Tax Planning

Tax planning is much like visiting a doctor. The first step is diagnosing your financial situation by reviewing how you make your money and what tax strategies you are currently not implementing to find tax-saving opportunities. Once we understand your financial health, we develop a tailored tax strategy, similar to a doctor’s treatment plan. We then help you implement this strategy, ensuring accurate and timely filing, and adjusting as needed.

Just as a doctor aims to improve your physical health, our goal is to enhance your financial well-being and provide peace of mind.

How Our Tax Design Process Works

Initial Visit: Tax Discovery Session & Onboarding

Our first interaction will be a Tax Discovery Session where you will meet a member of Team Cerebral for both of us to determine if we are a good fit to work together.

You will get an idea of what we can do in terms of tax savings and we will provide a quote.

If we are ready to move forward working together, you will sign our agreement and you will get immediate access to your private portal to start the onboarding process. This includes scheduling our next meeting called the Deep Dive Session.

Tax Discovery Session & Onboarding Includes:

• Initial Tax Discovery Session Questionnaire for us to get to know you better

• 45-minute Tax Discovery Session

• Review of your current tax situation and accounting system

• Quote for your Tax Plan Design, Tax Maintenance Package, and other needed services

• After accepting the proposal, you’ll get immediate access to your private portal with a list of onboarding information needed and a questionnaire

Diagnosis

Tax planning is similar to visiting a doctor: both begin with a thorough diagnosis. We “run tests” on your financial situation, assessing income, expenses, and many strategies to identify tax-saving opportunities to meet your goals.

Our first meeting will be a 90-minute Deep Dive Session where your dedicated Advisor will gather the information we need in order for us to build a comprehensive plan.

We will also discuss your burning questions and handle any time-sensitive matters and schedule the Tax Plan Delivery Session before the end of the Deep Dive Session meeting.

Diagnosis Includes

• 90-minute Deep Dive Session

• Answer your burning questions

• Opportunity for your Advisor to dive deep into your tax situation, bounce questions and strategies off of you to develop a comprehensive plan

Treatment

After diagnosis, we develop a tailored tax strategy, much like a doctor prescribing a treatment plan.

You will receive a PDF plan with your Advisor’s written recommendations, calculations of tax savings, cash flow items to consider, and the authoritative back-up.

Treatment Includes

• 90-minute Tax Plan Delivery Session

• Walkthrough of your customized tax strategies

• A take home, tax plan design PDF to reference anytime to optimize your current tax situation with recommended strategies, calculations, and authoritative references.

• Clear action plan of next steps to implementing your chosen strategies – Cerebral to walk through all implementation with you

• Video of your tax plan delivery session for future reference

• List of major cash flow items so you can plan your financial year along with due dates and bank account assignment

Implementation & On-Going Support

Finally, we help you implement the strategy, ensuring accurate and timely filing, and adjusting as needed, just as a doctor monitors and adjusts a treatment plan.

After your plan has been delivered to you, you and your Advisor will meet 2-3 weeks after your tax plan has been delivered to answer any new questions about your plan and to discuss where everything is at in the implementation of your tax strategies.

At this point, you will be into your Tax Maintenance Package with your normal tax and bookkeeping services.

Implementation Includes

• 60-minute Follow-Up meeting after your Tax Plan Delivery Session to answer questions that come up after the delivery of your plan and update you on the implementation of the plan

• White-glove guidance and implementation of the strategies you want to use. Team Cerebral hand-walks our clients through the implementation process to make sure it is done properly and efficiently.

• Superior communication and answers to your questions throughout the entire implementation process

• Check out the Tax Maintenance Packages to see everything included with your on-going support

The Tax Plan Design (at a glance) includes:

Meetings

90-minute Deep Dive Session to discuss your numbers and goals more closely to determine the most effective tax strategies
90-minute Tax Plan Delivery Session to discuss your tax plan design and strategies in detail
60-minute Follow-Up meeting after your Tax Plan Delivery Session to answer questions that come up after the delivery of your plan and update you on the implementation of the plan

Deliverables

A take home, tax plan design PDF to reference anytime to optimize your current tax situation with recommended strategies, calculations, and authoritative references.
Clear action plan of next steps to implementing your chosen strategies – Cerebral to walk through all implementation with you
Video of your tax plan delivery session for future reference
List of major cash flow items so you can plan your financial year along with due dates and bank account assignment

Included Costs

White-Glove implementation of strategies chosen by you
Cost of entity incorporation and payroll EIN creation determined by tax plan design
Reasonable Compensation Analysis – We create a report to substantiate your salary in front of the IRS in case of an audit and maximize your retirement and tax savings

Bonus

Review of your three most recent prior year returns for additional deductions and savings above the current year tax plan design
Two (2) hours of bookkeeping clean-up for your entities

What Do Our Clients Say About Us?

