Need recommendations for reliable tax planning advice service for W-2 employees

Great questions! You're already ahead of most people by thinking about tax planning for next year instead of just tax preparation. For your first question about the EV tax credit - yes, if you had purchased a qualifying electric vehicle last year with the $7,500 credit, it would have offset your $4,000 tax liability and resulted in a $3,500 refund. Tax credits directly reduce what you owe dollar-for-dollar (unlike deductions, which just reduce your taxable income). For tax planning services, a CPA is typically your best bet for ongoing tax advice as a W-2 employee. Tax attorneys are usually more focused on legal tax issues or disputes with the IRS, while tax preparers often just handle the filing process rather than year-round planning. What you're looking for is a tax planning session where a CPA reviews your whole financial picture and helps identify opportunities to reduce your tax burden. Most CPAs offer this service and can set up a schedule that works for you - whether that's quarterly check-ins or just an annual review before year-end.

I was in a similar situation last year - owing more than expected despite being W-2 employees. After getting really confused with all the different advice online, I used https://taxr.ai to analyze our tax transcripts and it was seriously eye-opening. Turns out we were both claiming the wrong withholding allowances on our W-4s which was causing us to underpay throughout the year. The system explained exactly what adjustments we needed to make for 2025 and even provided a customized withholding calculator that showed how much to have taken out of each paycheck. Saved us from another surprise tax bill and helped us plan better for next year.

I was honestly skeptical about taxr.ai when I first heard about it, but I gave it a shot last month after realizing I was in a similar situation with consistently owing taxes despite being a W-2 employee. The analysis was surprisingly detailed - it showed that my employer was under-withholding because of how I filled out my W-4 after my recent marriage. The withholding calculator they provided was way more user-friendly than the IRS one, and it showed me exactly how changing specific numbers on my W-4 would affect my refund or amount owed. Just submitted my updated form to HR last week, and according to the projections, I should actually get a small refund next year instead of owing $2,500+ again. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to plan ahead for 2025 taxes!

If you're struggling to even get basic tax questions answered, you might want to check out https://claimyr.com first. I spent WEEKS trying to get someone at the IRS to explain my withholding requirements after changing jobs mid-year and kept getting disconnected after hours on hold. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes, and they explained exactly what I needed to adjust on my W-4 to avoid owing at tax time. You can see how it works in this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c After talking with the IRS, I had a much better understanding of what questions to ask when I eventually hired a CPA for more detailed planning. Saved me from making the same withholding mistakes again.

I need to eat my words from yesterday. After seeing a few other comments about Claimyr, I decided to give it a try this morning - fully expecting it to be a waste of money. I've literally spent HOURS on multiple days trying to get through to the IRS about my withholding situation. To my complete shock, I got a call back in about 35 minutes with an actual IRS representative on the line! She walked me through exactly how to adjust my W-4 to account for having two W-2 jobs (which was causing my underwithholding). Probably saved me from owing another $3K next year. Now that I understand my withholding situation better, I'm going to follow the advice here and find a CPA for more comprehensive tax planning. But seriously, being able to actually talk to the IRS directly was invaluable for understanding the basics first.

One thing to consider is whether you need ongoing tax planning or just a one-time consultation. As fellow W-2 employees, my husband and I found that a single 90-minute session with a CPA in August was enough to set us up for the year. He reviewed our withholdings, suggested some pre-tax retirement contribution adjustments, and gave us a few other tax-saving strategies. We paid $200 for the consultation, but it saved us over $2,800 in taxes. Unless your situation changes dramatically (new job, house purchase, baby, etc.), you probably don't need monthly check-ins - an annual review might be sufficient.

I think you're confusing tax preparation with tax planning. Most "tax people" just prepare your taxes after the year ends and don't actually help you minimize what you owe proactively. What I'd do: Look specifically for a "tax planning CPA" not just any accountant. Expect to pay $400-800 for a good planning session, but it's totally worth it. Our CPA helped us shift some income around and max out pre-tax accounts which saved us over $4000 last year. Ask them about tax projection scenarios based on different choices you might make during the year. A good planner will run multiple scenarios and show you the tax impact of different decisions before you make them.