -- that must have been back when they actually focused on being accountants. Don't be fooled by the 4.5 stars. Working with Tax Ninja was a giant mistake for me. read more

If Justin Bieber were a tax professional, he'd be Matthew Whatley (A.K.A., the Tax Ninja). This guy rules. Straight up. I'm a complete nincompoop when it comes to finances, and I'm willing to bet the Ninja would agree. I know about as much about taxes and the IRS as Lindsay Lohan does about attending DUI classes. So when I consulted a professional to assist me in ensuring I didn't screw up my taxes this past April, I made sure it was him. Not certain what the delay time is like outside of the crazy tax season, but I had to wait multiple weeks before scoring an appointment with this guy. To me, that's a good thing. Much like how I'd be a bit wary about a doctor or dentist having a completely open schedule when I called for a routine check up, I'd raise an eyebrow if the person dealing with something as delicate and personal as my finances didn't have a single other person in the queue when I called for a consultation. He was an absolute professional, and he's even been as cool as to answer some of my rudimentary inquiries via email, months after completing the grunt work of filing my 2009 income taxes. To me, it doesn't get much better than that. Plus... the obvious: how could you not love a guy who calls himself the Tax Ninja?!?!? read more

I would have said this guys rocks except he screwed up our taxes two years ago and we had to pay over $4000 in back taxes because of his error. He didn't even cover our late payment penalty of $300! We liked going to Matt and are sad that we need to find a new tax person now. read more

Tax Ninja's incredible ineptitude is captured well in the numerous other one-star reviews. For a fairly straightforward self-employment Schedule C, Mr. Whatley managed to screw up my estimated taxes, then Mr. Karatov (the new guy) made two egregious errors on my 2013 returns, which we only resolved because I was meticulous in checking their work. I'm still chasing the Franchise Tax Board for $3k they owe me as part of this mess. To be clear, neither Mr. Whatley nor Mr. Karatov are CPAs. They are lawyers, not accountants, and their inattention to detail is painfully evident in their work. read more

Update to my previous review below. I've been going to Tax Ninja/Matt for 7 years now and he's always been awesome! Since Matt is now in even higher demand (maybe from all the Twitter people going there?), this year I saw JP Cross and he was super awesome, kind, and very thorough and efficient in trying to help me save money. Very happy with the excellent service! Much appreciated! I wrote this as a tip in 2013: Matt is awesome & entirely worth the professional expertise (eg. If I did it myself I'd have wasted half/entire day and be owing taxes; instead I spent an hour or so & getting a refund). Love that he's also a lawyer and entrepreneur and works with many indep consultants / entrepreneurs. Book early! read more

They charge $350 p/h for their time but made me waste hours of my time trying to pay them money to do my taxes! I called, emailed, went to their office. I basically had to harass them just to get a hold of someone. When I finally did I was asked to gather all my docs and send them to them. So I did, chased them some more, got the run around some more, heard nothing back, harassed some more to no avail. So they have all my sensitive info and are essentially ignoring me. After weeks of chasing and disappointment I came to my senses and gave up. They are an absolute joke and I definitely wouldn't trust them to do my taxes. Check out "The Tax Pro" or "Robert L Sommers", both have better reviews than these extremely unprofessional jokers. read more

I've been doing my taxes with Tax Ninja for nearly a decade now. It seems like every I get more of those "IMPORTANT TAX INFORMATION" envelopes, but Mat always crunches them quickly and efficiently. The office is staffed by cool people, and at this point I'm pretty sure I've referred all my friends to Tax Ninja and they are equally satisfied. Why would you ever consider going to some number cruncher at H&R Dork, when you've got access to a great and friendly local business that will take better care of you and provide you with real, useful advice that pays back dividends? That's right. Tax Ninja, baby. He'll crunch your numbers. read more

This was a bad service, no explanation given, and I ended up filling just on time because they were late at answering my e-mails. I will not use them again! Most stressful return I have filled! And it costs me 350$ ! I'd rather do it alone. Here below is an exert from a mail I sent them last week after rushing to try and pay my return on time. (not surprisingly they have not even answered me yet: a week later!) " This is very frustrating as this is the first time I pay for somebody to do my taxes. I decided to pay for the peace of mind. Well, since I have filled taxes in the US (8 years now) this is the first time it is so stressful. So, that did not work. And I am still not sure if I am going to be hit by late fees. I also decided to use the service to learn about ways to save some money maybe, at least optimize the return. But I have paid a high tax return. I am guessing I owed that, but nobody ever gave me good advice on this, or a justification for the high price. I would have liked a better service and better advise. I don't think I can recommend your service. It was stressful, not informative and it did not save me any money. If anything, I think it may cost me money. " read more

