Tax Advice and Preparation

Many of you may have already heard this but I am very excited to announce that we've made the decision to start offering tax advice and potentially tax preparation.  The main priority in this decision was the integral role that tax implications play in financial planning - decisions such as Roth vs. traditional IRA contributions, Roth conversions, IRA distribution planning, capital gains planning, charitable giving, etc.  While I have always been knowledgeable in these areas - I have had to preface any discussions with "I am not a tax professional."  As of May, 2021 I am now a student in the University of Cincinnati Masters of Taxation program - and as a result - have formed Roloff Tax Services and am able to offer explicit tax advice (All tax services are offered through Roloff Tax Services and have no connection to nor approval by Commonwealth Financial Network.)   I chose the University of Cincinnati as it is consistently ranked among the top online Masters programs focused specifically on taxation.  I also considered several other schools including Sacramento State and the University of Illinois - but ultimately felt the best program for my goals and schedule was Cincinnati.  They are the second largest school in the Ohio State University system and ranked 21st overall in "Best Online Master's in Business" according to U.S. News & World Report. (the large majority of those ranked in front do not offer a tax focused program)*.

While tax preparation is not the primary goal of this addition to our services - we do expect to offer this as needed.  It is not our intention to replace trusted tax advisors that clients may be using - but to offer a service for those without a knowledgeable professional at a reasonable cost.  While the goal is to offer this service for 2021 tax filing - we may or may not get all the licensing and education completed in time - California in particular has a LENGTHY list of requirements.  We do not expect this to impact our ability to focus on investment and planning advice - but just to enhance what we are able to do in those areas.  We are reviewing software options to make tax analysis a larger part of our planning process.  We do not expect to offer these services to non-investment clients - at least until we add to our staff in the future.

So with that being said, if you have any tax specific questions - feel free to ask us at any time.  Thank you for your trust and confidence in us.