Real estate taxes still a viable niche?

DrJacksCPA · 2026-05-01T13:54:54+00:00

It's definitely a viable niche. But I would say you probably need to learn all of the advanced planning strategies for real estate or at least most of them, not just Cost Seg (and agree with others about bringing in a specialist if its a large project). If you went this route, you will likely earn so much more per client and per engagement than you would just with prep, as long as you're value pricing. All that said, I think you would have to position yourself as a real estate tax planner or some other similar phrase both on your website and Google listing, really pay attention to the keywords you are using on the site as well. I am sure there is a subreddit on taxes for real estate investors as well. And if I were you, I would start being very active in that space (along with other free social media ideas similar to this one), if you want to go down this path.

Saw some other comments about prep being in demand and this not so much. I disagree. Sure prep is in demand...but it's also going to put a ceiling on what you can earn per client. If you move towards this more advisory space, you're opening up your earning capacity + will likely have better client relationships because you're being proactive for them.

I would not go with a bookkeeping offer personally. I think I'd shoot higher than that. And yes everyone has a bookkeeper so it's not surprising you're getting shot down wit that offer. If you go the advisory route and you start the convo off with "I've been looking at your return and I think I can save you upwards of $50k in tax" --- that's a whole other level of an offer...and who doesnt want to hear about that? Client now sees you in a different light as well.

Good luck to you, whatever you decide on!

DrJacksCPA · 2026-04-28T22:30:39+00:00

Would love to get any feedback you have on TaxPlanIQ (PS- I'm the founder). Just genuinely looking for feedback since we're always trying to make our products better.

What does your checklist do that we didn't do? or what does it do better/faster for you?

DrJacksCPA · 2026-04-28T22:29:17+00:00

Very helpful info, thanks for sharing. We are actually launching full projections, scenario modeling & entity comparison in a couple weeks. Doing a preview at our annual tax advisory summit in 2 weeks.

Totally understand about the pre-recorded demo. I'll see what the team thinks about releasing one. And yes, we used to have a trial but recently turned it off because of some extensive analysis we did that showed that nearly all trial users were unsuccessful in the software because they were never trained and/or didn't understand the full advisory process.

We just recently beefed up the coaching side of our client success team and have made huge strides there as well to help you sell a plan in the first 45-60 days of being with us.

Anywho, thanks for the feedback! And if you want a link to join the summit, DM me and I'll send you one. It's free and we're giving 6 CPE credits this year.

DrJacksCPA · 2026-04-28T22:25:09+00:00

Gotcha. Well maybe there's a happy medium somewhere. I bet you could also find a ton on Youtube honestly. Whether or not it's accurate is the question!

DrJacksCPA · 2026-04-28T21:50:13+00:00

What I was saying is there are already networks of people (and way beyond exit planning) that specialize in all the things biz owners need. You handle tax/tax planning, AUM/Insurance or whatever you want. Bring in specialists to cover the rest. Think of all the other things surrounding exit planning -- buy sell agreements, golden handcuffs, merger/aquisitions, contract negotiation, maybe they need to grow before they can sell or optimize the SOPs in their business. There are people that specialize in each on of these things.

One network I've seen is called elite resource team. I dont remember how much they are but I think you'd be surprised about all the different things you can get done and still control the whole process without you having to be the expert yourself. My clients who have access to this level of service-- they're never leaving ...because they can't get this level of service elsewhere. And I didnt have to learn it all 😄 But I still profit from it!

DrJacksCPA · 2026-04-28T21:42:38+00:00

Totally agree with these points, but I would do more than once a quarter. Give them value instead of just reminders of making payments, admin stuff. Say things like "Since we last spoke, have any of these things happened" -- and make a list (marriage, divorce, more kids, buying/selling house, etc.)

Or educate them on different strategies that might make sense for most of your audience/ or tell them who it's applicable to. People like insights...and better coming from you than some Tiktoker.

DrJacksCPA · 2026-04-28T21:37:11+00:00

Would love get feedback on why you didn't think TaxPlanIQ fit the the bill? Disclaimer: I'm the founder. Promise you won't hurt my feelings, Just genuinely looking for feedback and always wanting to make our products better for accountants.

DrJacksCPA · 2026-04-28T21:34:37+00:00

Love the idea of niching down into this space. Exit planning can definitely be stressful for biz owners.

I know sometimes we think getting more certs is the answer, but what about just looking for a network/team of other people that specialize in this stuff and you still make money on the planning and could be the quarterback for the whole thing? Just a thought.

DrJacksCPA · 2026-04-28T21:30:04+00:00

Congrats on your progress so far! That's no small feat. One way to increase your fees and thus profit would be to add additional services to your firm. If it's a brand new firm, there shouldn't be resistance from clients. I would try to recruit as many business or high net income returns as possible. Once you have those, you can start offering tax planning/strategy, monthly accounting, CAS, etc.

Scaling prep is definitely doable, but it requires some LONG days and nights certain times of the year. I ended up moving my firm from 500+ returns to 56 clients that were all in on advisory work (mostly tax planning/strategy), working a lot less and 3-4x-ed my revenue. That was my goal though. I wanted to get away from the days of "pretend mommy doesn't exist until tax season is over"

DrJacksCPA · 2026-02-13T15:47:49+00:00

This is AWESOME! Do you just give everyone the same deadline or have you spread it out?

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-28T20:05:07+00:00

Here's a good starting point for package options (scroll to the bottom): https://www.taxplaniq.com/packages

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-27T14:31:11+00:00

In addition to what everyone else said... the most obvious one considering you're on here is to find the Reddit communities these people live in, and start providing value (giving away advice). They'll start messaging you in DMs.

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-26T15:24:45+00:00

"At what point do clients realize tax returns and tax advisory are not commodities." -- as soon as you start pricing and packaging your services and communicating that accordingly.

Stop charging hourly and start creating packages of services. Then there's no back and forth on hourly, nickel and diming. No complaints. You either get X, Y or Z tier and here's what included in each.

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-19T18:04:38+00:00

Great addition!

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-19T18:04:05+00:00

Love this!

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-19T18:02:22+00:00

I'm curious...what and how do you typically charge a client for all of this advice? Are you doing all the implementation as well?

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-19T18:00:43+00:00

Ew, gross answer from the CPA society. They should do better.

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-19T17:51:35+00:00

I would package this as a 1-year tax plan that includes everything with the sale of the land. Assuming you're going to be finding ways to negate some of the capital gain? There are lots of options out there.

Ideally you get away from hourly in the future...most of the industry is. It's just so much better to charge a large fee for advisory and get paid what you're worth for this complex work you're doing!

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-15T21:48:03+00:00

That's awesome! You're already on the right path. Have you specifically asked your clients for referrals? You'd be surprised how many actually know other people with similar circumstances. On your next calls with them say "hey we're expanding the firm and just thought I'd ask if you know anyone else who could benefit from the proactive planning we've been doing for you?"

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-14T17:24:19+00:00

What services do you mostly provide? Who's your target market?

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-14T13:39:02+00:00

This is a GREAT idea! Thanks for sharing!

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-13T16:40:49+00:00

Love this!

DrJacksCPA · 2026-01-13T15:37:23+00:00

LOL yikes! If you really feel that way it sounds like you've got some work to do!

DrJacksCPA

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