3rd year using Al's services and he's been great. Good rates and he's patient, accommodating. I'm self employed and he's good with the nuances of that kind of tax filing. He doesn't always answer emails and he can run late sometimes, but he's been reliable in general and great to work with. So far so good. I recommend him to friends who are satisfied with his work as well. Seems like a family run business. He is getting up there in age, I think, but it's not an issue. Just hope he continues doing good work for many years to come! read more

I used him for years and thought he was very good, worked with a lot of artists. This year apparently he decided he doesn't want to do my taxes (!?) and hasn't returned my phone calls. Today I finally caught him and he told me to call back in an hour. When I did I got voice mail. Huh? Very unprofessional. read more

Started the process with Mr. Bolton and all seemed well. Unfortunately he took my payment and never finished my taxes. And then he stopped responding to my emails and calls. Beware. read more

No no no. He came recommended by a friend. We filed very early, in February. There was some confusion, as Al said that he would file an amendment to our return after we discovered a medical expense that we had missed. He never filed this amendment, never followed up with us despite us calling and emailing many times to try to contact him. At one point a woman answered the phone at his office just to tell my husband that they were to busy to answer our question. Emails went ignored. It's been months and we were under the impression that our taxes had been amended and that was why our balance wasn't reflected online. Contacted the IRS today to learn that the amendment was never filed and we now owe late fees for non-payment. I've never been treated so poorly by a business I've placed my trust in. He continues to ignore our attempts to reach him. Disgraceful behavior- if anyone were to be audited who had trusted his services they would be absolutely alone. Never trust a business man who fills his office with collector Barbie's, that should have been our first red flag, in addition to his office appearing very disorganized. Go anywhere else for your tax preparation. read more

Al has been doing my tax for 5 years now. He is always very helpful and has the best interest of his clients. He means well and the appointment might take longer than scheduled since he might be taking a bit too long on each client. If you have low tolerance for running behind schedule or less professional environment, you might want to use more corporate places. He is a small business for himself, and he understands struggles of regular New Yorkers, especially for self-employees and small business owners. His rate is very reasonable and you won't lose your money with him. read more

We've used Al for over 20 years. He's always been knowledgable, thorough and patient, plus has a great personality. We actually look forward to seeing him every year. He's given us a lot of great advice over the years, and coached us through an audit a few years ago. His fees are more than fair. The office can be busy during tax season, so you need to plan accordingly. And try to go in with everything organized beforehand, to keep it manageable. read more

I've been with Al for 6 years and have nothing but good experiences with him. He's very thorough and keeps up with new tax practices to look out for his clients. Super nice and a class act! read more

This will be my 7th year using Al Bolton for my personal and business income tax. I've never had any problems. I think because I've always come prepared with my numbers already completed and I always make sure he files my taxes right in front of me with electronic transfers. Al is a really interesting cool, laid back guy. I could chat with him for hours. He works well with creatives and families. He does fill up quickly so I recommend making an appointment with him early, letting him know in advance if filing for more than one state or year so he can plan accordingly, and have all your numbers and paperwork ready to go. If you come prepared, there won't be any problems. read more

Dealing with tax returns is like my worst nightmare! It's the second time I filled with Al and he actually makes the experience joyful! He gives above and beyond, from his time, patience, knowledge and expertise! I can't think of a better and productive way to file tax returns- he is a must! read more

Very thorough, calm and helpful. Affordable. Good with artists, freelancers, people with multiple gigs. Patient and good humored. Sometimes can be a little slow (you do have to be prepared to wait sometimes, although if you come in early you have a better chance). Overall he's pretty awesome. read more

We filed our taxes with Al this year and last. Last year was fine. This year, we received a notice from the IRS saying we haven't filed and owe a fine. We keep calling Al's office, and he keeps not responding. It's been a month. If this issue gets resolved, I'll edit this review. Just wanted to update to say that Al eventually did file an amended return for us. Then the IRS of course took months and months to get us our check. It arrived about a month ago, so nearly an entire year after we originally filed with Al. I'm alarmed to see that Dorothy R, posting on 7/16/2013, had nearly exactly the same experience. Al is a super nice guy, though. We went back to him this year in the hopes that last year's mix-up was a blip. But reading Dorothy's review, I'm worried it might not be. read more

Disorganized, rude, makes mistakes. I used to like going to this place until Al would make small mistakes on my returns that would really mess me up. I still returned a third time and this time simply asked to look things over before filing since mistakes were made in the previous years, in response I received a snap back that "Maybe I should do my own taxes if I know so much" - RUDE! At that point the entire office was in chaos since someone was coming in for an appointment and they had misplaced their paperwork and were going frantic looking for it. Not the first time that has happened when I was there. I filed my taxes with a different company this year and the results were night and day. Not only did I find out that there were deductions I could have claimed that weren't claimed but saved me literally thousands of dollars and wasn't insulted in the process. I also had friends coming here and on two occasions my friend was waiting at the scheduled time and Al would come over and proclaim that he felt like going to do Tai Chi for 20-30 minutes leaving my friend waiting the entire time. How rude and unprofessional is that! Avoid this place.... read more

