Herman Yiu, CPA

Very expensive tax prep service. In an introduction email, Herman quoted me a single-​filer fee that starts at $ 250 and goes up with additional schedules. Please note that almost every tax accountant I know quotes that way except Herman’s «goes up» part is significantly steeper. I ended up paying over $ 800 for a single filer which seemed pretty ridiculous. When I was given the actual fee quote, I was already sitting in his office after he reviewed all the documents with me so I still went ahead with him. I think that’s why he doesn’t give out actual quotes over email or phone but wants you to go meet him in person so you feel obligated to file with him on the spot even with the high fee. And I know Herman would argue that it cost me $ 800 because my tax returns were quite complex. I can’t detail my tax situation here but what I can share is that I paid $ 300 – 350 a year to my tax accountant before Herman (my old tax accountant retired and that was why I went to Herman based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews on Unilocal). Since that 1 year of unpleasant experience with Herman, I have found a new account that charges ~$ 350 a year for my tax returns. My tax situation hasn’t changed much in the last 7 – 8 years so it wasn’t that Herman got a specially tough year of my tax returns.
I am still surprised by a lot of the 5-​star reviews here but what I have learnt with Unilocal over the last few years is that when the total review count is below 50, you can’t really trust them as every person probably has enough good friends to help write a few 5-​star reviews on Unilocal.Other than the expensive fee, I didn’t experience worse or better quality in Herman’s work vs. the other two tax accountants I used. That makes me wonder what justifies Herman’s premiums. Outside the regular tax return season, I occasionally email my tax accountants a couple of tax-​related questions. While the other tax accountants always replied with patient explanations and sometimes even spend time with me on the phone for free, Herman’s response was always brief and ended with «If you want to discuss this more in detail, we can set up a consultation and as a reminder, my time is charged at $ 250/​hour (minimum charge).»

I am relatively new to NYC and needed to find an accountant for personal income taxes. I had no leads for recommendations from friends or family in the area, so I reached out to this firm based in part on Unilocal recommendations. I figured I would pass along another good review in case anyone is in similar shoes. I had a great experience! Everything was done quickly, accurately and at a reasonable price. I highly recommend using Herman Yiu CPA.

We went to this accountant last year based on all of the five star reviews but we had a bad experience and I feel obliged to write this review as a cautionary note to others. In our case, we paid Herman $ 700 to do our taxes last year (we were initially quoted $ 450 plus $ 25 per 1099 several times by his receptionist but in person he quoted us $ 50 per 1099. we had multiple 1099’s). We were told to bring our past tax filings with us on our first meeting as well. Herman ended up telling us after our initial meeting that he believed our taxes for 2013 and 2012 were filed incorrectly. We paid him an additional $ 650 to refile our 2013 taxes because he said he could get us $ 7,000 back. He also said our 2012 taxes were filed incorrectly and he could refile that for us as well, which is when I started to get suspicious because, while we were not in love with our previous accountant, we did not think she was so grossly incompetent as to file our taxes incorrectly 2 years in a row.
I did some research on the IRS website and found a discrepancy in the rationale he was giving us for refiling for 2012. I e-​mailed him with what I found and he ended up apologizing and saying that the 2012 filing was actually filed correctly.
After a few days, we got an e-​mail with all the forms for review mentioning that while he still believed the 2013 filing was done incorrectly, we now stood to get only $ 759 back, not the original $ 7,000 he quoted us. Reading through the forms, we notice that there was also a clause at the bottom about the IRS potentially sending us a bill for interest charges, which he did not mention.
I e-​mailed him back saying that there was a huge difference between $ 759 and the $ 7,000 he had initially quoted and that considering we would be paying him $ 650 to refile, we would only be getting $ 100 back. I also asked him about the interest clause we found. I told him we were only going to refile if he could absolutely guarantee that we would not lose any money on the refiling (because that just doesn’t make sense). He replied saying that the interest was not included in his calculation of $ 759 and made no mention of a guarantee. What that meant for him is he was making $ 650 on the refile in addition to the $ 700 we were paying him to file for 2014. What that meant for us is we would likely either be getting $ 0 back or we would owe the IRS money. Had we not been vigilant and had the wherewithal to double-​check his work as well as to do our own homework (needless to say that’s not why we hired a tax professional), we would have lost around $ 1,300 in refiling fees for 2012 and 2013 in addition to the $ 700 we were paying him to file for last year. That’s $ 2,000 down the drain.
By comparison, our previous accountant (who had many years of experience and also worked in Manhattan) was charging us $ 550 each year for the same amount of work. Herman did end up refunding us the $ 650 when we said we didn’t want to refile for 2013 because it didn’t make sense for us but it didn’t ameliorate the feeling that we were being taken advantage of. Had we not had this negative experience last year, we would have hired an accountant again this year. Instead, we chose to file everything ourselves with tax software for small businesses (entering 1099’s takes approximately one minute), which cost us only $ 60, was fairly straightforward, and came with excellent professional phone support, not to mention gave us a nice refund.