ELLEN IS A MAGICIAN! She is a little unorthodox, and spent more time than I would like trying to convince me that Obama's tax plan would destroy the country. But considering how she saved my ass, I would have read both of Sarah Palin's books cover-to-cover and personally shot a moose if she asked me to. I bought a condo, changed jobs, and sold some stock in the past year, all of which adds layers of complexity to a tax return. This I discovered when I cluelessly tried to do my own taxes and came up with a $16,000 tax bill. A couple of panic attacks later, I ran the numbers again and still owed about $4,000. I decided I needed an expert, and went to the Ninja, just two weeks before tax day. Susan did my intake and was incredibly nice. She told me they were booked up, but that she would try to fit me in. Lo and behold, I got a call from a random number with a Houston area code the Thursday before taxes were due. She said her name was Ellen, that she worked with the Ninja, and that would be handling my taxes. I later learned that she's the mother of Matt, the Ninja Himself, and that she has over 20 years of tax-prep experience.) In the end, Momma Ninja got me a $5000 REFUND!!!! I can't thank her enough, and will definitely be back next year. read more

They don't call 'em ninjas for nothin' Nunchuck your tax concerns goodbye! Zoe truly had me raising the roof. No, literally. Hi-Ya! read more

I'd worked with several different folks at Tax Ninja over the years, as they prepared the taxes for many of my coworkers at the time. They were mostly easy to get ahold of/talk through paperwork with at the time. That said, I've since been hit with penalties and notices for additional payment across several tax years (namely 2014-2016 so far - and they keep coming!), and when I'd reached out to sort through it with them, they were rude and fairly difficult to get ahold of (not during tax season, either). I don't know what changed over there, but I've since stopped going to them for my taxes - I simply can't afford to be hit with thousands of dollars in fees and penalties for incorrectly filed taxes. Such a disappointment. read more

In my experience, both the good and the bad reviews here are true. On one hand, they do know a lot about taxes, and can handle very complicated tax situations. On the other hand, after using their services for several years for both regular and self-employment income, I found out by chance that I should have been getting a business license from my city, and paying business taxes to the city -- something which nobody here ever mentioned. On the first hand, they can be very friendly and helpful! On the other hand, they've had many receptionists and other staff who, when they're in a bad mood or have personal problems, can be very cranky or passive-aggressive -- and when it's the person doing your taxes who seems distracted and upset, it can be unsettling at best. They do have an open office where your taxes will be discussed in front of other customers who are well within hearing distance. I heard many an interesting conversation while waiting for my appointments. Which brings us to the main reason that I stopped using the Tax Ninja: I often heard other customers being encouraged to take shady deductions, or given shady advice. A frequent recommendation people seemed to get was to take rental income in cash and not report it, but there were other recommended ways of fudging the truth too. I got those suggestions a lot as well, and it made me really uncomfortable. It's very tempting to just throw up your hands and grin and say "well, my tax guy is suggesting it," but it also seems really unethical and dangerous. So yes -- in many areas they are very thorough and may save you a lot of money even despite the very high hourly rate ($350, as stated in another review, although it might be more now). On the other hand, the money saved may ultimately come at too high a cost. read more

I guess I'm going to have to "buck the tide" and post a less than stellar review of the Tax Ninja. I had an appointment with Matt to go over my taxes last week. Actually the first visit is supposed to be a complimentary consultation but I went prepared for him to do my taxes for two reasons: 1. I read so many positive reviews of him on Yelp, and 2. I had everything put together (receipts, excel spreadsheet of all my 2007 expenses, etc.) so why not go for it and get my refund sooner. First of all, ladies, be forewarned that the Oakland neighborhood where Matt is located is CREEPY. And his "office" is in the corner of a warehouse full of weird machinery, various junk items, etc. Now, this is supposed to be an "artsy" feel, but to me it was just creepy, as was the "decor" in his office, including a variety of beat-up chairs and poster from Burning Man featuring several full-frontal nude (though bodypainted) women. Matt is a smart guy and I'm sure he knows his stuff. I am not the least bit concerned that my return is accurate. He did it right in front of me, from the paperwork I brought. To his credit, he doesn't engage in "creative" accounting to get you more $, and he DOES include every possible deduction. When all was input into his software, he printed the IRS and California returns out, stapled them and handed them to me. The top page of each stack (one for CA, one for IRS) had brief instructions for filing (as in, the mailing address for sending them in) and a handwritten note instructing me to tear this page off before mailing the rest. Looked like all was good to go and all I needed was an envelope! HOWEVER.... the first two pages of the California return were missing -- because they were stapled to the Federal return! And BOTH returns had the wrong W-2 copies stapled to them. Also, I asked for direct deposit of the refund, which was done for the Federal return but not done at all for California. Good thing I'm a Virgo and went through everything with a fine-tooth comb first! In general, Matt's fee was "reasonable" considering I'd moved from one state to another, sold a house, started a new job, etc. and wanted an expert to do my taxes this year. Experts cost money! But $87.50, considering I didn't use his time for a complimentary consult, and how prepared I was (and thus took him less time), the hideous neighborhood/office, and the mistakes, was a little out of line. I won't be using Matt again. If you want good and cheap, Mat's probably as good as they get -- if you remember you get what you pay for. But if PROFESSIONAL is an element in your criteria, the Tax Ninja will not be for you. read more

