Best Tax Preparers in The Dalles, OR (2026)

How we chose

• Local office: each practice names an office in The Dalles on its own website.
• Credential: each one shows an Oregon Licensed Tax Consultant, an Enrolled Agent or a CPA on its own site. We repeat credentials exactly as each site states them.
• Services: each one lists tax preparation or tax services for individuals or small businesses.

The Dalles sits where farm income, small business income and cross-river work meet. A household here might file a Schedule F for an orchard, a Schedule C for a side business, and a W-2 from a job in Washington, all on one return. That mix is why the credential behind the preparer matters. In Oregon, anyone preparing personal returns for pay needs a license from the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners unless they are a CPA or an attorney, who are exempt. An Enrolled Agent is licensed by the IRS and has unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before it.

1. Heather’s Tax Service & More

Our office in The Dalles is open by appointment all year, not only in filing season, and serves the Columbia River Gorge, Wasco and Hood River counties, and SW Washington. Heather Perkins, Licensed Tax Consultant# 35746-C, is also an Enrolled Agent (00160070-EA) with unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS, and has spent more than a decade preparing individual and business returns. Pam Wagner, Licensed Tax Preparer# 1924349-P, prepares individual, small business, farm and rental returns. Katie Wells brings more than 25 years of bookkeeping and payroll work.

• Services: individual, business, self-employed, multi-state, rental and back-tax returns; monthly and catch-up bookkeeping; payroll; tax planning; IRS representation; notary.
• Starting prices: $285 for a W-2-only return, $385 for more than W-2s, and $525 with Schedule C, E or F (farm returns included). Entity returns start at $1,900. These are starting points, not quotes; see pricing.
• Also: a second office in Clackamas, and remote service across the United States.
• First step: a free 15-minute introductory call about your situation and fit. No tax advice is given on that call.

2. A1 Tax Service LLC

Based in The Dalles, on Court Street. Its website says: "The owner, Aaron Anderson, is our Licensed Tax Consultant with the State of Oregon", and adds that he is an Enrolled Agent. The site prints LTC #30987 and EA #137206. It lists income tax preparation and tax consulting for individuals, families and small businesses. Website: a1taxservice.yourwebsitespace.com.

3. Jeff Nichols, CPA

Based in The Dalles, on East 4th Street. Its website says: "Located in The Dalles, Oregon, Jeff Nichols, CPA wants to meet with you! Providing tax advice & services for small businesses and individuals." It lists tax preparation and consulting, accounting, and bookkeeping and payroll. Website: jeffnicholscpa.com.

4. Sorren

Sorren’s The Dalles office is on East 5th Street. Its location page says the office "traces its roots back to 1946, when Leonard D. ‘Dude’ Bailey began serving clients in and around the Columbia River Gorge", and names Nathan Reagan, CPA, Partner. It lists tax, accounting, assurance and advisory services, including private client services. Website: sorren.com.

What to ask any preparer in The Dalles

• Who prepares and signs the return? Ask for that person’s credential and license number, and check it with the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners Licensee Lookup or, for an Enrolled Agent, the IRS verification tool.
• Do you handle both sides of the river? If anyone in the household works or runs a business in Washington, ask whether the preparer handles that part too. See multi-state returns.
• Farm or orchard income? A Schedule F return is its own piece of work. Ask whether the practice prepares farm returns regularly.
• What happens if a letter arrives in June? Ask whether the practice is reachable after 15 April, and who can speak to the IRS for you. Representation before the IRS comes from being an Enrolled Agent, a CPA or an attorney.
• How is the fee set? Ask for a starting price and what moves it, before any work begins.

Book early if you can. The 2026 tax year return is due 15 April 2027, and the first documents most people need, W-2s and 1099-NECs, are due out by 1 February 2027. The tax document checklist lists what to gather, and the tax deadline calendar has every date.