Providing Individuals Taxation Solutions in Atlanta, Decatur and surrounding areas.
Individual tax services at Accolade cover the full scope of CPA-level engagement: prior-year return review, income-source analysis, deduction review, accurate filing, and year-round access to your CPA for questions that arise between January and December.
The filing itself is the documented output. What a CPA engagement adds is the analysis that happens around it. A licensed CPA reviews how your W-2 withholding interacts with investment distributions, how rental losses flow through your return, and whether your RSU vesting schedule is creating a liability your quarterly payments are not covering. That review does not happen when a return is prepared in isolation from your broader financial picture.
Accolade clients have access to their CPA between filings. That means a mid-year withholding review when a job change or bonus creates exposure, a call before selling a large appreciated position, or a conversation when a K-1 arrives late and needs to be factored into an extension request. Filing an extension gives you more time to submit the return. It does not extend the date your taxes are owed. For example any balance due for the 2025 tax year is due by April 15, 2026, regardless of extension status.
A return becomes complex when income sources multiply, assets accumulate, or life changes create intersecting tax obligations. For Atlanta-area residents, the most common triggers are equity compensation from an employer, rental property ownership, investment accounts with significant activity, self-employment income combined with a W-2, and business ownership with pass-through income.
Each of these situations carries a specific error risk. Missed deductions, incorrect passive activity treatment, under-withheld RSU income, and overlooked surtax exposure are the most common. In most cases, the cost of getting any one of them wrong exceeds the cost of professional preparation.
Employer withholding on RSU vesting is often too low. What was not covered becomes a balance due in April. Work with a CPA to adjust quarterly payments before that happens.
Rental deductions are frequently missed or miscategorized. Depreciation, mortgage interest, and repairs all qualify. Passive activity rules then determine whether any losses can offset your other income.
Long-term and short-term gains are taxed at different rates. Sale timing affects your total liability. High-income earners may also owe the Net Investment Income Tax on qualifying income.
K-1s often arrive after the filing deadline. Most clients file an extension as a result. An extension moves the filing deadline but not the date taxes are owed.
Owning property in another state, working remotely for an out-of-state employer, or earning income across state lines can each create a separate filing obligation.
Self-employment income is subject to self-employment tax in addition to regular income tax. Without quarterly payments, the balance due at filing can be significant.
Related Readings.
The Net Investment Income Tax is a 3.8% surtax that may apply to the lesser of your net investment income or the amount by which your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) exceeds the applicable threshold for your filing status. It was established under the Affordable Care Act and is calculated on Form 8960. Whether it applies to your return depends on your specific income sources, filing status, and total MAGI for the tax year.
The thresholds are not indexed for inflation, which means they affect more taxpayers each year as incomes rise. For current threshold amounts by filing status, see the IRS resource below.
Net Investment Income Tax — IRS.gov
This page provides general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Every taxpayer’s situation is different. Accolade reviews your MAGI position as part of each engagement to determine whether the surtax applies to your specific circumstances.
Situations that commonly raise NIIT questions include salary increases, large stock sales, strong rental income years, RSU vesting, and the taxable portion of a primary home sale that exceeds the Section 121 exclusion. The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax may also apply in the same year, as it operates on a separate calculation with its own threshold. How each of these affects your return depends on your full income picture and cannot be determined from general descriptions alone.
Both a licensed CPA and a non-credentialed preparer can file Form 1040. The difference is what happens before and after your tax filing.
What a non-credentialed preparer provides: Document collection, an accurate return for a completed tax year, and filing. The engagement typically ends when the return is submitted.
What a CPA engagement adds: A review of your situation during the year, identification of exposure before it becomes a liability, advice on decisions with tax consequences before you make them, and full IRS representation authority if questions arise after filing.
For high-income individuals in Atlanta, the risks in choosing filing-only preparation are specific:
A CPA engagement is not the right fit for every taxpayer. A W-2 employee with no investment accounts, no rental property, and no outside income has straightforward needs. For anyone with two or more of the income types described on this page, the cost of missed deductions and under-planning typically exceeds the fee difference.
Schedule a consultation to review your tax return.
The decisions with the most financial impact on your return are made during the year, not at filing. When to exercise options, whether to pull income forward or defer it, how much to contribute to a retirement account, whether to sell an appreciated position before or after December 31; these choices are final by the time a filing-season preparer sees your return.
Accolade clients have access to their CPA for mid-year conversations: a call when an unexpected K-1 creates a taxable event, a review of estimated tax payments when income changes materially, and coordination with a financial advisor when an investment decision has tax consequences that warrant discussion before execution.
New client engagements begin with a review of the prior-year return before any documents are collected. This review identifies carried items, missed deductions, or structural issues that affect how the current year should be prepared.
We file electronically with the IRS and the Georgia Department of Revenue. After filing, you retain access to your CPA for questions, IRS correspondence, estimated tax calculations, and mid-year planning. If the IRS contacts you about a return we prepared, we respond with full representation authority.
On extensions: Filing Form 4868 extends your return filing deadline to October 15. The April 15 deadline to pay for any tax balance owed remains unchanged. Interest and potential penalties apply to unpaid amounts from the original due date. Contact us before April 15 if you expect a balance due and plan to file an extension.