Medows CPA

My boyfriend started a business and hated every tax preparer he went to until he went to this one. He cannot stop saying good things about this service. If you are self employed or run a business, this is the guy to go to!

The staff is well verse and knowledgeable in all aspects of accounting. Most CPA’s don’t respond immediately but not Medows. Looking forward to building a new relationship with this company.
Prices are great!

I started a small business this year and most tax places that I’ve been to have been little to no help (see my other reviews).
I went into Medows’ office for a consultation and he had all my questions answered within half an hour – so quick he insisted on not charging for it.
Can’t wait to come back in January to file!

He was the first CPA I found when I tried to incorporate my business and it was a disaster and nothing but regrets working with John. He couldn’t even get the business name correct the first time around and of course the application was kicked back from the state. He caused a lot of headache and confusion along the way. His demeanor was one of worst. I would not recommend this unqualified CPA to anyone.

I have been using Medows CPA (Jonathan) for 5 years now, and the reasons I give a 5 star a listed below.
*Remembers who you are as a client. What you do and always takes the time to talk about you before business matters.
*Has a great team that work for him and who are always helpful, prompt and friendly.
*Works with you and not for you on any tax issues or new personal/​business endeavours that need professional accounting advice and correct understanding on tax codes/​etc. Takes the time to understand your situation and not just push paper to create work and bill.
*Goes the extra mile; if needed will talk to the different tax authorities to ensure any issue is resolved (simple or complex) correctly and soundly.
*His business has never been audited by the IRS, spotless record. (You won’t believe how many CPAs have been).
*Good online service, including reserving apps and reviewing all documents both in draft and final online. Easy to download and save for your records.
*Extremely knowledgable not only on federal tax laws and codes, but on many US states as well.
I am a Brit and I can understand why most Americans have no clue on how their tax codes and system works for either the federal or state taxes. You only have to look at the IRS and relevant state tax websites to understand why. Jonathan basically untangles this spaghetti mess of rules and regulations (and bizarre maths) into logical order. This unfortunately means that its never the same picture twice, so therefore he has never been able to provide me up front pricing but his rates have never been high compared to the industry. You want cheap go to HR Block.

I write this review to give fair warning to future customers. We used Medows CPA for three years. It was a very up and down experience.
Over the past three years, Medows put more preparation burden on his customers (requiring completion of lengthy, convoluted forms which I’ve never had to prepare for a tax PREPARER before), while complaining that our taxes took a long time to complete.
We had to check their work for errors. We learned to expect inaccurate answers and incomplete research when we did have questions — and often completed the research ourselves.
He was very helpful when we had a shift in our income/​expenditure situation three years ago. Hence two stars. But then our taxes got very simple for two years in a row. A few months ago, I asked for an itemized bill for last year’s expenses and/​or a fair estimate for this year’s work. I was told we were too much work, and it wasn’t worth his time to retain us as customers — no answer, no transparency.
This is probably par for the course in tax preparation, and there’s nothing particularly bad about this service. But there’s nothing particularly good either.
We’ll spend as much time preparing our own taxes this year as we did preparing and checking Medows’ work last year, and we’ll save $ 335. For even mildly intrepid souls, I recommend using a tax accountant only when you have a big change in financial circumstances, and in between just use
and a couple of calls to the IRS. It’s really not that hard.

I’ve been working with Jonathan Medows since 2005. He’s guided me through the complexities of owning my own business as well as taking care of my personal taxes.
Jonathan and his personable staff are true professionals. Emails and calls are answered so quickly that it makes you feel as though they’re there for you ²⁴⁄₇.
I’ve recommend this firm to friends that were in a jam. They’ve all had the same experience and continue to use their services till this day.

my husband and I hired Mr. Medows and his staff after a recommendation from a friend/​business associate. For a while my husband liked him despite the reservations I had. We were working in the city and had moved to NJ. Simple questions regarding paying taxes in NY/​NJ were asked and his response was «my wife asks me the same things and i don’t know.» after a fairly simple search on the IRS website i emailed him the answer to give to his wife and to his other clients that work/​live in NJ/​NY etc…
besides this vague example, my husband still thought he was ok for his consulting business. He kept charging us despite his staff making mistakes on filing. by the time the «corporation» got set up in NJ we had already moved back to NY… ridiculous. we changed the address and informed of the move as directed by ourselves for a cost of $ 25… his company then asked for $ 75 to notify change of address… we already did it.
He is not personable, he basically says to your face that if it gets to difficult he will drop clients. He is actually quite arrogant.
They are responsive to emails fairly quickly, but being responsive and giving correct/​knowledgeable information are two different things. The thing i liked best was the portal, but that’s about it.
I can’t wait to get a new acct to review not only my husband’s business taxes, but our private taxes as well… i have never paid so much in my life and it’s not like my salary went up into a different tax bracket.
considering we make excel sheets with all deductions, have receipts if requested, and send everything upon request, i’m not sure how he charges so much when all they have to do is enter the numbers onto a form…
I’m glad my spouse finally listened to his initial gut and addressed the issues. My partner is super diplomatic (not my forte) and instead of Jonathan attempting to remedy the situation he just walked off… nice and professional.
now we are looking for a new accountant who can deal with taxes in both NYC and NJ as well as for a private consultant. any recommendations?
I would give half a star rating just for the electronic portal… customer service and knowledge base… not so much…

I have been a client of Johnattan since 2010, and he is not only my CPA but also my to go guy for advices due to his broad knowledge of marketing and business in general. He also helps me with my taxes and my company’s monthly reports as well. Super recommend!

