I recently used Cukierski & Associates to complete my 2023 taxes. This firm is only interested in one item - namely your money! I specifically advised the partner in charge of handling my tax return at the beginning of the engagement - that I would require an extension as I was about to enter the hospital to undergo a medical procedure. He was new to me. I was constantly told and hounded by one of their administrative staff they would require immediate payment for services. I had advised this same person several times I would pay my invoice as soon as my medical procedure was completed and I was released from the hospital. ( I always pay my bills.) Despite advising this person several times of my situation, and having advised the partner in charge of my situation, at the very beginning of the engagement with him, this administrative person who was extremely obnoxious would not let up. The invoice was not very large, a little over $500. The only reason I wound up with this firm was I previously used a former partner of the firm, who did OK but not great work on my tax returns. My wife at the time was friends with one of the accountant partners wife of this firm. This prior partner did not know and could not handle the tax information for 529 accountants very well. As I had 3 sons who fortunately now have all graduated from college. I had to literally walk him through the 529 tax information each year and how to handle it. He is now retired, fortunately. My advice to you is to stay away from this accounting firm unless you like being constantly and relentlessly pressured. read more

For over 20 years Jim and his team have handled both my personal and business taxes! Professional, personable and always friendly these folks will take care of you better than anyone else! read more

DO NOT USE THIS PLACE! I took my taxes, my partners and my new business to Jim since he was a referral from my old tax man, Dennis. Jim and his team almost cost us $6,000 in pure mistakes. He charged us close to one thousand dollars and then forgot to file my tax return!! I had to keep asking for a confirmation of then submitting my taxes, they never did. After a month, I called and Jim informed me that he had submitted my taxes TWO hours before my call. That was ONE MONTH after he had said my taxes had been filed and 10 days after the deadline. He insisted on doing my taxes for free next year for 'the small mistake'. We of course are not going back next year, so he agreed to refund me for the tax files he never completed. Since then, trying to get that refund has been a storm of back and forth emails where his professionalism is non-existent. He refused to send me information in writing and said that 'his word was more than enough'. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. We continue to revise our taxes for more mistakes. read more

Generations of my family have been going to Jim. I was quiet excited to meet the man, the myth, the legend. And I must say, Jim did not disappoint. I have always done my own taxes because it has been a simple w-2. but I had to get the help of a tax guy once I got a second job that requires a 1099 and my taxes became too complicated for myself to fill out. These guys are extremely knowledgeable regarding tax and accounting services. They are really great at figuring out your taxes especially if you have real estate property and multiple forms of income to report. For a tax firm that probably sees hundreds of clients, these guys are very informed about each clients account and make you feel like you're taken care of. I highly recommend! read more

Bottom line, they lost all of my original receipts and when I asked about them I was told they "had nothing for me". That's simply unacceptable! I wouldn't trust this firm to handle anything further for me. read more

I used their services last year to file a couple of returns, the service that I received was very disorganized and the staff there are not friendly in any way. I had to constantly call their office for updates and getting a return call was not part of their customer service. The cost of the returns were much more than the estimate for the services rendered and I had to call several times to demand the return of a payment I made up front that they failed to apply to my final invoice. I finally got my deposit after showing up several times and demanding it, they wanted to keep it and apply it to the next time I came in. Like an idiot, I called them this morning for some advice on a stock payout I received from my employer relating to a W9 filing. I spoke with Jim and he reminded me why I would NEVER return there, he was so blatantly condescending and rude that I was aggravated enough to take time out of my work day to share my complete dissatisfaction. I am in business where I deal with clients all day and I would NEVER EVER get away with treating people the way Jim treats their clients! read more

Don't waste your time here (unless you wanna loose money, time and your patience!) Besides questionable billing practices and shoddy work, if your looking for problems with your taxes than this is the right place. Read other reviews - this many yelpers can't be wrong. Stay away! read more

Everyone here gets the job done ... thanks for all the great loyal years taking care of me and my fam ... and Jim is one of a kind !

When I was first looking for an accountant, I knew absolutely nothing about the service. Picked this place because it was close to my favorite veggie dog joint, Flub-A-Dub-Chub and by Reckless Records. Now that I'm much more acquainted with bookkeeping and accounting, I'm happy I chose this place. Jim is always available to answer my questions and the rest of the staff is super friendly. The reviewers that say the staff is rude here probably just need to chill out. In my 6 years coming here, I've never been disrespected or felt under served. I own two businesses and Jim has done a great job keeping my business and personal tax situation in order. No complaints. read more

Going to Jim (also George) for years. Always get a refund. Very pleasant to work with and treats you like family. I would recommend this service. I used to use a similarly named tax service in Lakeview, but one time I had to visit the owner's Barrington office...not only was he condescending but offered some transphobic opinions of his clients in Lakeview. Then after telling me repeatedly he did not need a certain form, wound up 3 days from filing that I had to produce the form and moreover drive out to the far suburbs to give it to him and then he pretended it was my fault. (You know who you are, BV) Jim's not like that. Very gay-friendly and treats everyone equally. Super competent. read more

