Aaaagh! Some advice from the Finance and Investing people here:

[ret5hd]

So, this has been a complicated year for us (at least for us it is, maybe not some here)...sold some property, a bit of inheritance, Social Security, Medicare AND marketplace insurance, some investment income, some regular income (wages with taxes withheld), some freelance income (no taxes withheld) etc etc.

Trying to get ahead of the game, I started searching for a REALLY GOOD cpa. The one we used in the past was pretty good, but he retired and sold his business to a person that I am just not that impressed with...used the new guy for the last 2 tax years, but he's slow and I am just afraid he isn't suited for us.

Anyway, most of the ones coming up in my searches seem to specialize in those that need help with back-taxes...not us. Or H&R Block type places that just seem to be paper pushers and form fillers. Also not us.

We need a solid, professional, future-tax-implications-aware, give-us-advise, nothing shady or even slightly gray, willing to spend some time questioning us and answering questions, etc etc etc. The kind of firm/person that asks the questions that we aren't smart enough to realize need to be asked.

This might be a one-tax-season-only "relationship", but not necessarily. We don't mind paying for personalized service...but I want to be able to see with numbers that they did a good job.

How does one find such a person/firm? My searches included our area and the terms "CPA", "CTA" "certified public accountant" and "certified tax advisor".

Any hints?