Tax preparation for Lakewood, Colorado
Charles Trautman, EA, prepares individual and small business returns for Lakewood clients entirely through the secure portal and by phone, which is the sensible way to work across the metro.
Common Lakewood returns
Lakewood is Jefferson County, older housing stock than the south metro, and a dense layer of small independent businesses along Colfax and around Belmar. The returns skew toward self-employment, long-held property, and federal employment, given how much of the federal presence sits at the Denver Federal Center.
Self-employment and side businesses
Independent trades, therapists, designers, and shop owners all file a Schedule C or an S-corp return, and the same handful of decisions drive the result: vehicle expense method, home office qualification, equipment expensing, and whether estimated payments are set at a level that avoids penalty. The deduction checklist covers the line items, and the estimated payment rules are here.
Houses held for decades
Plenty of Lakewood homeowners bought long before the run-up, which puts a sale near or past the capital gain exclusion limits of 250,000 dollars single and 500,000 married filing jointly. Basis is what shrinks a taxable gain, and basis includes every capital improvement over the whole period of ownership. Those records are the thing nobody keeps and everybody needs, so start assembling them before you list rather than in the week the sale closes.
Federal employment and retirement
Federal retirement income under CSRS or FERS, a Thrift Savings Plan rollover, and Colorado's pension and annuity subtraction interact in ways that generic software handles inconsistently. The Colorado subtraction in particular is worth checking by hand for a recently retired household.
Lakewood collects its own sales tax
Lakewood is a home rule city, so it administers its own sales and use tax and its own business licensing rather than routing them through the state. A business operating in Lakewood registers with the city directly, and a business selling into Lakewood from elsewhere can owe Lakewood tax without having a location there. Jefferson County adds its own rate on top. Confirm current rates and licensing with the city, since both are set locally and change.
Looking for a CPA or tax preparer in Lakewood?
On the wording, since it is how people search: Chuck is an Enrolled Agent, not a CPA. The EA is a federal credential issued by the IRS, earned by examination and kept current with continuing education, and it authorizes representation of taxpayers before the IRS in any state. For an individual return, a Schedule C, a partnership, or a small S-corp, an EA and a tax-focused CPA are doing the same work. Audited or reviewed financial statements and formal attestation for a lender require a CPA firm, and we will say so rather than take the engagement. Longer comparison here.
How Lakewood clients actually work with us
Nobody should cross the metro at rush hour to hand over a folder. Lakewood clients send documents through the secure upload, questions get handled by phone, and the finished return gets the same read-through before filing that an in-person client gets. It works well enough that most people never think about the distance again after the first year.
What we handle for Lakewood clients
- Individual returns, federal and Colorado, prepared and e-filed
- Schedule C, single-member LLC, and S-corp returns
- Home sale gain, basis reconstruction, and retirement income
- Back and prior-year returns, plus IRS notices, audits, and collections
Lakewood questions we get asked
You are in Lone Tree. Does working with a preparer across town actually work?
Yes, and for Lakewood it is the normal arrangement rather than a compromise. Returns are prepared and e-filed identically wherever the preparer sits. Documents go through a secure portal, questions get answered by phone, and you deal with Chuck directly rather than with a rotating front desk.
We are selling a house we bought in the nineties. How much of the gain is taxed?
Up to 250,000 dollars of gain is excludable for a single filer and 500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, assuming the ownership and use tests are met. Anything above that is capital gain, reduced by basis, and basis includes capital improvements across the entire time you owned the place. Gather those records before listing.
What does tax preparation cost?
It depends on the forms your return needs, which is why flat advertised prices usually carry a list of exclusions. We quote before starting, so call or email with a short description of your situation and last year's return if you have it.
Is Tax Shop a CPA firm?
No. Charles Trautman is an Enrolled Agent, a federal credential issued by the IRS covering tax specifically and authorizing representation before the IRS. For individual returns, Schedule C, partnerships, and small S-corps that is the same work a tax-focused CPA does. Audited financial statements or a formal attestation require a CPA firm.
Review
Chuck is great! We've been seeing him for 5 plus years. He does excellent tax work. Highly recommend him.
Visit or call
9233 Park Meadows Drive, Suite 202, Lone Tree, in the Panera Bread building at C-470 and Yosemite.