FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Every client works with us through a package, so the price and scope are clear before we start. You know what is included, what it costs and what to expect during the year. Two clients in the same situation are in the same package at the same price.

Your package is based on your situation. You do not choose it.

If you do not own a business and do not have a Schedule C or F, you are in an individual package. None of the items below is Essential, up to two is Elevated, and up to three is Advanced. Any equity compensation or foreign reporting is also Advanced.

If you own a business or have a Schedule C or F, you are in a business package. One business with up to one item on the business return is Enhanced. Two businesses with up to two items is Comprehensive. Up to three businesses with up to three items is Premier.

See "What counts as an item?" below for what we count.

Business packages. Each includes your business return and a personal return that matches your tier.

Individual packages.

Beyond the items in your package, each extra item is $275 per year. Projections beyond those in your package are $500 each. Each additional division or LLC consolidated into one business return is $500 per year. Beyond three businesses that file their own returns, each extra business is $1,200 per year.

No. Every client works with us through a package, and we are not able to make exceptions. If your situation goes beyond our top package, we can explore customized strategy and advisory solutions. If a package does not fit what you need, we are happy to refer you to another accountant.

If your circumstances change, we change your package. If you add a rental, take on a new K-1, add a business or otherwise move into a higher tier, we move you to the package that fits and prorate your remaining payments.

Any Schedule C or Schedule F, of any size, puts you in a business package. Business owners benefit from regular check-ins during the year, which every business package includes. If the price does not make sense for you, we are happy to refer you to another accountant.

We retired it so that we can offer business owners tax strategy throughout the year. If you were in Business Essential, you can move up to Enhanced or a higher package based on your situation. If moving up does not make sense for you, we are happy to refer you to another accountant.

Advisor team coordination is working with your financial advisor, attorney or other advisors to discuss your tax situation. It is included with Premier.

On a business return, an item is an owner beyond the first (spouses count as one), a state beyond your home state that your business files in, or a rental property beyond your business activity. Every business package includes your business activity: one division and one self-rental, or three rental properties. Each additional rental is $275 and counts as an item. Each additional division or LLC consolidated into the filing is $500 per year and does not count as an item. A business that files its own return counts as a separate business toward your package.

On a personal return, an item is a rental (including a primary home that was or is a rental), a K-1, a state beyond your home state, or a brokerage or crypto statement beyond the first per taxpayer.

Your home state and the first owner never count. Family members who co-own a business and file their own returns count separately.

Every personal return starts with a standard return. None of these count as items: W-2, retirement, unemployment and HSA forms; itemized deductions; dependent care and education credits; marketplace health coverage; the sale of a primary home (unless it was or is a rental, in which case it counts as a rental); your home state; and one brokerage or crypto statement per taxpayer. There is no limit on income forms. For example, two W-2s, dependent care and marketplace coverage add up to no items.

Brokerage statements and crypto or other digital asset statements are both investment statements. The first one per taxpayer is included at every tier and never counts as an item. Each statement beyond the first counts as one item. For example, a taxpayer with one brokerage statement and one crypto statement has one item.

Any foreign reporting puts your personal return in the Advanced level. Foreign reporting includes:

• Foreign bank or financial account reporting (FBAR)
• Form 8938, the statement of specified foreign financial assets
• Foreign tax credits
• Foreign rental properties
• Foreign trusts

Foreign taxes paid that show up on a 1099 from your brokerage account do not count as foreign reporting. If you are not sure whether something you have counts, ask us. We are happy to help you figure out which package fits.

Each extra item is $275 per year. Each business that files its own return beyond three is $1,200 per year. Each additional division or LLC consolidated into one return is $500 per year. We bill these on one final invoice, with any other add-ons, after we prepare your return and before we file.

Comprehensive. Three businesses is Premier. Each business beyond three is $1,200 per year.

One package covers your joint return, and both businesses count toward it. Two businesses is Comprehensive.

We assign the business by signer. The signer's package counts it, and it is not counted again for every owner. We bill the package fee to the signer, and we do not split it across owners or entities.

No. Your business return and your personal return each have their own allowance. Business items count against your business package. Personal items count against the personal return in your package.

The one that matches your tier. Enhanced includes Individual Essential, Comprehensive includes Individual Elevated, and Premier includes Individual Advanced.

We bill the difference between the personal return in your package and the one you need.

A personal return with more than three items is Advanced plus $275 for each item beyond three. The difference goes on one final invoice, with any other add-ons, after we prepare your return and before we file. We do not file until the additional invoice is paid. Your regular package payments, whether you pay in full or quarterly, stay at your listed price.

No. Each business package includes one personal return. Another owner's personal return is a separate individual package.

Either works. Quarterly adds 10% to the annual price, so paying in full is always the lower total. You save $95 with Individual Essential, $200 with Elevated and $360 with Advanced. For business packages, you save $360 with Enhanced, $750 with Comprehensive and $1,400 with Premier.

You make four payments if you sign by December 31, three if you sign January 1 to March 31, and two if you sign April 1 to July 30. If you sign later in the year, you still pay the full total, so your remaining payments cover the ones you missed. If you end the engagement early, see "What if I decide not to continue with Lay & Company?" below.

We process payments automatically through your TaxDome portal once you set up your payment method.

We retry the payment and notify you. Work pauses until your account is current.