Herman and his firm have provided me with tax preparation and related tax counsel/​advice for Federal and state tax returns from 2010 through 2014. He has been knowledgeable, reliable, efficient and demonstrated great integrity across the work he has done for me and my small business. He is also friendly and enjoyable to work with. I will continue to use Herman and his team for my tax needs and I highly recommend them.

At first I was hesitant to try a tax preparation service from online reviews, but I’m glad I went with Herman. Herman is knowledgeable, transparent, responsive, and great to work with.
I’d definitely recommend Herman Yiu, CPA for your tax preparation needs.

So professional, helpful, honest and patient! My husband and I left feeling confident and informed. He’s our new guy.

Herman redefines all the usual bad thoughts that accompany the word «accountant». He is easy to talk to, responsive, considerate, timely, professional, and overall a dream to work with. I think I’ve finally found my accountant for the rest of my life! Highly, highly recommended!

Herman is a very knowledgable and helpful accountant. I used him for my personal as well as business income taxes. He offered several useful pieces of advice that will help me save money on my next return. I would definitely recommend him for someone in a similar situation.

Professional, courteous and informative. He may be busy, but that’s because he takes his time reviewing everything and making sure he’s covered it all. I’d take that over any accountant that’s quick to rush you out the door. If you can get in to see him, you won’t get better service!

Several years ago, I switched CPAs for personal and small business matters and selected HY-​CPA because of the online reviews. Now I’m making one and it is a rave.
Now, I am a repeat customer year after year, and I have seen this firm grow year over year. Excellent understanding of accounting principles, backed with a modern approach and deep knowledge of the tax code has made all the difference, each time I return.
Of course it makes sense to shop, do your homework and hire an accounting practice with a solid history of excellent references and with a support staff who can carry the day, but you will find no finer.
Herman Yiu is a solid Accountant.

March 7, 2015
Not taking any new clients for the remainder of this tax season, unless you file an extension. When asked if he has any recommendations for other accountants to go to, they did not have an answer.
Good luck out there!

Slow to respond on inquiries. Guess too many raving reviews result in poor personal service and when he did respond he said he was too full to take more business.
Going elsewhere.

Reliable Tax accountants are rare to find here in NYC, especially one with such great customer care and knowledge. Herman walked me through the entire process with such ease and explained everything in a way I was able to feel comfortable. Their staff is also superb such as June who has such a great phone demeanor and patience. She helped me with pricing quotes when I needed them and was very helpful in scheduling a time for me to come in. I definitely recommend this place to my friends and family!

changed his appointment 3x (in less than 1 hr), when I was trying to get 10 minutes of his time and hire him. Made me feel unimportant and like my business was not appreciated.

I’m very happy that I’ve found him on Unilocal.Herman is extremely knowledgeable and the whole process was crystal clear and efficient. Will definitely be returning here to file my 2014 taxes

Herman is the epitome of what a tax professional should be. He has been well taught through academics and experience.
Every time I see him, I always have a long list of questions that seem difficult to handle. However, he always answers them with ease. He has a creative yet practical mind that helps you go forward with the best course of action for your accounting needs.
Unlike many other tax professionals, he’s embraced modern technology and can get things done with very little face time. If you do need to speak with him, it always seems he has time for that too. In brief, he is a very effective communicator.
He charges a competitive fee that I believe is worth every single penny. At the end of tax season, he will leave you with peace of mind!
FYI — Herman has done both Corporate and Personal returns for me.

Herman is a nice guy, relaxed and knowledgeable on individual and corporate accounting issues. Very professional and friendly. If you’re looking for expert advice, go to him.
It’s amazing how sometimes people are so careful with certain small expenses but not at all with taxes, which is the biggest expense for everyone.

While I’m generally suspect of strings of five-​star reviews, Herman Yiu deserves the maximum rating!
On the subject of taxes I am of medium sophistication, so I appreciated Herman’s ability to break down some complicated points in a way that was comprehensible and left me feeling that my questions had been satisfactorily answered.
Herman’s rates are quite fair and more importantly straight-​forward. He is friendly, professional and efficient. In 45 minutes, he thoroughly bucked my notion of what an accountant is like and what that relationship could and should be like.
I’m pleased to offer Herman Yiu my unqualified recommendation!

Two things are certain in life: death and taxes.
Another thing that is certain is that you shouldn’t do your own taxes. Instead, see Herman! I found him via Unilocal and visited to file my income taxes and get help with a problem from a previous tax year. I got a great refund thanks to Herman pointing out things that I would have been sure to miss on my own.
I also got help from Herman in forming an LLC. After paying a fair fee, Herman had everything taken care of within a week! He’s great!

Herman was great! He was knowledgeable, quick and very helpful. I will definitely be using his services again this tax season. I’m going to recommend him to all my friends in need of a good accountant!