We have used The Original Tax Center for over thirty years. both while we were posted overseas and resident in the US. We have always received highly professional and courteous service from the Holts and their staff. They resolved to our benefit a number of tricky issues that an earlier tax preparer inflicted on us. We look forward to continuing to work with John Holt in the years to come. read more

In tax year 2020, John Holt provided incorrect advice on a fairly simple ITIN application that has now resulted in a $6000 tax bill. His advice was incorrect, flippant, and the care factor from his office ranged from zero to zero over 3 years. I am a single parent and was unemployed for most of last year. This tax bill is a BIG deal for me and he wont take calls or claim against his insurance for his poor 'service'. I sorely regret ever engaging him as my agent. Super nasty tax agent. read more

Great customer service and very helpful with the new questions I have every year. As a repeat customer for the past five years, I can say I am pleased with the results. read more

Jay has superbly prepared my taxes for over 20 years! He's very personable and professional and answers all of my questions. He understands the complexities of people who have spent a majority of their adult lives living overseas. It's given me great comfort to entrust Jay with my tax preparation. read more

I used to think that I did a decent job with my taxes. They would get done in steps, actually. Step 1: Gather my documents. Step 2: Realize that April 15th was fast approaching. Step 3: Panic. Step 4: Download tax software. Step 5: Fill in the blanks. Step 6: Be confused and frustrated. Step 7: Cross my fingers. Step 8: Finish the forms. Step 9: e-file. Step 10: Pay, or wait for a check. I did this for the past 5 years and for the most part, it was fine. That is, until I received a letter in the mail early this year (2011) from the Commonwealth of Virginia about my 2007 taxes. Since then, I've been scared of The Government, and decided that I'd get my taxes done by a professional. I'm so glad I did. I picked The Original Tax Center because of their location, and because they are a small business that has been around since 1945. The place looks it too - it is the most unsexy place in DC. But you're not going to base a tax center by its looks right? I called them for an appointment and was able to get one within a week. The receptionist was incredibly nice, as was my tax preparer, Rich. It took him less than an hour to put all of my forms into his tax software and got me a really great refund. And right when I thought he was done, he wanted to hang on to them for a bit longer 'cause he wanted to double check something. He said he'd give me a call, and sure enough, about half an hour later, he called to tell me he found me even more money. Nice! Yes, the clientele are more my parents' age. And yes, I saw the receptionist use a typewriter at some point. But they got the job done and then some - and that's 5 stars in my book. read more

The original tax center is superb! Jay the taxman is totally vested with his clients. He makes tax preparation a pleasure.

I've worked with John for the past three years on our tax returns and have nothing but good things to say. I try to get him our information on the early side and he can usually turn around our return in a week or two. Our return is fairly simple, but he always takes the time to go over and explain things thoroughly, even answering questions throughout the year on tax-related issues at no extra charge. One year we filed late and had to deal with late fees and the IRS losing our return, and he walked us through every scary letter we received with patience. Highly recommend read more

As tax season nears, I want to take this opportunity to share what a bad experience I had with John Holt last year. Without warning, he doubled his rates vs. prior years. When asked to explain, he blamed his new office manager's decision to start basing fees on forms. OK, but I didn't need half the forms I was charged for. And then! After asking to be mailed copies of all the forms, he EMAILED them! Without redacting all my personally identifiable information! That is the most unprofessional part of it all--any seasoned tax professional would protect your data. read more

I've been using the Original Tax Center for several years now and it's been a wonderful experience every time. Friendly service, timely appointments and professional staff. John Holt has been great at providing guidance and answering my questions. Recommend them! read more

As a foreign citizen temporarily working in the US, I decided to enlist the services of a professional to submit my first US tax return. I chose the Original Tax Center based on the positive reviews here on Yelp, client testimonials on their website and advertized experience with foreign nationals. I paid for a professional service but unfortunately, that's not what I got. My tax consultant: * Was clearly unfamiliar with the form 1040-NR (which, I have since discovered, was the wrong form for me to file). He spent most of the appointment looking up definitions on the E-filing program, the IRS website and even Google. I had to correct him on several points and he asked me about the tax treaty my country has with the US. The appointment lasted 90 minutes even though my personal and financial circumstances are very straightforward. * Was unable to file either my state or federal tax returns electronically (one of the main reasons why I chose to see a professional), leaving me with the inconvenience of posting both returns myself by certified mail at my own expense. * Skipped over some sections without asking me and did not inquire about deductions at all. When I finally asked if I was eligible for any deductions, I was told: "look, it's April 9 and we're nearly done here, it's a bit late to bring that up now". I wrote an email to the President Mr Holt expressing my disappointment with my experience. When I later phoned to discuss a missed deduction, the Vice President Mr Bacas acknowledged receipt of my email but almost 2 weeks later I have not received any response. I am writing this review partly because I am appalled by the service I received and partly because I wish someone had warned me before I made an appointment with the Original Tax Center. I am a medical professional and in my many years of filing tax returns, often through professional tax services, I have never had an experience like this. When I pay for a professional service, I expect more individualized advice than I could obtain myself from the IRS website. If you are filing anything but a standard tax form I strongly recommend that you save your time and money and go elsewhere. I certainly will next year. read more

