Zappitelli Financial Services

They made a mistake on our 1997 taxes which caused us to underpay a CA tax due, which came back to bite us all these years later with interest and penalty, as you might imagine.\r I went to them for assistance in figuring out what went wrong, and Robert apparently decided it would be easier, for the purpose of weaseling out, to manufacture some ridiculous umbrage at something very innocent I had said during that meeting, and so subsequently (using a mild profanity, mind you, but just briefly...repeated twice, though) told me he was offended and that he was not talking to me ever again and would communicate only through his lawyer.\r So meanwhile, I figure it all out myself with the help of the CA tax board (very good, by the way) and get the right forms, make an eloquent and air-tight argument on paper, and end up getting the interest and penalty dropped and then just paid the original tax...which we would have done gladly IN THE FIRST PLACE, had the incompetent Zappitelli known his way around the tax laws that he was PAID to know. It's not like it was some super out-of-the-ordinary situation; Zappitelli flat out did not realize that CA taxes on a ""global"" income basis (still didn't, after all those years)\r ...so it was ignorance of a basic fact, causing a well-paying client a headache, pure and simple; but, there was a failure to even acknowledge that. You know what the weasel tactic was? He had his lawyer inform me that 7 years was the limit of accountability for any errors. What about personal accountability? What about competence? What about honesty?\r \r Mistakes happen, we are all human. I'm not inclined to be angry over a mistake, if it is acknowledged and dealt with in a professional manner. In this case, though, I was treated like a chump. When Zappitelli expressed his ridiculous umbrage, he used a sly character attack, as he said: ""you are only out for yourself in this thing"". Now, think about that: here is a problem, OUR tax problem, my wife and I's, that is a result of a mistake HE made, on a job he was PAID to do. And so, he got offended because I made the completely innocent remark ""well, you probably have some sort of coverage for this kind of thing, right?"". Completely innocent, simply because I really don't know how it works, okay? But his umbrage was, he said, based completely on that remark, which ironically was made BECAUSE I'm a nice person I didn't want to think that, if it was found to be his mistake (it was) that it would impact his bottom line very much. Okay? So, I guess no good deed goes unpunished. more

Highly Recommended! more

I went to Zappitelli Financial with some letters I received from the IRS. I could not sleep worrying about what might happen to me.\r The folks at Zappitelli's took the time to contact the IRS and find out a way to settle my dispute with the IRS. I found out I owed them money and I was put on a payment plan that I could afford.\r I then got my taxes up to date and even did some estimates for the current year so I would not fall behind again. I operate a dining room\r with a beer and wine license. The sales tax and payroll requirements are very difficuly to keep up with. more

Zappitelli helped me with understanding how my S corporation\r worked. I'm in the constuction field and they know a lot about the trades. They did my corporate return along with my 1040 at a very resonable fee. I will recomend them to my friends more

I would highly recommend these guys! Great service, fair prices, peace of mind! If you want the best, go with the best! more

My wife and I have been using Zappitelli's for the past 5 years. We decided to use a CPA firm a few years back when we started to acquire rental properties. At the same time, we also started a family. When tax time came around, we knew that we would need professional advise/help when it came to our taxes. more

My wife and I were extremly satisfied with our experience at Zappitelli's this tax season. We have a complicated return (self-employed, 3 K-1's, investments etc) and these guys were able to pick up on things I have been missing for years. They also went back and corrected the last couple years of returns, which were prepared by H&R Block, and get us over $2,000 back. Their prices are 1/3 of the competitors and they were happy to sit down with me a handful of times to make sure we had all the information needed to get the ball rolling. I will forever be a client of Zappitelli's and I suggest others check them out next tax season too! You can tell why they've been in business for over 30 years!!!! *Friendly staff and helpful service!* more

These folks were recommended to me because of their history of a ""quick turn around"" on taxes. That part was true. I sent them all the paperwork and receipts I thought were needed, and they sent me an email saying they had completed my taxes less than 24 hours later. The problem? Anything I didn't send them, they did not even ask for. I own a house, they did NOT ask for my mortgage interest paper. They did NOT include my city code to calculate additional surtaxes. They did NOT include many of the deductions I sent, such as money spent on previous years' tax preparation. Long story short, they completed two tax returns for me - and two months later I received 4 notices from federal and state bureaus, one of which saying I overpaid, and the three others saying I owed additional taxes. I contacted Zappitelli afterwards, but they did not even respond. So I basically paid them about $800 to do as lousy a job as I could've done myself. There's nothing ""professional"" about these people. more