Jonathan and the entire team is always responsive and available any time I have a question. I have been going to Medows CPA for years! I recommend him to all of my friends, many of whom are now clients of his…
If you like to TRULY understand whats happening to your $$… I highly recommend them. He is always there for anything and they are so patient! I always have lots of questions. :)

This was my first year paying taxes as an independent consultant and it involved more complications than I cared to deal with. I called Jonathan and got an appointment within a week. He listened to my questions and gave me clear advice about how properly handle my deductible expenses in a way that gave me great confidence. My returns were ready within a few days.
Overall, Jonathan and everyone in his office was very kind, responsive and helpful at all turns.

Jonathan and the rest of the Medows CPA staff were extremely professional and far exceeded my expectations for my tax preparation. Jonathan was extremely thorough in answering all of my questions — of which I had many due to a cross country move. I also really appreciated that they provide a electronic and paper copy of your return that clearly explains all the necessary steps and next actions. Because of the quality of service, professional and friendly staff, I highly recommend them.

If I could give Jonathan + his team SIX stars, I would. I came to them at last minute, in a frenzy due to issues with my previous accountant, and they welcomed me, answered my questions thoroughly and informatively despite being eyeballs deep in tax deadlines.
I love being able to review my return via a draft on the portal and then to be able go over everything with an accountant directly.
I had a lot of questions and they were all answered, leaving me with a better understand of how my both S-​Corp return + personal return are processed.
Hands on service, no lag time, fast responses — all of these things combined make me feel like Medows is an extended part of and arm of my team.
I was neurotic about my return and they always, ALWAYS treated me like a priority and like it was their main goal to get me sorted. I wouldn’t want to deal with me at tax time and they made me feel at ease!
I would recommend them over and over and over. Medows took the sting out of tax time!
I am looking forward to meeting with them in the off-​season to further discuss my business taxes.
If you go anywhere else, you are silly. I can’t say enough good things!!!

Jonathan is my man.
Not literally. I don’t really know him know him. He’s my man because without him, I’d be going to H&R Block without a clue as to what’s going on. Jonathan is as knowledgeable as it gets with taxes and he makes it his point to be as knowledgeable as he can with YOUR specific tax situation. He gives you time and attention, gives you tax-​law updates via letters and emails, takes the initiative and calls when something needs handling, and advises you every step of the way throughout the year regarding your financial life.
He works on Saturdays. He works on Sundays. I can pretty much shoot him an email anytime, and he’ll most often get back to me right away, or at least within 24 hours. He’s my own personal tax advisor, and I’m comfortable, confident and very lucky to have him in my corner.
The ONLY reason I didn’t give him 5 stars is because… Well…I’m up in Riverdale and it’s a bit of a pain-​in-​the-​tuchis getting down to him. Especially when I get to Grand Street off the FDR. Grand Street’s lights are the worst! There seems to be a light every 25 yards, and they’re all timed differently. I think I’ve spent 10 minutes on that street alone, just getting the 8 blocks from the highway to Jonathan’s office. You’re better off taking Houston to Essex and coming that way.
But only if you’re willpower is good.
(Katz’s.)

Quick responses.
On top of in depth tax services, industry knowledge and a thorough attempt to do your tax work in the most beneficial and appropriate manner, you will hear back from this firm in a timely manner. Of all the CPAs I’ve ever worked with, I’ve never gotten faster responses. Even in the height of the season, you will get your questions answered.
This firm delivers modern service in a modern medium for a modern world. No unnecessary printing, so ridiculous back and forth of printed materials. Their electronic delivery and storage process are extremely modern and appreciated.
This was my first experience working with the firm but it was massive improvement over others I’ve worked with in the fast.
I’d recommend you take a consultation and decide for yourself.

It’s been a year since I parted ways with this firm because of poor customer service and poor tax advice and I continue to find out from my current CPA the mistakes that Medows CPA made. The latest is to find that my mother-​in-​law is exempt from filing taxes and they never told her that and continued to file and of course bill her. Several years ago they left me to file my own taxes when they said their computer was down. The IRS interpreted that as fraud and I now have the pleasure of dealing with the IRS on that issue as well. Overall, Medows never provided any tax planning strategies. I feel fortunate to have finally left and have found a very competent CPA now.

I’ve been a client of Medows CPA for close to 6 years now. Jonathan is always available for questions and concerns I have and has always done my taxes quickly and accurately. Being in the entertainment industry and a freelancer, my tax situation can be tricky, but Jonathan always makes tax season a breeze for me. Booking my 2014 appointment now!

Got a last minute appt with Jonathan. Service was flawless… Everything was easily done online after the initial meeting. The staff was very attentive, I had some questions about the return and returned my call within 15 minutes!
I highly recommend this service!

One day I was searching for a top-​notch accountant and came across Jonathan Medows. It was a blessing! I have nothing but great things to say about his service. He is professional, ethical, sincere and extremely knowledgeable. Not only do I get superior results I get quality. I feel very comfortable working with him each year. It has been over 6 years now I have been a client and he is by far the best accountant around.

I have been a client of Medows CPA since 2004. Having been a financial advisor on wall street for 25 years, I look for a firm that takes the time and care to answer my questions and concerns. Jonathan has that small town approach and care with a big city attitude for quality, concise work.
You would be in great hands to be associated with his firm!