This man should not be trusted. i agree his help is rude, but even worse, this man files tax returns without your consent, signature or approval. i went to see him once and never got back to him because i decided not to file with him. He then proceeded to file on my behalf an incorrect and incomplete tax return without even telling me. He caused me such a headache. I had to refile an amendment and pay more money. When I called him to talk with him about his mistake, he never returned my call and his cell phone was disconnected. DO NOT TRUST THIS MAN! read more

Yes, it is impossible to reach Al if it's not tax season. Once I had to defer and I didn't hear from him until a few days before filing and it was a little nerve racking. All that said, he does an amazing job at an incredible price and for this he gets 5 stars!! It doesn't get any better than this. Not to mention, he's a really great person! I HIGHLY recommend him. Book him early because he fills up very fast. read more

When reading these reviews, please keep in mind that those of us who are happy with Al's services probably won't take the time out of our day to write a positive review - we have better things to do. But since the negative reviews here are so diametrically opposed to my experience, I thought I should chime in. Al's a great guy and has really been a huge help in my ongoing relationship with the IRS. I love having him in my corner and think you will too. FYI - An accountant is not an excuse to be lazy or irresponsible with your tax returns. read more

Al has been my tax accountant for 15+ years. I never had a problem, he is quick, thorough, personable and explains things so now I am always prepared, I go with all my paperwork and numbers in order and filing is a breeze. Every year I look forward to meet with him and be a good and responsible citizen and pay my taxes. In the course of many years I was audited once, and he was quick to get back to me and was of huge help. It was just an audit, his numbers were precise and all went well. I have recommended him to many friends and they all love him, we are all happy customers. But we make our appointment early and avoid March and April, because his office gets very very very busy. read more

Al Bolton has been my accountant for the past 8 years. He is a great guy, I have recommended him to many of my friends. I'm very organized with all my paperwork every year so my visit it's short and sweet. I tried to see him as soon as tax season starts because he gets very busy. Al, has advised me in a variety of tax-related topics and makes the process super easy. Worth every penny. read more

I am paying a hefty price for Al Bolton's irresponsibility, carelessness and questionable business ethics. He failed to file my April return on time, and surfaced in June only long enough to prepare and file a different version of my return (and why did he do that?? good question!!) that was immediately flagged for a NYS audit. I am taking time out from sifting through the mess he made to post this warning: Do not entrust your income tax returns to this man. He comes across as a nice guy, and his fee is low, but as it turns out, these are not the most important qualities we need in a tax preparer. read more

i have been Al's client since 2001. Never been audited and always satisfied. I don't understand the other reviews on yelp at all.

Al Bolton did a return for me about 5 years ago - long story short, I got audited, and Al dropped off the face of the earth. Since then, I found a great accountant, have not been audited, and everything is great. DO NOT file with Al Bolton, you will be sorry. read more

I have used Al for years, but after last year I will not be using his services again. Several mistakes and misplaced documents. Never once did his office return my calls. I am still waiting for the return of one of my lost documents a year later with no response. read more

Used to seem like an interesting guy and had some good advice, but over time has become disorganized and sloppy of-late and won't take credit for his errors when they occur. Office server has been down, phones have down ( which i notified him of ) his cell phone VM is always full, he's not a texter, no response to emails generally etc etc. Last nights 7pm tax meeting turned into me waiting till 10:45pm at the ready with no response or call back, this was after an 8pm meeting being canceled last minute the week prior. Eventually I gave up and went out for dinner. In his email today he apologized. Then after emailing him back I was promptly advised to look elsewhere. Called tonight to talk to him and he hung up on me on purpose, in a childish manner. He might "turn it around" as he goes full-time into taxes, not just nights after his other gig, but its 50/50 at best. When correcting past years errors ( missed IRA deductions, Property Taxes basic items ) it took over 4 months and he became short, curt, was too busy to send them to me, had to send a messenger to his office. He even failed to file a return from back in 2012, I just learned and must go back and " refile" and could face BIG PENALTIES.... and I have now to seek a new tax advisor/ professional to correct these errors. I am not even sure if he is a certified C.P.A and might be working under the loop hole of a tax preparer, or tax jester. A friend quit using him a few years back as he was not on the ball enough and made too many errors. I hope this review helps, He's not in business to succeed, or so it seems. read more

He was recommended to me by friends. I made an appointment via email which his office confirmed via phone. On the day of our appointment I showed up right on time. No answer of his office doorbell or office phone. I called his mobile phone, texted and emailed. No answer. I waited around for an hour (after taking the train from Queens to see him) but never heard from him. I finally gave up and went home. I sent the office an email asking what the hell happened and never got a response. He wasted hours of my day. What a crappy experience. read more

We were happy using Al for 15 years, until our experience reached a new low. His rate is very cheap, but you get what you pay for. He started making errors on our returns and when I contacted him via email to point them out, I could not get a response as to when they would be fixed. He took two weeks to make a few minor changes. In our last year of using his services, he suddenly dropped us as clients several weeks before the April deadline, forcing us to find a new accountant. In addition, for many years we waited for hours in his office or had to walk around the neighborhood because he overbooks clients. Is Al a nice person? Yes. But he just isn't very professional. He touts himself as an accountant for artists so many people use him because his rates are so low, but he is almost impossible to reach outside of the few hours you are sitting there with him once a year. Once he is finished, he expects you to sign off on your return without really having had time to look over it. Shocked we did not get audited. read more