I used tax & accounting services for my small business taxes. I am so glad I went in. I found out that I had been doing everything incorrectly! What can I say it was my first year in business. The owner went over everything in detail and gave me great advice in turning our business into an S-Corp. All in all I would highly reccommend them if you have complex tax needs, they are very knowledgable, and are great at following up with you! read more

Let me start this review out right: TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE!!!!!!!! I wish there was an audio feedback button on here so you could hear the frustration and fury in my voice right now! A friend recommended me to go here, she has gone here for a few years now, and loves them. I took her advice and got over the fact that I had to pay someone to do my taxes (I've always done them myself) and made an appointment for myself AND a co-worker. Our appointment was today, Feb 18th at 1 o'clock. We arrived about 5 minutes early because we knew we were going to have to fill out some kind of paper work since it was our first time there. As we entered the dirty old apartment that they call their "office" we were not greated in a friendly matter, more of the "what are you here for" tone of voice. We said we had an appointment at 1 o'clock, yada yada yada, and proceeded to fill out the form to get it started. A man who resembled a very overweight Meatloat impersonator came in to the "waiting room" I guess that's what you would call it, and told us FRIEDA was not there yet, and was running late coming back from a doctors appointment... my friend and I thought-- okay? And then he proceeded to tell us that he knew she was awake because he had woken her up at 10am when he called her.... WHY WOULD A PROFESSIONAL TAX ACCOUNTANT BE SLEEPING AND NEED A WAKE UP CALL AT 10AM??? That's all we could think of? So we waited... and waited.... at 1:20 the chubby man came in again and said he had just talked to her and she was in a cab-- my friend asked did he know her expected time of arrival? and he replied "no, all she said was she was in a cab and that's all I can tell you" HOW RUDE!!!! My friend also said that when they called the day before to confirm our appointments she had mentioned she had another appointment at 2pm she had to attend would that be a problem and the lady on the other end calling from the office said no. FINALLY at 1:30 my friend had to leave me sitting alone in this waiting room that looked like it belong in the movie The Shinning so she herself could make her other appointment. She told the man in front that she could no longer wait for Frieda and all he said was "well she had an appointment scheduled with you" and my friend replied "yes, over a 1/2 an hour ago, I honored my appointment, she did not" and left.... So again I waited... and waited... until he came back into the little room and said "well I just talked to Frieda, she's now in a cab on her way here, before she was going to the doctor"!!!!!!! I was furious (and still am) WHO GOES TO THE DOCTOR WHEN YOU HAVE ALREDY MADE TWO APPOINTMENTS AT THE SAME TIME!?!?!?!?!? This lady is very unprofessional and obviously does not care about her job!!!! Finally at 2:25-- 1 hour and 25 minutes after my appointment was supposed to have started I walked up the front and asked who was in charge because I needed to talk to them. The semi-English speaking receptionist said "he is" and pointed to Meatloaf...aka... Jim Barr. I said I wanted to speak to him and she said he was busy, and he must have heard because he yelled back "in a minute" so I waited again- in the mean time FRIEDA shows up looking like she ran from her doctors appointment- hair all a mess- clothes wrinkled- just gross... plain gross.... She puts her things away very slowly, talks to some people in the office, walks out and says "you must be my next appointment?" and I say "no, I was your 1 o'clock" and she said she would be right with me. I said "no hurry or anything, I've already been waiting over an hour and a half for you" and she said she was at the doctor in ELMHURST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I would have known that I wouldn't have waited!!!!! I asked why no one told me that, she said they didnt know, so I asked why she didn't tell them she was in Elmhurst so they could have told me? She had no answer.... I asked if I was going to be compensated for my time spent waiting and she said "well, you can stay or you can leave, your choice" then walked away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never been to some place more unprofessional than this one!!!!!!!!!! If she can't be on time for an appointment - one she scheduled- she's irresponsible!!!! I will never allow someone like that the touch my finances- and neither should anyone else!!! You'll most likely get audited!! Never go here, I hope my story helps when making the decision on who to trust with your money and your social security number!!!! read more

I couldn't agree more with the prior review. This is the worse place ever. To think they are in the business of providing professional services to people - and yet, they are the rudest, most unprofessional individuals I have ever encountered. I have had the unfortunate, unpleasant experience of dealing with them, and unless you don't value your dignity and sanity, stay away. Avoid at all costs! I would rate this business at ZERO stars but the system requires me to make a selection of at least 1. I was spoken down to; they refuse to be held accountable; the office is in disarray; and they are constantly playing the blame game. - Unheard of and completely unacceptable when you're in a professional services business like providing accounting services - where the utmost attention to detail is mandated. Based on what I observed when visiting the office (which was in shambles), I decided to sit down and waste my time by going through my tax return, even though I just paid this place to do that - and guess what - I found errors in my return!!! When I brought this discovery to their attention, I was further treated like I was wasting their time. Rude, unprofessional, no apology, 'management' blaming the employees. Stay away - stay far away! This is literally the worst business I have encountered. The fact that they haven't yet gone out of business or have been involved in heavy litigation due to their business practices shocks me. read more