I became a client of Cerebral last year and the transition has been wonderful. Alexis created a detailed tax plan for me and connected me with a great vendor which I utilized for cost segregation. The team has completed my tax returns on time and the portal is very user friendly. They also work well with my current bookkeeper which has been very helpful. I wish I knew about Cerebral years ago.

Michael Powell

Alexis, Yvonne, Krista, Lea and the entire team at Cerebral have been a pleasure to work with! They have been exactly what we were searching for when it comes to tax planning; not just the same expensive price tag to “file your taxes” every year. You’ll get everything you are expecting out of this team! Thanks again!

Dr. Will Rolfe

Alexis and her team just finished up our federal taxes for the second year. They are far more than just a CPA firm – they are tax specialists that have offered me guidance and oversight greatly improving my financial well being, not to mention peace of mind. We’ve had three other CPA firms in the past and none compare to the level of knowledge, professionalism and communication we’ve experienced with Cerebral Tax Advisors

John B

FAQs

What is the difference between the Tax Discovery Session and the Deep Dive Session?

The Tax Discovery Session is for potential clients to meet a member of Team Cerebral to discuss their tax situation and service needs and see if we are a good fit for one another. Once a client, they will schedule a Deep Dive Session where we will collect more information and start digging deep into their tax situation to find tax reduction strategies.

How long does the tax plan design process take?

On average, it takes 60 days to go from signing on with Cerebral to delivering your tax plan design. This timeframe varies based on your work schedule.

How do you meet with clients if you are virtual?

We mainly meet with clients over video conferencing platforms, such as Zoom. But you are able to connect to Zoom via telephone if you are too shy to be on camera! Of course, normal telephone calls, email, and portal messaging are other communication avenues we use.

Will your tax strategies get me in trouble with the IRS?

No! All our tax strategies are court-tested & IRS-approved; we do not put anything on a tax return we are not comfortable defending in an audit!

I only want a tax plan design. Do I have to be in a tax maintenance package?

We do not prepare tax plan design-only engagements and require a minimum 3 month participation in a tax maintenance package. Many other tax advisors need to learn how to properly implement and report the tax strategies we recommend. Depending on the strategies we recommend, it may take longer than 2-3 months to properly implement the strategy.

Are there any other costs in the implementation of my plan?

It depends on the strategies you decided you want to implement. Some strategies, like the Augusta Rule, do not incur any additional costs. But others, like starting a retirement plan, require the use of a third-party to set up and administer. Your tax plan design discusses any additional costs but we never recommend a strategy unless there is an amazing cost benefit.

What is your communication policy with your clients?

At Cerebral, we believe that communication is key to providing an amazing customer experience as well as efficient systems. We have an internal policy of getting back to our clients within 24-48 business hours, never over a week. We also educate our clients on how to use prioritization codes to help Team Cerebral easily identitfy if you need an answer within a specified amount of time.

Will my advisor review prior tax returns for errors and opportunities?

Yes, as part of our planning process your Advisors will generally review the prior three years of tax returns, if available, for errors and opportunities for additional tax savings. If an amended tax return is needed, we will communicate this with you and discuss next steps.

I have never paid this much before for tax services. Why are you different?

At Cerebral, we pride ourselves on educating our clients in a smaller boutique style enviorment. We only accept 4 new clients a month to ensure our customer service remains top of class and our growth remains organic and controlled. We provide a white-glove, hand holding service so we can take as much off our clients plate as possible and they can enjoy more time with their family. Cerebral also doesn’t take any commissions or kick-backs for any recommended tax strategies so you know everything we do is for our clients’ best interest and education.

Ready to Book Your Session?

After answering a few questions, please choose a date and time to schedule a free Tax Discovery Session. Your answers will help us be better prepared for our first meeting. It takes only 2 minutes to complete this process.