Clarity Tax & CPAs
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Clarity Tax & CPAs
Preparing your experience
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Ferndale residents rely on our experienced CPAs, tax accountants and bookkeepers based on our decades of experience providing tax services to people just like you.
Ferndale farmers and small businesses trust us to help streamline your daily bookkeeping tasks, draft financial statement audits, and help you navigate federal and state tax laws, including Washington's B&O tax on businesses.
Unlike some other CPA firms, we keep our local office in Bellingham open year-round to answer your questions and help you with any issues that come up, even issues that have nothing to do with tax preparation.
We know you don't take a break after tax season, so we don't, either.
Our office is about 10 miles south of Ferndale, a quick trip down I-5 from exit 262. Many of our Ferndale and Main Street area clients work with us entirely by phone or video, but you are always welcome to visit our Bellingham CPA firm in person.
1326 E Laurel Street, Bellingham, WA 98225
About 10 miles, roughly a 15-minute drive south on I-5
Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
(360) 862-6556
Tax services for farms, dairies, construction and other small businesses, financial statement audits, year-round bookkeeping services, including B&O tax filing, and cross-border tax services for Canada and US
CPAs and IRS Enrolled Agents
1040, 1040-NR, Schedule C, Schedule E, Schedule F, 1120-S, 1065, 8938 (FATCA), FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR), 3520, 3520-A, 5471, 5472, 8621, and more
Our tax services are designed to work for you and your business. We understand the unique dynamics of Washington tax law, and what's important to our local farms, dairies and small businesses. When you call us, you'll speak to an actual human, year-round, not just during tax season.
Ferndale sits at the edge of the Cherry Point industrial area, home to the BP Cherry Point and Phillips 66 Ferndale refineries, two of the largest industrial employers in Whatcom County. That industrial base supports a deep network of local construction firms, electrical and mechanical contractors, fabricators, and the subcontractors who keep them running, along with skilled workers who often have more complex returns than a single W-2.
We know construction and trades accounting inside and out, from job costing and subcontractor 1099s to equipment depreciation timing and multi-jurisdiction sales tax. For the refinery and project workers in the area, we also prepare returns that involve overtime, per diem, equity compensation, and retirement accounts, all of which benefit from year-round planning rather than a once-a-year filing. Our office is a short drive south on I-5, and we are open every month of the year.
Ferndale keeps its pioneer roots in plain sight. Pioneer Park, tucked along the Nooksack just off Main Street, holds one of the largest collections of original log cabins in Washington and fills up every July for the Old Settlers Picnic. A short drive south, the county-run Hovander Homestead Park, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the elevated boardwalk and fragrance garden at Tennant Lake round out the area's best-known spots. That blend of farm heritage and heavy industry is the Ferndale we actually serve: the refinery and project contractors, the trades, and the Main Street businesses whose books, payroll, and filings come across our desks. Owners can confirm permitting and civic details through the City of Ferndale website, while Hovander and Tennant Lake are managed by Whatcom County Parks.
Farmers in the Ferndale area have relied on us for decades to help with income tax preparation and bookkeeping services. Dairy operators, hay farmers, berry farmers and other local agricultural businesses have all become our clients.
No one looks forward to doing Schedule F, but our experienced tax preparers and small business accountants have prepared this tax form many times for clients in our community.
We can help you:
Construction accounting can be complex, but if you've been doing it as long as we have, it's easier than you might think to save thousands, just by taking advantage of tax benefits you might not even know about.
Tax services for construction businesses is one of our specialties. Our CPAs and tax accountants can help you with construction-specific tax preparation issues, including:
Tax preparation doesn't usually require a CPA if you're just filing an individual income tax return. But if you own rental properties, or want to optimize your equity compensation, retirement and/or business activities, you may benefit from working with a CPA.
Canadians who work in Ferndale may find the US tax system difficult to navigate. The IRS uses the Substantial Presence Test to determine if you're a U.S. tax resident and required to report your worldwide income.
This test, also called the 183-day rule, totals up all of the following to determine your tax status:
If this totals 183 days, and you've spent at least 31 days in the US during the current year, congratulations! You're a US tax resident and get the privilege of paying taxes to the IRS on all of your worldwide income, not just what you make in the US.
If you forgot to report your worldwide income to the IRS, our tax preparers can help you. You may be able to use the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures to catch up and minimize or eliminate your late filing penalties altogether.
Many CPA firms don't offer this type of cross-border tax service, but our cross-border tax manager, Kelly Sheng, CPA, specializes in it. If you need help to catch up on your US taxes, our team of licensed CPAs, IRS Enrolled Agents and tax accountants can help you with this and any other cross-border tax services you may need.
Tax services we offer include:
We prepare tax returns for both individuals and small businesses all across Whatcom County. Your individual tax return can be ready in as little as 2-3 weeks. Businesses can take a bit longer, but we'll always let you know how long our tax preparer needs to do the work. We'll also quote your cost before we get started, so there are no surprises.
Tax accountants can help you plan ahead and make purchases at just the right time for your tax situation. If you own a farm, dairy or other small business, getting the timing just right can help you save thousands of dollars.
Bookkeeping services can provide a huge sense of relief if you dread reconciling your accounts every month, or find yourself staring at a box of receipts every year at tax time. Our professional bookkeepers, including Tiffany van Duker, can help you manage every aspect of your business, including tracking down late payments, disputing unusual charges on your bank and credit card accounts, and filing your Washington B&O taxes.
Our IRS Enrolled Agents and CPAs can help you with any IRS issues, whether you're under audit or behind on your taxes. Having a knowledgeable professional to guide you through the process can make the process so much less stressful, and even save you money, especially if you're trying to negotiate a payment plan or settlement on back taxes.
We'll meet over the phone, on video, or in person at our Bellingham office so we can get to know you and what you need. This is completely FREE, with no obligation.
You'll receive a quote from us about 1-2 days later. This is usually a flat fee, based on the amount of work you need.
We'll send you an engagement letter with all of the details.
When you're ready to begin, we'll assign a single point of contact to work with you from our Bellingham office and a CPA who will review your case.
Most individual tax returns will be done in about 2-3 weeks once your tax preparer receives all of the documents and information they need from you. Business tax returns take longer, but we can give you an estimate on that upfront.
Most services are priced using a flat fee. If you need a financial statement audit, single audit or Yellow Book audit, those are billed based on the complexity of your business and the amount of hours needed to complete your audit.
IRS issues are billed by the hour, since the number of hours required is based largely on how the IRS responds.
The cost of your tax preparation depends on your tax status (whether you're filing an individual or business tax return) and how complex your income is.
Does any of this describe your income?
If you do, your income tax return could require additional forms. The cost to prepare each additional form will be included in your quote from Clarity Tax. Bookkeeping cleanup services are also available if you need them.
Or visit our office at 1326 E Laurel Street, Bellingham, WA 98225. Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.