Frequently asked questions

No. We work remotely with clients across the United States using secure document exchange and phone or video appointments. We also have offices in Clackamas and The Dalles if you prefer to meet in person.

It depends on which forms your situation actually requires. Our starting prices are published, and we give you the exact fee before any work starts. We do not charge a percentage of your refund — that creates exactly the wrong incentive.

For a return, as early in the season as you can manage. For planning, October or November, while the decisions are still open. For an IRS notice, immediately — some of them carry short deadlines.

Yes. Nothing is sent offshore, and the person who prepared your return is the person you can call in August.

Yes, and it is routine. Bring the last two or three years of returns and we will pick it up from there.

A 1% tax on income above $128,000 single / $205,000 joint for people living or working in the Metro district — the regional government covering the urban parts of Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. Full detail here.

A Multnomah County income tax, tiered from 1.5% above $125,000 single / $200,000 joint. It is separate from Metro SHS with a different boundary and different thresholds. Full detail here.

$35 per adult if you live in the City of Portland, are 18 or over, have $1,000 or more of income and your household is above the federal poverty level. Living in Gresham, Beaverton or Milwaukie does not create liability.

Use the Portland Revenue Division address lookup. ZIP codes cross jurisdictional lines routinely, and guessing from one is the most common cause of a wrong local return.

A surplus refund issued as a credit on your return, calculated as a percentage of your prior-year Oregon liability. It is not a check and it is not based on this year. How it works.

On wages for work physically performed in Oregon, yes — reported on an Oregon non-resident return. On work performed at home in Washington, generally no. The full answer.

Usually because the payroll record was set up when you were in the office and never revisited. Oregon does not have a convenience-of-employer rule, so those wages are generally not Oregon-source — and the withholding is recoverable. Read this one.

Metro SHS and Preschool for All apply to income sourced to those jurisdictions, including wages a non-resident earns working there. So yes, on the sourced portion.

Washington has no personal income tax, so there is no Washington return on wages. Washington does have a capital gains tax and a business B&O tax.

Sometimes. It helps where profit consistently exceeds reasonable compensation by enough to cover payroll and filing costs — and it does nothing for Oregon CAT or the Portland local business taxes. The honest analysis.

A tax on Oregon commercial activity — receipts, not profit — above $1 million. A business can owe it in a loss year. Full detail.

A separate Oregon tax on self-employment earnings from business carried on inside the TriMet district, filed on its own form. National software does not prompt for it, so it is missed constantly.

The books come first — a return built on unreconciled accounts is a guess. Catch-up bookkeeping sequences with the return so it still lands on time or on a properly filed extension.

Do not ignore it, check the deadline printed on it, do not agree to anything by phone, and bring it in. Many notices are wrong or resolve with a single letter.

More common than you think and entirely fixable. We pull transcripts, establish how many years actually need filing, and file them in order. How it works.

A scam. The IRS opens contact by mail and does not ask for gift cards.

Yes. An Enrolled Agent holds unlimited practice rights, so with a signed power of attorney the correspondence and calls come to us. Representation services.