Has anyone used The Tax Club?

I can only imagine that an online virtual accountant would be worse than an online lawyer. < insert joke here >.

$1500 seems really high to me, and the hard sell reasies some serious issues. Especially since if you're _really_ bootstrapping you could do your books yourself and if you have a business with any revenue an accountant would makes things much, much easier.

hossman's remark on http://www.fluther.com/disc/1352/whats-the-best-way-for-me-to-make-a-legal-will/ really convinced me, as well as Guy Kawasaki's remarks in http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/06/482413_for_lega.html, but that's more about online legal stuff.

If they crossed the line, call your State AG or the Better Business Bureau and make a complaint. If you have been 85 yrs old, they might have gotten that $1500 from you.

I also setup by LLC with Legal Zoom and was contacted by The Tax Club. I had used a CPA for a S-Corp i setup in the mid-90's so i knew that their fees were low. I choose the 'Saver' membership for a one-time initial setup fee of $2,000 and an on-going monthly fee of $19.99. When i had my old corp, my CPA charged me around $1,400/year plus $125/hour for questions throughout the year. My membership with The Tax Club has already paid for itself twice over after only three years as a member. And all i pay going forward is $19/month or $240/year. Plus there are no fees for speaking with an accountant. They do sell you over the phone, but the guy was upfront, his job was to get me in the club. Keep in mind they also offer a $1000 guarantee of the service--i recommend you reconsider.

I also setup with Tax Club six months ago and they tax advisor was PERSISTENT in signing me up. But he was upfront saying he was there to bring me in, because the benefits i would receive. The services have been great, i always reach an accountant, and the fees are very low when compared with a regular CPA. At first i thought $1500 was a lot but that is a one-time fee, my on-going cost is rock bottom. I used to sell mortgages so telesales people get bad raps, but the services are for real.

The two positive comments above came from people who joined Fluther on the same day to post exactly one comment.

When I was googling The Tax Club I saw a lot of people online saying nice things that sounded exactly like what joseph was saying. But the tone is always a little off.

I'm suspicious that the comments are fake.

I have heard a little about these guys, mainly from other blogs and posts and articles on the web. It seems as if their system is pretty unique in that you can call an accountant anytime for info, that is a huge deal if it is true. I know in the book Millionaire Next Door Stanley comments that the #1 activity for millionaires is to talk with their CPA’s on a constant basis. So the idea is fresh and has merit, i guess the key is making sure they are legit.

Is Stanley a CPA in his spare time? There are all the tax tips you need online if you do due diligence.

You missed the point entirely. Whether or not Stanley is a CPA, MD, DER or an FBI agent, has nothing to do with the fact that wealthy people in this country take constant advice from accountants. Just because i have access to Web MD, doesn’t mean i am going to go there for tips on how to perform my yearly physical; I think I’ll let my doc handle that—I am pretty sure his overall perspective, based on years of schooling, research and trial and error will be more practical than my own. But good luck to you doing “everything” yourself.

I joined the tax club and all I got was sales calls once a week trying to sell me other services for thousands of dollars. The accountant never called just accounting analysts. In other words another sales guy reading a script and selling me something else. I have started a class action against The Tax Club. Join if you were defrauded: link