Contact
Two ways to reach me.
Book a time if you already know you want to talk. Send a message if you’d rather ask something first. Either is fine, and neither commits you to anything.
Book a return review
I read last year’s return properly and send you a written summary of what I would have done differently, including if the answer is nothing. It’s a complete piece of work on its own, and it’s the fastest way to find out whether I’m worth hiring.
Paid, scheduled directly on my calendar, usually available within a week.
Or just send a message
A few sentences about your situation is plenty. You don’t need to have your paperwork together, you don’t need to know what service you want, and you don’t need to have decided anything.
Free, and I read and answer these myself.
Send a message
Whatever it’s about. If none of the pages on this site quite describe your situation, that’s completely normal. Most people’s situations don’t fit a category neatly, and working out which box you belong in is my job rather than yours.
Please don’t send tax documents by email or through this form. Once we’re working together you’ll get a secure portal, and that’s where everything goes. Web forms and email are not encrypted, and your return contains more than enough to steal your identity with.
So please leave out Social Security numbers, account numbers, and attachments. A description in plain words is all I need to reply usefully.
Not here about your own taxes?
Plenty of people who get in touch aren’t looking to hire me. All of these are welcome, and the form above is the right place for any of them.
Attorneys, brokers and other professionals
If you have a client with a tax problem sitting inside your matter, there’s a whole page for you with the practice areas I cover and what I will and won’t do with a referral.
Other tax preparers and bookkeepers
Send me your IRS notices. I don’t want your prep work, and I’ll hand the client back when the matter is resolved. That isn’t a courtesy, it’s the arrangement.
Happy to talk shop generally too. It’s a small profession and I’d rather know people in it.
Press and media
I’m happy to comment on tax matters for journalists, and I’ll tell you plainly when something is outside what I actually know rather than guessing on the record.
Include your deadline in the message. I’ll work around it if I can.
Podcasts and events
Yes, and I’d enjoy it. I’m most useful on small business tax, laundromat and cash business operations, what actually happens when the IRS writes to you, and US taxes for Americans living abroad.
I ran a laundromat before I did anyone’s taxes, so I can talk about that side of it as an operator rather than as an accountant looking in.
Firms wanting a session for their team
I’ll come and teach your firm for half an hour, over video or in person if you’re near Tallahassee. No fee and no pitch at the end.
Topics and details are on the professionals page.
Thinking about becoming an EA
I came to this from fifteen years in financial advice and three years running a small business, so I’ve done the mid-career version of it.
If that’s the path you’re weighing up, ask. Somebody answered those questions for me.
Where I am, and who I work with
I’m based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the practice is entirely remote.
The Enrolled Agent credential is issued by the U.S. Treasury rather than by a state, so I work with clients anywhere in the country. Most of my clients have never been to Florida and there’s no reason they should.
I also work with Americans living abroad, which is a meaningful part of the practice rather than an occasional favour. If you’re overseas, tell me your time zone and I’ll find a time that isn’t the middle of your night. Early mornings work for Europe, evenings work for Asia.
For local clients, I’m happy to meet in person if you’d prefer it. Nobody has to, but the option is there, and for business owners it’s sometimes genuinely useful for me to see the place.
When you’ll hear back
Within one business day, from me rather than from an assistant or an automated sequence.
If there’s a genuine deadline involved, a closing date, a court date, a response window on an IRS letter, say so at the top of your message and I’ll move it up the queue.
Between late January and mid April everything slows down a little. I’d rather tell you that than promise something I can’t hold to in March.
A note for people selling things
I’m not in the market for SEO services, website redesigns, lead generation, outsourced tax preparation, AI tools, backlink placements, guest posts, or a call to discuss how you can 10x my practice.
Messages of that kind through this form don’t get a reply. Nothing personal. This form exists so that somebody with an unopened letter from the IRS can reach an actual person, and I’d like to keep it usable for them.
Carry Forward Financial LLC
Michael Jones, EA & CFP®
Tallahassee, Florida
999-999-9999
Enrolled Agent, licensed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all fifty states. Working remotely with clients nationwide and with Americans abroad.
Getting in touch doesn’t create a client relationship, and nothing on this site is advice about your particular situation. A relationship begins when we’ve both signed an engagement letter, and I’ll tell you clearly when that happens.