Do not trust this guy to file your taxes!! Patrick did not file my parents taxes back in 2016!!…read moreAfter almost 5 years, we find out that they were never filed and can get a letter from the tax board asking for my parents taxes and having to pay penalties!!! So unprofessional!

Pat is a person of the highest integrity. He has been doing my taxes for the past five years. He…read moretakes time to explain what is necessary and answer your questions, without wasting any time. Whether you are self-employed or work for a company Pat Mitchell CPA will get the job done!

Gary is a scam. Did my returns wrong. Then wanted another 1,000 to fix his mistake. He doesn't care…read moreabout accurate returns he cares about getting them submitted as fast as possible.

If you are considering hiring Gary Winston, CPA, I urge you to read this first…read more My family hired Mr. Winston to assist with estate tax filings and financial oversight while my father was suffering from dementia. What followed was not just unprofessional--it was catastrophic. Over time, Mr. Winston submitted questionable tax filings, including a false 1099-MISC claiming over $1 million had been invested in my business. The truth? The actual amount was less than $150,000, and even that was over several years. Based on this false return, the IRS was paid over $237,000 from my father's accounts. He also advised my father to send misleading letters to the IRS--letters that contradicted facts, concealed who actually controlled the money, and protected Winston's position. When I began asking questions, Gary stopped responding altogether. No answers. No accountability. Meanwhile, my father's multimillion-dollar trust was drained. Funds vanished through suspicious payments, and to this day, Gary Winston has refused to explain his role or provide documentation to justify his filings. His former bookkeeper was involved in questionable practices, and there is strong reason to believe that others were acting in concert with him. This wasn't just negligence. This was manipulation of an elderly man with cognitive decline, and it destroyed our family's finances. We're now working with federal and state authorities to investigate, but the damage is already done. I'm writing this not out of anger--but to protect others from going through the same thing. If you have an elderly family member, if you're dealing with trusts or estate taxes, please be extremely cautious. In our case, trusting Gary Winston was a tragic mistake.

I strongly caution others against using Carlin & Associates for complex tax matters involving stock…read morecompensation or cost-basis reporting. I brought the firm an IRS issue involving approximately $20,000 in additional tax. The adjustment arose from sales of ESPP and RSU shares where the IRS appeared to be using a zero or severely understated cost basis. I sent my contact at Carlin the relevant information and specifically asked for help understanding and resolving the issue. I was ultimately told that the IRS was correct and that I owed the money, so I paid it. After receiving a related California tax notice, I took the matter to a new CPA. On reviewing the underlying documents, the new CPA identified that the stock basis used in the adjustment was wrong. These were shares I had paid for or shares whose value had already been included in my W-2 income. In other words, the central issue was not that I had failed to report approximately $20,000 in taxes owed. It was a cost-basis reporting and reconciliation problem, the very issue I had asked Carlin to investigate. Because I relied on their advice and paid the assessment, I may now be unable to recover much or all of the money due to statutory refund deadlines. Tax professionals can make mistakes, but this was an extremely costly one. What concerns me most is that the available brokerage and tax documents appear to have contained the information needed to question the IRS's calculation. I wish the firm had investigated the basis issue carefully instead of simply advising me to accept and pay the assessment. We also found they charged us for every 'project' - even just a quick phone call or question. Twice, they explicitly stated they were not going to charge, and I got a bill sent to me. Based on my experience, I would not recommend Carlin & Associates.

She's a lifesaver: she's not only an amazing human being, she's a highly skilled CPA. Our doctor…read morefriend recommended her. And she didn't even know she was on yelp. She doesn't take clients unless it's a referral. I think because it's a lot of work and a large commitment. She charges accordingly but in our case that we have many years of back taxes it's worth the money. Peace of mind is priceless... I appreciate that she can handle stress on another super human level. Her mind is sharp, she has a special talent, I believe she was born with a special brain, and has a gift, to crunch numbers, handle red tape, IRS, deadlines and take clients through the daunting road of taxes. Always in a great disposition. She's fearless too. She has no problem going down the rabbit holes and making calls and inquiries. She is an amazing human and a top notch CPA. And someone we can trust with our entire lives on the table. If you have work to do with an accountant you really need to feel heard and be able to trust that person. It's an intimate process. No judgement. You shouldn't ever feel ashamed. We are all human. And taxes aren't something natural to any normal human being. So to find a wonderful person that can make this process smoother. And legally work their magic. It's a blessing. I feel blessed to have been introduce to Irina Kassil.

Irina was recommended to me by my financial advisor becuase the tax professional I had goofed up my…read moretaxes in a very bad way. The first thing Irina did was spend time talking with me both on the phone and again in person to learn about my tax concerns and issues. And now she's done with my taxes for 2018 and I have been completely impressed. Her pinpoint knowledge of tax law and tax consequences is profound. Her attention to detail is outstanding. She helped get my sole proprietor deductions in line to make an audit less likely. And she managed to work in all my expenditures into my numbers so that I didn't lose a single penny. And her knowledge of COVERED CA is quite strong. Irina is wonderful and I'm relieved & grateful to be her client.