I am surprised to see negative reviews. We did our taxes with them last year and they were on top of things. I run a DBA and file jointly with my husband. They helped me stay organized with great documents that I did on my own, so it made the meeting with them very straightforward. They had great advice and I feel confident they steered us in the right direction. We also got a refund which is always awesome. We plan to use them again this tax season. We've kept in touch since when I've had a few questions here and there and I've always gotten a prompt reply. read more

Oh boy did I have a tax mess! The IRS and FTB were climbing all OVER my a$$! I thought I owed them several grand (...and I'm not saying how many). I walked into Matt's office with a pile of paper work, ready for really bad news. Guess what. They OWE me. Matt found mad deductions and got me all straightened out. He even sent me to the IRS in person where I could work out in a few hours what would take months by mail. Did you know that they have a walk-in desk downtown? I will NEVER touch my own taxes again. Why should I? For the few hundred dollars he charged me, he saved me (even made me) thousands. Yep, it's true. He IS ninja. On a side note, I've known Matt for years. I always love when my Burner friends are totally brilliant and competent business people. Maybe I need to start a list of burner-owned businesses! read more

I had an extremely complicated tax situation this year. I had income from 2 states, full time employment and self employment, relocation package payback, etc. I was really confused and didn't know where to even being. Tax Ninja had great online resources that helped me prepare for my tax apt. Without it, I would have been at a complete loss and I'm sure my appointment would have taken several hours. Michael handled my return and was very quick and efficient. The cost was well worth the return. Between helping me find deductions I didn't even know applied to my situation, he helped me save thousands of dollars and even got me money back. The office is laid back and not uptight like other places I've been in the past. We had a great discussion regarding my specific tax situation. I definitely plan on going back to Tax Ninja for all my future returns, even though they won't be as complex in the coming years. Again, the return on my investment was well worth it. If I can continue to capitalize on their expertise, why wouldn't I. Plus, I hate doing taxes on my own. I always feel like I am missing out on so much money. read more

It appears that this Ninja adhears to a Samuri-esq. code of ethics. He has made things right with me, and as such, I have changed my review to five stars. That and I just like Ninjas, so it's hard to hold a grudge. read more

I've been looking for a guy that didn't have to 'get back to me' regarding my tax quesions for years. FINALLY I found him. I bumped into these guys at thier wedding reception. Gave them some fun advice and in return Matt said to call him and he'd give me some tax advice in return. 7 Tax returns in under an hour. I travel a lot for work and had to file in a lot of states this year. My taxes were not that complicated, but had some twists. Matt knew all the answers off the top of his head and was able to help me widdle a big problem down to a much more managable situation. It even cost me less than the previous year which only had my personal and biz filing. The location seems a bit sketch, but the professionalism, candor, and knowledge well out wieghs the fact that you have to knock on the window to be let in. read more

These guys absolutely, utterly rock. I came to Matt with a pretty impossible situation. I needed tax returns done that included rental income, self-employment, expenses in three currencies, investments, you name it. And I needed somebody to show me how to put together my business books for the past two years in a formal format so I could submit them and the return as part of a foreign visa application. (I don't do formal so well. Thank gawd Matt mixes formal and casual without blinking.) Did I mention I needed all this in under a week? So I needed somebody quick, smart, and who could handle that part of this had to be DIY (some accountants don't get that or won't deal with it). Matt did my complicated taxes in the single hour we sat talking (they have a very cool office, btw) then checked and signed off on my business books on his day off (complete with the very official-sounding "I am an attorney" letter that I needed) so I could get my application in on time. I got the visa. I'm forever in his and Susan's debt. And they can handle my expat taxes next year! Soooo happy I got referred to them. read more

I went to the Tax Nijna bewildered. I'm a young doctor fresh out of residency, but suddenly I'm an independent contractor and I'm incorporated into a small business. (Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor not a lawyer!) I was so bewildered, I didn't know how I was going to manage my finances or file my taxes. Fortunately, the Tax Ninja *IS* a lawyer and he made it all make sense to me. The whole meeting took an hour and he even made some suggestions about the way I manage my business that made my corporation work better for me. The best part was that he's made this all seem easy for me. I'd give six stars if it were possible! read more

