Personal Tax Compliance & Filing

Strategy, Clarity & No Surprises.

Too many taxpayers are told to sign their tax return without any explanation as to why they owe, why they're getting a refund, why their overall taxes went up or down or what they could do next year to create a better result.

We believe in no surprises. In fact, we believe your tax return filing should merely be a receipt of the work done throughout the year to achieve the best tax outcomes with appropriate withholdings and estimated tax payments. With Dark Horse, you'll have a much better view into what you're after-tax income looks like during the year, as opposed to being surprised during tax season only to realize you've been living above or below your means unintentionally.

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Tax Planning is Included

We can only avoid surprises if we do tax planning. This is why we not only include tax planning in our engagements but insist that our clients take advantage of it. We'll review your income, deductions, and taxes paid during the year to make sure you're on track to be as close to a zero balance as possible (no refund and no tax owed). During this meeting, we may uncover opportunities for tax saving maneuvers. If that's the case, we'll propose an ROI-focused strategic tax advisory engagement.

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Dark Horse Private Wealth
financial advisory
Strategic Tax Advisory
tax reduction & deferral
Tax Filing & Resolution
current and prior tax year
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$1M Audit Defense

Audits Are Scary.
Audit Insurance is Not.

Most Americans, to varying extents, fear being audited by the IRS. At a minimum, it ends up costing you time and money to defend your tax return positions. And if you owe, then you've got additional taxes, penalties and interest to tack on. To ease the burden, and to put your mind at ease, each tax return you file with us has an insurance policy to cover $1 million in audit defense representation fees whether the IRS, state or both were to audit a tax return we filed on your behalf. We believe in the accuracy and defensibility of the returns we file but we can't prevent every single return from being audited so we want to make sure that you're not on the hook if you're one of the few unlucky ones chosen by Uncle Sam.

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IRS Notice Response Team

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Without Tax Protection Plus

Context: The IRS questioned multiple areas across two years (2021 and 2022), including:

  • #1

    Over $600K in non-cash charitable contributions, and nearly $600K in depreciation deductions

  • #2

    Unsubstantiated mortgage interest and missing cost basis details

Problem: prior year filings missed critical deductions and cost-basis accuracy in those tax years. The result? A steep cost of $163,000+ for 2021 and $159,000+ for 2022.

What do I do if my taxes are a mess...

Some clients' messes are bigger than they think, others are smaller. Either way, we'll unpack your situation during our initial consultation to the extent that you can provide us with needed documentation beforehand, such as tax returns, IRS, state and local tax notices, etc. Once we've digested everything, we'll prescribe our game plan moving forward, which may include some of the following services:

Amended Tax Returns
State Filings
IRS Payment Plans
Penalty Abatement
Offer in Compromise (OIC)
Back Taxes
Sales Tax Audits
Innocent Spouse Relief
And More
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Find Your Personal Tax CPA

When you have a side hustle, stock compensation, rental properties, investments or anything else that adds complexity to your tax situation, you need an expert that can help you navigate these issues strategically and ensure you're tax filing is defensible to the tax authorities. We love complexity and we love simplifying it for you.

Personal Tax Compliance FAQs

Your Tax Compliance Experts

Suzi Drennen, CPA

Suzi Drennen, CPA

Principal Based in Encinitas, California
Education
University of Southern California
Specialties
+5 more
Certifications
CPA BBKK QuickBooks
Industries
Retail Non-Profits +4 More
Teddy Mizerak, CPA

Teddy Mizerak, CPA

Principal Based in Louisville, Kentucky
Education
lousville
Specialties
+3 more
Certifications
CPA AABA
Industries
Real Estate Construction +2 More
James Larsen, CPA

James Larsen, CPA

Principal Based in Orange County, California
Education
northridge Golden Gate Universuty Logo, Master of Science, Taxation, 2011
Specialties
+3 more
Certifications
CPA CFP QuickBooks
Industries
Non-Profits Real Estate +2 More
Mike Madden, CPA

Mike Madden, CPA

Principal Based in Encinitas, California
Education
M.S., Business Administration - Taxation, 2007 UCSD
Specialties
+2 more
Certifications
CPA MBAT EA
Industries
Cannabis Real Estate +1 More
Matthew Lynch, CPA

Matthew Lynch, CPA

Principal Based in Raleigh, North Carolina
Education
Mountaineers
Specialties
+3 more
Certifications
CPA QuickBooks
Industries
Retail eCommerce +3 More
Jordan Keller, CPA

Jordan Keller, CPA

Principal Based in Houston, Texas
Education
Bowling Green State University Franklin University
Specialties
+5 more
Certifications
CPA
Industries
eCommerce Real Estate +3 More
John Warner, CPA

John Warner, CPA

Principal Based in St. Louis, Missouri
Education
icon-1
Specialties
+4 more
Certifications
CPA MAT QuickBooks
Industries
Cannabis Real Estate
Craig Trimble, CPA

Craig Trimble, CPA

Principal Based in Ponte Vedra, Florida
Education
central Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Accounting, 2011
Specialties
+3 more
Certifications
CPA QuickBooks AIC
Industries
Construction Real Estate +3 More
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Nationwide Reach with your Dark Horse CPA

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.

Choose a Location
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Get a personable & experienced CPA who will partner with you to achieve unparalleled results.