Tax Advisory For Those Who Build
Whether you're building a business, building your wealth, or building a legacy, we'll help you leverage the tax code to build better. We serve the entrepreneurs, the affluent and the aspiring wherever they are on their building journey. As that journey progresses, we'll make sure you have the right experts working together to help you build and protect.
The Builders Journey with Dark Horse
Jump on the Dark Horse saddle. We've got a lot of ground to cover. As your wealth and income grow, the financial impact of your decisions becomes increasingly magnified. Additionally, more opportunities present themselves as possibilities, many of which have a considerable degree of complexity and risk. You wouldn't blindly follow tax or investment advice from social media but it's not as simple as just hiring a professional. It's exceedingly difficult to hire a great CPA AND a great CFP AND actually get them to collaborate on your behalf in a meaningful way. When you hire Dark Horse, you'll get the trifecta of great CPAs, great CFPs and a cohesive team. As you build, you'll be seeing more of us. We promise we won't be TOO annoying.
Dark Horse Private Wealth
financial advisory
Strategic Tax Advisory
tax reduction & deferral
Tax Filing & Resolution
current and prior tax year
The Tax Advisory 3-Step Process
1. Initial Discovery.
We'll develop a working understanding of your existing tax situation and forward-looking changes and opportunities.
2. Tax & Wealth Assessment.
We'll take the info from the Initial Discovery to create a proposal detailing relevant tax saving strategies and investment opportunities with their corresponding ROI.
3. Ongoing Advisory.
We'll build a clear timeline to execute on chosen tax strategies and investment opportunities, ensuring all parties understand their responsibilities. We'll continue to monitor tax laws, economic conditions and changes to your personal situation, adjusting the plan as needed.
Tax & Wealth Assessment
There is no shortage of tax saving strategies or investment options. Our Tax & Wealth Assessments bring focus to the opportunities that matter most to your specific situation. We'll detail the cost, timeline and implementation requirements of each strategy and investment. Our aim is to give you everything you need to make an informed decision without overwhelming you with too much information and too many choices. This is a big part of why you pay us, after all. Another reason is that we make sure these opportunities go from spreadsheets into the real world, as planned. The assessment combines our Tax Assessment and Wealth Assessment into 1 deliverable.
$6,000
A Plan Well Executed
It's one thing to have a great tax plan, it's another thing to execute it well. And to execute well, the right circle of professionals is crucial. From attorneys to tax credit specialists to Dark Horse Private Wealth financial advisors, we've got the relationships needed to get the job done right, all of whom are aligned around ensuring clients save substantially more than they spend in fees.
Tax Advisory Can Result in Substantial Tax Savings.
Without Dark Horse
A High W-2 wage earner was looking to purchase short term rental investment property.
#1
In 2023 – Adjusted Gross Income was just over $650,000.
#2
Federal total tax (line 24 of Form 1040) was $161,500.
#3
Effective rate ~ 25%
Client knew there were advantages to owning STRs but was not sure how to maximize this investment. They were also looking for more proactive advice in the event there was more they could do to after the STR investment.
With Dark Horse
After a Tax Assessment, Dark Horse guided the client through a cost segregation study performed on the property. Client also qualified for a Fee Simple donation which their Tax Strategist ensured was properly executed before year end.
#1
2023 – Adjusted Gross Income reduced to $475,716.
#2
Federal total tax was $65,560
#3
Fed savings of ~$95,940
#4
Effective rate reduced to ~13.7%
*Each tax strategy is unique and requires research into qualifying criteria to ensure a defensible position is taken. Results and savings also vary by client.
Tax FAQs
Of course! No matter how simple or complex your tax situation is, we can help. Many of our clients engage with us simply because they don’t have the time or comfort level to do their taxes on their own. That is what a CPA is for, after all!
When clients say, “I want someone local,” that often means they want someone that understands their unique state and local tax issues OR they have really only received the full attention of their CPA in face-to-face meetings. Dark Horse has hired a diverse range of CPAs that have worked with every state in the USA and a variety of complex issues, ensuring that we can service clients from ANYWHERE in the USA. Additionally, we’re extremely confident that our cloud-based service delivery model will result in you receiving a much higher level of attention throughout the year from your Dark Horse CPA than you got from your previous tax professional.
Yes, we can! In 99% of cases, they go hand-in-hand. We want to ensure our tax strategies work for both you AND your business, so having us engaged on both levels is a critical step to ensure we are maximizing your tax savings each tax year.
Absolutely. While anyone with enough experience, training, ethics and intelligence can be competent to prepare your tax return, it is more likely that an EA or unlicensed tax preparer will be lacking in one or more of these areas. As CPAs, we are held to the highest professional standards, as well as education and experience requirements. Having said that, Dark Horse is differentiated among CPA firms through our proprietary service delivery model that has earned us a Net Promotor Score of 90% versus the industry average of 38%.
Absolutely! We’ll get all of those overdue tax returns filed for you and we’ll work with the IRS and state tax authorities on your behalf to reduce any penalties to the maximum extent allowable.
Of course! We provide unparalleled tax audit representation that will result in you getting the most favorable outcome possible. Furthermore, we deal directly with the IRS or state on your behalf, so you don’t have to worry about being put on the spot and disclosing information that will harm you. Think of us like an attorney representing you before the IRS or state.
The short answer is no. The long answer is that we’re able to keep our prices extremely competitive with a much higher value proposition by working in a cloud-based environment. We’ll ask that you upload your documents to our secure client portal, as this creates indispensable efficiencies in preparing your tax returns, as well as the fact that you will remain the custodian of those documents for peace of mind. We can help you figure out how to digitize those documents, even if you don’t have a scanner. Last, all of your tax documents and tax returns will be saved in the secure portal, allowing for easy access in the future.
Not at all! Our entire process can be done in the comfort of your home. Any document that we will need you to sign can be electronically signed. All documents (tax documents, tax returns, engagement letters, IRS correspondence, etc.) are saved to your secure portal, accessible at any time.
Yes, we do! We have a couple of options based on your preference. We can provide you with a review via email, a video recording of your CPA walking through your return, or a 1-to-1 meeting.
Of course. That’s part of our onboarding process with new clients. We’ll let you know if there are any red flags or missed opportunities on those returns. If necessary, we can amend previous tax returns to make sure those issue or opportunities are taken care of.
Prices range based on the scope of the engagement. We do offer a unique price quote tool on our website found here to give you an idea. Generally, it’s based on your income/deduction sources, how many states you need to file in, and if there are any unique situations with your return. If you are curious, you can always request a quote from us here.
No, we do not. The reason is that the tax returns we prepare for clients have too much at stake to do all in one sitting. We prepare your returns thoughtfully, review them for quality and accuracy and then evaluate them strategically to make sure you're getting the best result possible. It's impractical (and impossible) to try to do this while you're sitting across from us. Also, you've got better things to do than sit around while we prepare the returns anyway.
Your Tax Advisory CPAs
Adam Ripperdan
Principal
James Larsen
Principal
Teddy Mizerak
Principal
Matthew Lynch
Principal
Megan Durst
Principal
Tim McLain
Principal
John Warner
Principal
Craig Trimble
Principal
Jordan Keller
Principal
Suzi Drennen
Principal
Mike Madden
Principal
Locations
Because we're entirely cloud-based, we can work with you from anywhere. If you prefer to work with a local CPA, check out our quickly growing list of locations.
Blogs and Pods
Whether you prefer the written word or the spoken word, we've got meaningful commentary that will help you focus on what's important when it comes to your financial situation and taxes.
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