If you pay quarterly and any quarterly payment is not received by its due date, we automatically file an extension for you, and work does not begin until your account is brought current. We do not charge the late enrollment fee for an extension filed because of a late payment.

Reach out to our team and we will review it with you. Before we file, your final invoice covers any add-ons, such as extra items, extra projections or a more complex personal return.

No. Before we begin any work, including meetings and end-of-year planning, any outstanding invoices need to be paid. Once your account is current, we are happy to get started.

Packages are non-refundable once work has begun. If you are in the wrong package, we can change your package to one that is a better fit.

Because packages are paid in installments, your engagement letter provides that the remaining balance of your package is due in full if you end the engagement early. Alternatively, you can finish the package year and continue your remaining payments on the installment schedule.

Yes. We renew your engagement letter each year to update scope, pricing, responsibilities and compliance requirements.

One price covers the entire 2027 package year, which includes your 2026 returns filed in 2027 and your tax projections during the 2027 calendar year.

Standard pricing ends December 31, 2026. The earlier you sign up, the less you pay. Fees apply to the package price only. Extra items and add-ons are not included.

Business packages.

Individual packages.

You move to the extension track, and we file your extension automatically. Signing January 1 to March 31 adds a 10% late enrollment fee to the package price. Signing April 1 to July 30 adds 20% (a 10% late enrollment fee and 10% for rush handling). The fee depends on when you sign and pay, not on when your documents arrive, and it applies to the package price only.

We plan our work for the package year around clients who sign up by December 31. Signing up later means fitting your return into a schedule that is already full, so a late enrollment fee applies: 10% from January 1 to March 31, and 20% from April 1 to July 30 (the 10% late enrollment fee plus 10% for rush handling). Signing up by December 31 avoids it.

We do not take new clients for the 2027 package year after July 30. If you come to us later in the year, you can sign up for the next package year.

We begin once your signed engagement letter is in and your first payment has processed. If you have already sent us documents, we still cannot start until both of those steps are done.

No. We do not file an extension for anyone without a signed engagement letter. If you have not signed by your deadline, please make other arrangements so you do not miss it.

We take on prior-year returns through August 15. Catch-up work costs two full package fees, one for the catch-up year and one for the current year.

A tax projection is an estimate of your tax for the year. For business clients, it reviews your business and personal returns comprehensively, and including a personal return does not add more projections.

Business: Enhanced includes one, Comprehensive includes two and Premier includes four. Individual: Essential includes none, Elevated includes one and Advanced includes two.

The timing is a suggestion, not a requirement. You can use them any time in the calendar year.

• Enhanced and Individual Elevated: June to August
• Comprehensive and Individual Advanced: June to August, and November to December
• Premier: early February, early June, early August, and November to December

No. Unused projections expire as of December 31 and do not roll over.

Yes. Additional projections are $500 each.

Late documents move your return to the extended timeline. We cannot promise on-time filing without complete documents.

No. Signing and paying secures your package price and your place in the queue. We also need your documents on time. Documents that arrive after the on-time date move your return to the extended timeline.

Basic IRS notice support is included in Comprehensive and Premier. It is not included in Enhanced, and no individual package includes it. It covers a single written response to a notice about the tax year we prepared, for your business return or the personal return included in your package. It does not include calling the IRS or a state agency. If a notice results from our own error, we handle it at any tier.

Amended returns are not included in your package. If we made the error, there is no charge. If we prepared the original return and the amendment is not our error, it is $275 per item amended, with a $275 minimum, separate from what you already paid. If we did not prepare the original return, the package price for that return applies on top of your current package. We can amend a return within three years of the original filing date.

We review transaction volume, number of accounts, cash vs. accrual needs, reporting requirements, and overall complexity.

All tiers include bank feed classification, reconciliations, and standard financial reports. Higher tiers add accruals, forecasting, budgeting, cash monitoring, integrations, and advanced oversight.

Payroll processing, timesheet calculations, sales tax filings, software subscription fees, and historical cleanup (available as add-ons).

• Cleanup work is billed hourly. After cleanup is complete, ongoing maintenance falls under the appropriate monthly package.

Your accountant and/or tax professional will create an account for you and send an invitation email. 

1. Open the invitation email from your accounting firm and click the "Activate Account" button.
2. Create your password. It must be at least 12 characters long and include one uppercase letter, two numbers, and two special characters (like !, $, %).
3. Confirm the password by entering it a second time, then click Submit.
4. Once activated, you can access your portal on the web or download the TaxDome mobile app for convenient access and document scanning. 

If you didn't receive an email, or prefer to register yourself, you can go to your accounting firm's unique TaxDome URL (e.g., yourfirmname.taxdome.com) and click the "Sign up" link, provided your firm allows self-registration. 

• Yes. All communication, documents, signatures, and payments will be managed through the secure portal.

• Check your spam or promotions folder. If you still don’t see it, contact us and we’ll resend it.

• Yes. We can add multiple users to one account upon request.

• No, but most clients prefer it for notifications, quick uploads, messaging, and easy access.

• All documents should be uploaded securely through TaxDome.

• TaxDome for the client portal and e-signatures, Microsoft Teams for meetings, QuickBooks Online for bookkeeping, and BizEquity/planning tools for higher-tier advisory services.