AVOID at ALL COSTS! Run! The firm made some serious mistakes on my tax returns and it cost me dearly. The experience to fix the problems was not pleasant. I wish I could give zero star. I later had all my tax returns prepared by them examined by my current CPA and found over a thousand dollars of missed deductions. The fee was not that great. My current CPA charges only slightly more. Below are my 2c to look for a good tax preparer: 1. Even if the tax preparer makes a mistake, it is ultimately your responsibility to get it right. 2. Make sure the tax preparer is an Attorney, CPA, Enrolled Agent, Enrolled Actuary and Appraiser. The obvious reason is people have these credentials typically know more on the topic than people who don't. A less obvious reason is professionals with these credentials are bound by some code or rules and even by law. Violation of them can result in diciplinary actions against them. In addition, the IRS's Office of Professional Responsibility's jurisdiction, as described by Treasury Deptment. Circular 230, is only over Attorneys, CPAs, Enrolled Agents, Enrolled Actuaries and Appraisers. Note that ABA and ATP are not on this list. In case something goes wrong, your ability to complain to the professional associations and the IRS gives the tax preparer motivation to properly fix your problem. Whereas you have little leverage dealing with a tax preparer without these credentials. When mistakes made by this firm cost me serious $, there was very little I could do. 3. It is one thing to see logos of professional associations on a firm's web site, it is another thing that the person preparing your tax has these professional credentials. For example, the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) allows non-EA members and even these members are allowed to use the NAEA logos. Although the website (http://www.tax-acct.net/about_tax_accounting.html) displays the NAEA logo, the person preparing my tax was not an EA. It is important to check with the proper organizations your tax preparer's actual credentials. For attorney's and CPAs, the State Professional Regulations web site is a good start. For EAs, check with IRS. You should also find out beforehand your options if the tax preparer makes mistakes. The more you can do and the severe the consequence, the more leverage you have. read more

I am re-writing my review, I've been coming to see Jim and Russell since 2004 and without a doubt this is the best tax and accounting firm in the Midwest by far. Jim Barr is a CPA, EA, ABA, ATA, ATP, & a AFSP, which basically means he's ridiculously smart and does taxes better than anyone in the country. Broadway & Belmont is not easy for me to get to, it is so worth the drive and I literally look forward to getting my taxes done for the past 16 years same location, non corp, relaxed atmosphere, I cannot go on enough on how incredible this place is. 50 stars on a 5 star scale. I love you Jim, Russell, and Chris. ETP!! read more

Been going to Jim and his staff for years. Never disappoints. Drop the paperwork off, take a nice winter stroll down Broadway, go to dinner at Joy's Noodles and before you know it, the taxes are done. And done right. True, not the cheapest place to get your taxes done, but you get what you pay for. Two thumbs up. read more

My New York client (I'm an attorney) used this firm for several years during the time her mother was a disabled elderly person living in the neighborhood. My client was quite satisfied with their services, and found them to be professional and knowledgeable. I read the previous review by Liz Q. It sounds like she was just having a bad day - the office is not an "apartment" (I have visited there several times on matters related to my client), the person does not look like "meatloaf", and the staff is very professional and curteous. read more

Well, I just came across this feature, and decided to write you about our very positive experiences with this tax firm. We have been going there for 10 years or so, and have always been professionally cared for. Of course, we are professional people, and have the courtesy to arrive timely with our "stuff' ready. We usually have a short interview (that is all it seems to take) and then leave our documents. We pick them up within a few days, finished! Once or twice through the years we have actually received a call saying they were ready on the same day we brought them in! There was always someone ready to see us at our appointed time, although we have used various professional preparers there through the ten years. At least four stars here **** Thank you. read more

This is by far the worst accounting service for tax preparation I have ever used. The other comments are "Correct" and Jim is an arrogant idiot. When I argued that the fee was way too high - $700 vs. $225 over the previous two years, he actually snatched the paperwork out of my hands and held it hostage until I gave them my credit card. NEVER NEVER NEVER use this group. They never return phone calls either! read more

I wouldn't give it any ratings if I could......short story, long headache, I work for a non profit and they were to file extentions for us....uhm, they never did, the org has now paid $100 in penalties for the State of Illinois, and now I'm working with the IRS for them to forgive a $2540.00 federal late fee penalty, total headache and totally unecessary. Why wouldn't you just tell me you didn't to it...? hmmm...dip-sh#ts read more

I have been using this firm for years and always appreciated their help. Recently I decided to start my own business and went to them, Jim was great in helping me sort it all out. I am very grateful for their service and highly suggest them to anyone, but especially those starting a new business. read more

I have been working with Jim Barr for years. He has helped me through the purchase of two different homes, a marriage and a child. He is available to me all throughout the year for questions or advice and is very accessible. I have and continue to recommend him to friends, co-workers and business contacts. read more