Kitchen table to storefront.
We started by doing neighbors' returns for a fair, posted price. We still do. Here's the story, the people at the desk and the rules we keep.
Our story
Teresa Ruiz did her first neighbor's return at her kitchen table in Bay View in 2011, after six seasons at a big chain office where the fee wasn't decided until the very end. People kept asking her back. By 2014 the kitchen table had become a storefront on Linnet Street.
Riverwest opened in 2019 because so many clients were taking two buses to reach us. The West Allis desk came in 2023, inside a market our clients already shop at. We still work the way the kitchen table did: posted prices, plain words, and the same preparer next year if you want them.
- 2011 Kitchen table
- 2014 Bay View storefront
- 2019 Riverwest
- 2023 West Allis desk
How we work
1 Price first
You see the fee before we start. If the return grows, we stop and ask before the price does.
2 Your refund is yours
We never take our fee out of a refund, and we don't sell refund loans. You pay when you sign.
3 Plain words
If we can't explain a line on your return in a sentence, we haven't finished explaining it.
4 Same face next year
Most clients keep the same preparer season after season. It saves you time, and it saves us questions.
The people at the desk
No stock headshots here. Come by and meet us; the coffee is free and so is the first look at any IRS letter.
-
Teresa Ruiz
Owner, Enrolled Agent
- Seasons:
- 21
- Languages:
- English, Español
- Focus:
- IRS letters, prior years, representation
Enrolled Agent, licensed by the IRS to represent taxpayers
-
Dale Hendricks
Preparer, small business
- Seasons:
- 12
- Languages:
- English
- Focus:
- S corporations, partnerships, Schedule C
Holds a PTIN; completes the IRS Annual Filing Season Program each year
-
Mai Vang
Preparer, families
- Seasons:
- 7
- Languages:
- English, Hmong
- Focus:
- Family returns, credits, retirees
Holds a PTIN; completes the IRS Annual Filing Season Program each year
-
Luis Ortega
Preparer, Riverwest lead
- Seasons:
- 5
- Languages:
- English, Español
- Focus:
- Gig and 1099 workers, first-time filers
Holds a PTIN; takes continuing education every year
-
Jen Adebayo
Front desk & intake
- Seasons:
- 4
- Languages:
- English
- Focus:
- Booking, document intake, pickups
Not a preparer; she keeps the schedule and your papers in order
C About credentials
Who is allowed to do your taxes
Every paid preparer must have a PTIN from the IRS and must sign the returns they prepare. Ours always do. You can look up credentialed preparers in the IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers on irs.gov. Be wary of anyone who won't sign your return.
An Enrolled Agent is licensed by the IRS after passing its exam and keeps up with yearly education. That's what lets Teresa represent clients in audits, collections and appeals.
Things we won't do
- Promise you a bigger refund, or any refund amount
- Take our fee out of your refund, or sell you a refund loan
- Let anyone prepare a return without signing it
- Do monthly bookkeeping or payroll (we'll refer you)
- Give legal advice (we'll tell you when you need an attorney)
Come meet the desk.
Book a time at any of our three offices or on video. The fee is set before we start, and nothing comes out of your refund.