This is the tax preparation equivalent of that wonderful, trusted, neighborhood hardware store that has always been there. I did my taxes on my own until I started having to do Schedule C a few years ago. Went to Block once or twice, and my experience varied widely in quality and cost, as did the expertise of their staff. Last year I came here, and they did a better job on my taxes, at a lower cost. Best of all, it is a locally owned, independent small business that has been around since 1945, that's hard to come by in this town. Friendly, stable staff that remember you from year to year as well. I got a loyalty discount for coming back as well. read more

Unfortunately I have to say I had a very bad experience with the Original Tax Center. I'm not sure if it was John or Harry, but it was late in tax season and obvious that they were very overwhelmed. They were extremely rude and unhelpful. Not unwilling to answer questions, but very short-tempered and angry when asked anything. Ever since, I have done TurboTax for just as much money and have been just fine. Definitely take my business elsewhere. read more

I would not recommend this place...especially not the accountant I had. I have a unique tax situation and after receiving a letter from the IRS, I took it as a clear sign I needed professional help. Based on the limited, but positive reviews of the place, I decided to go in for my past year and current year taxes. I wound up having to take 3 trips to get the job done. On my second trip my taxes were filed incorrectly, which was clear to me, yet as I pushed back I was told it was correct and the accountant insisted that he had asked his colleagues who agreed it was the correct way of filing my taxes. Yet when I continued to push back on the accuracy and a colleague walking by was asked his thoughts--he completely agreed with me and noted it was easy and the right way to file for my tax situation. The guy would barely come down on the cost of services for causing me to come back 3x to get my taxes filed. I'm a pretty reasonable person and I understand making mistakes, but I felt like the accountant blatantly lied to me about consulting with his colleagues and he was embarrassed, but unapologetic for his errors--which is enough to guarantee I won't be back or recommending this place to anyone. read more

I've been going here for over 7 years to get my taxes done. They are really knowledgable, organized and do great work. I even relocated out of the state and still use there services. I hope to continue using them for a long time. read more

the people here are really old, will plug your stuff into their software program, apparently not much different from turbo tax. if you are doing a W2 or something really simple, they are fine and affordable. if you have a complicated return, definitely definitely definitely look elsewhere. also they will charge you 45 dollars to send you a digital copy of your tax return. the woman on the phone explained that it was just "their policy", but couldnt explain where the money actually goes past "processing fees." .. when i pointed out that the "processing" is just searching for my name in their system and emailing me the return, which is already completed, and free for them, she just said "well its tax season".. which makes no sense. again, really old people stuck in their ways since 1945 or whenever they got their cpa. only go here if you have a really simple return. read more

I've gone twice to The Original Tax Center with strange questions, and both times, Mr. Holt has known the answer. I spent from 9am to afternoon on the telephone trying to get answers from the IRS, and two staffers told me they didn't have that information. Mr. Holt did. I always talk to Mr. Holt--there's no finer tax advisor! read more

This place really helped me out with my tax return conundrum. After a fiasco with another tax preparer, the tax assistant (Mr. Dickson to be exact) really went out of his way to help me prepare taxes from previous years. And Mr Dickson was just as helpful with this past year's tax return preparation. I'd highly recommend The Original Tax Center for a quick and affordable tax return preparation center. read more

My husband and I normally file our taxes on our own, but we decided to use The Original Tax Center this year. Last year, our tax situation became more complicated due to moving and foreign government employment. During our initial appointment, we showed our tax specialist our documents and asked if it would be too complicated. He said he could handle it. However, he entered our information incorrectly and told us that we owed several thousand to state and federal. He told us he'd double check his math and call us to back. He was able to fix this, but after filing, we still got a letter from DC saying we owed taxes. My husband called our tax preparer and asked if he (tax preparer) made a mistake when e-filing for us. The tax preparer would not admit fault and simply said that DC was probably right (duh!) . He promised to reimburse us the interest penalty fee since this was a result of his mistake, but we have yet to receive payment so I'll call him again. read more