Gregs Tax Service

Greg's tax service We went to him because he was recommended as having experience with "Adoption" taxesWe had adopted last year and were looking for a specialist
We went to the first meeting on March 30, he reviewed our paperwork, and briefly talked about how there was an adoption formHe said that he did adoption taxes once- a while ago- and didn't know the name of the form, but could figure it out Then he talked about how the credit worked- and cited a bunch of inaccurate information about how the law works- that you can deduct in the year that the expense was, for example (which is incorrect for domestic adoptions) Prior to this I have always prepared my own taxes, so I was used to reading the tax law and filling out schedules and forms- so I had done my homework, and before I went to him, I knew how the adoption deduction and child tax credits work I was shocked, that I, not being a tax person, knew more about the adoption tax laws then he did- the 'tax professional'
So we concluded our first meeting he said that he would get back to us Meanwhile, I was trying to get a separate Wissue resolved- and was working with the IRS on it On April 12, I happened to be on the phone with the IRS - and said that we had filed an extension through our tax person The IRS rep said- we don't have one on file for you! So I rushed and filed an extension before the tax deadline April
So after this, I thought- This Greg guy- kind of flaky! And he didn't know anything about the adoption expenses He also didn't tell us how much it would cost to file a return So we said, go figure! He forgot about us And decided to go with someone else We found a certified tax accountant that understands both the adoption credit, and payroll issues, and completed and filed our taxes through them
Cut to today- literally almost months later No contact since March He calls and leaves a message stating that he completed the taxes, and is ready to filesince today is the tax deadline for extensions My reaction iswhat??!
First of all- surprised What professional has no contact with someone for months and expects that to work out? If he was really working on our taxes- we would have heard from him He should have at least given us a follow up call- saying what he was waiting for, or that we should schedule a follow up meeting, etcYou know, stuff
Second of all- what info did he use to even prepare our taxes? During our meeting he showed him the basic info- but with the payroll issue, and the adoption- those taxes would have been way off! Using a tax return with half the info- not a good idea!
I call him back- saying- this is a misunderstanding- we thought you forgot about us- and went with someone else who we thought was a better fit He wouldn't even hear me Every time I tried to say something, he cut me off- and kept getting more and more upset He rambled on about how a worker deserves to get paid (true), and that we engaged in a verbal contract (false) I would try to respond- he would cut me off- get mad and start shout talking at me This went on for about mins Then he ended the conversation with him stating that he would send us a bill- and that if we didn't pay- he would take us to small claims court!
What a joker! First - he didn't even listen to what I was saying I tried to tell him my side of the story- but he just bulldozed over me I wasn't even saying that I wouldn't pay him- gosh he did work- he should get paid! But, be reasonable- he didn't contact us for months- and left us in the lurch with the extension and didn't follow up with us
Second- why trust a guy that doesn't know the tax law? Is he too busy to stay current on what the law is? Why take the risk! His mistake (thinking we could deduct all of the adoption credit this year) - would have cost us over $10,in back taxes owed to the IRS- plus any penalties, interest, and years of future problems
Skip this guy- if you're looking for a tax professional- look for an Enrolled Agent- that's a person that has gotten training from the IRS on tax law Why trust your taxes with a half-informed guy with software that figures everything out for him? Turbo tax is more reliable
Zero stars- due to customer service Negative stars- on avoiding years worth of tax troubles because he doesn't understand tax law (What do people pay him for, anyways??)