Outstanding organization and tax preparation service. My wife and I worked with Mike Karatov and this was, hands down, the best tax preparation process I've ever dealt with. He actually made it enjoyable with his sense of humor, easygoing nature, his experience and knowledge, as well as his preparation before we sat down to complete the filing. For me, Mike's legal and accounting background really made a difference for us. Between selling a house, getting married, and different jobs we had a lot to go through, and Mike was both very patient and helpful along the way and I feel helped maximize our return this year (which is always a great outcome when doing taxes). We will definitely be using Tax Ninja next year as well. I highly recommend their services! read more

sooo....after trying to do my own taxes and causing a self-induced massive freak out and cry session (maybe that was necessary)...i listened to some friends and got 'professional help'...in swoops tax ninja and matt whatley and a couple days later not only did i have state and federal taxes filed but i had a much smaller tax due than i thought. Whatley was super helpful...I just sent in my paperwork electronically, had an easy to understand conversation and boop-beep-bop he has my return ready to go...all i needed to do was sign some papers and write some checks...overall, a very painless experience. read more

Yes, it's a sketch neighborhood where you have to knock on the glass window in order for somebody to open up the front gate, but whatever. Besides, I live a block away so I'm embracing my sketch neighborhood. I've gone to Matt Whatley previously when he filed my 2012 taxes. I dropped off my tax forms and picked up my tax returns in less than a week. So effortless. Today, I dropped by his office for a second time with a different question in mind. Since being self-employed for the last 4 months, I needed advice on whether I had to pay my taxes in quarterly amounts. (Who seriously knows these things?) If so, the tax deadline to pay is in two days (Jan. 15) so time was not on my side. Matt was able to see me within the same hour I called. The office manager had confirmed that Matt's rate is $350/hour but charges in 15 minutes increments. I was anxious about my consultation fee now that I'm self-employed but felt this was something I absolutely needed to handle. Matt sat down with me, asked me a series of questions after reviewing my tax forms, and answered all my questions in a matter of 15 minutes. All this, and the consultation was complimentary! He said "Don't worry about it." Just like that, he gave me peace of mind as a friendly neighbor. I've already set a date to have Matt file my 4/15 taxes and walked out of the office completely satisfied. read more

OMFG where has Matt been for the last 10 years!111!!!!! :( I did my taxes by myself a couple of times - took me forever and I always owed BIG. I had the block do my taxes one year. WHAT A MISTAKE! Not only were they overpriced, but the woman doing mine totally didn't care about me ;( Matt thoroughly explained all of the things I need to do to correctly file the paperwork for my private ventures. I have a lot nonstandard tertiary income type stuff and Matt totally understood the gibberish I was trying to throw at him. Because Matt is a CPA and a JD, he not only can crunch the numbers but can also interpret the laws for you. Matt totally demonstrated his supreme understanding of business practices and is not scared to share his wealth of knowledge. If you are a slappo like me and are totally unorganized, Matt will help you figure out exactly what kind of stuff you need to correctly and accurately file. He totally explained to me what past documents he needed, etc and was VERY responsive to my pesky e-mails. Matt was super flexible with scheduling and was able to meet me the same day I looked him up. If you come at an odd hour or something, please bring a refreshment for for Matt. He also likes the chicken tikka masala from Naan and Chutney down the street with maybe some naan. He totally deserves it. Not only was Matt really helpful with my taxes, my income, and retirement, he makes great conversation, too. Thanks man, you are the bomb. I think I totally underpaid him. If I was sitting on the other side of the table, I totally would not have done my taxes and charged what I charged. Well you get the idea. It almost seems like Matt hooks people up just 4 fun. read more

Up to 2001 I had a career, a paycheck, and a regular habit around the 15th of April. Then I went to Burning Man for the first time. $300 changed my life. I came back with no money, no job, and no place to live. I landed at Headless Point Studios and over the next 5 years proceeded to make beautiful art with some incredible human beings. During that time I had no real income to speak of and didn't think about filing taxes because of it. Since then I have gotten married, bought a business, and become a respectable (read: tax-paying) member of society. I'm now up to date and feel confident that I am square with Uncle Sam. This is all thanks to Whatley, my friendly neighborhood tax ninja. read more

Matthew T. Whatley, Esq. A One Stop Super Shop for Law, Tax Law and Tax Planning. Matt has many, many sharp tools on his belt and makes house calls. * Practice Areas Tax Law & Tax Planning, Estate Planning, Probate, Business Organizations, Criminal Law, Personal Injury Offshore Tax & Business Planning Did I mention he makes house calls? read more