Have you ever wondered if you have been overpaying in taxes, but you could not pinpoint where the issues might be in those tax returns prepared by your accountant? Or you file your own taxes, but every year you could not help but wonder if you had missed any tax saving opportunities? We can help you by performing a third-party tax review. We have reviewed many tax returns for clients including startup founders, shareholders, expatriates, executives, small business owners, and company employees. We often were able to identify tax saving opportunities for those clients, and/or correct errors for them. Below are some typical examples.

Client A, a US expatriate executive who worked in China for many years. We found in his prior tax returns the client overpaid in Additional Medicare Tax (Form 8959) for many years. Foreign wages are exempt from the extra 0.9% Medicare Tax for wages over $250,000, however his accountant was unaware of this nuance in foreign wages. We advised the client to have his accountant amend those returns. The client ended up receiving a three-year refund totaling $15,000.

Client B, a US expatriate executive. He is entitled to an annual tax exemption of $100,000+ in foreign wages. However, through specific calculations we found this exemption resulted in excess taxes due to his high salary. Personal tax rates above certain income levels are higher in Mainland China than those in the US, therefore this exemption worked against him. High income expatriates should perform advanced calculations to confirm foreign exemptions actually work out in their favor.

Client C, a US expatriate who built successful companies in China. We found in his tax returns he did not declare foreign bank accounts and companies as he stayed overseas for many years. These underreporting of foreign assets has become illegal since Trump's tax reform in 2017. We analyzed his specific circumstances and selected the best IRS procedure to bring him into compliance, therefore mitigated the risk of hefty fines or potential criminal charges. For foreign asset disclosure, please check out relevant articles on Easton’s website or on LinkedIn. This is an impactful tax rule for expatriates in recent years.

Client D, a small business owner in the US. Through tax review, we recommend the client set up 401K plans and Defined Benefits Plans for himself and his employees to realize overall tax reduction.

Client E, self-employed S-Corp. We discovered his income was erroneously filed as Passive Income by his accountant, and the client consequently overpaid in Net Investment Income Tax (3.8%).  A $400,000 annual income resulted in $15,000 excess federal taxes annually.

Client F, high income and high taxes. We advised him to take steps to modify his investment portfolio to achieve overall tax reduction.

Client G, a startup company founder in the US. We discovered the client did not effectively take advantage of those IRS tax exemptions for startup founders and investors, e.g, qualified stock waiver up to $10M+. With further planning, he may receive tens of millions of dollars in exempt federal income taxes. Startup founders and investors, check out our published articles on QSBS which are the largest tax exemptions for entrepreneurs in the US.

Tax DIY-ers. We can also help review tax returns prepared by yourself.  You may have accumulated a number of questions while preparing your own taxes over the years, or just want to find out tax reduction opportunities via a second look by an income tax expert.  Through our review, you will have your questions answered once and for all. You will also gain clarity to help further guide your DIY journey.

Note that the IRS only allows to refund excess taxes up to three years. Therefore, if you are concerned about tax overpay, please take actions by consulting with us. 

Our third-party tax review service is entirely based on the content of your tax forms without asking to see supporting documents. With our expertise and extensive practice, we are able to perform such review based on the logic and content in the tax returns for compliance, tax advantages, and application of best tax codes for your circumstances. Because we can perform these reviews effectively, you will find our review fees reasonable.  We will only charge additional fees if you need us to draft detailed assessments or perform further consultation.