Tax Services BACK Integration of tax planning with clients’s overall financial plans and tax return preparation.   Many studies have shown taxes to consume in excess of 50% of pretax gross income, so this area is vitally important to monitor and act upon as part of good financial planning. Our tax services consist of tax compliance, tax planning and integration of tax planning with clients' overall financial plans. The complexity and magnitude of tax laws leave many "gray" areas and we try to point out the risks and rewards of strategies in those areas continuously in all of our tax work. Tax Compliance Tax compliance services generally encompass tax return preparation work, dealing with taxing agencies in audits and other issues relating to tax returns and responding to client inquiries relating to the treatment of various items on their tax returns. We employ a quality control process designed to minimize material errors on income tax returns and thereby reduce chances of audit or inquiry by taxing authorities. The back bone of that system is a detailed review of the return before it is transmitted to a client for filing. Tax Planning Tax planning consists of identifying strategies to reduce current and future taxes and helping clients implement them in a way that will minimize audit risk. In many cases we find that the first step in this process is the preparation of an income tax projection for the current year - ideally at about the same time the prior year's income tax return is completed. Tax Integration Tax integration services are generally offered as part of a personal financial planning engagement and consist of finding tax-advantaged ways to accomplish specific financial goals identified in the overall financial planning process. A good example is tax-favored vehicles for retirement funding. As important as tax minimization is, it is more important to accomplish the primary objective than to merely reduce taxes. Gary Nogle, CPA Robert Batty, CPA, PFS