Questions to Ask a Tax Advisor

By AE Tax Advisors | Educational guide | Updated September 2026

Evaluation Guides / Questions to Ask a Tax Advisor

The most useful thing you can bring to a first conversation with any advisor is a good list of questions. The answers, and the way they are given, tell you a great deal about how a firm works. This hub provides checklists you can adapt.

You will find a general list of questions to ask before hiring, followed by focused lists on fees and billing, communication and service, audit support and representation, strategy risk and documentation, and data security and privacy. Two additional lists are tailored to real estate investors and to business owners.

How to Use This Hub

Read the general list first and pick the questions that matter most to you. Then add questions from the focused lists. Take notes during your conversation, and compare answers across firms. A clear and direct answer is a good sign, and an evasive or overly promotional answer deserves follow-up.

You can use these questions with any firm, including AE Tax Advisors. If you would like to ask them directly, the discovery call is the place to do so.

It can help to print or copy the checklist you plan to use and leave space for notes under each question. After each conversation, write a two-sentence summary of what you learned, so that you can compare firms fairly a few days later.

Guides in Questions to Ask a Tax Advisor

Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Tax AdvisorA general checklist of questions for any tax advisor, with notes on what a good answer sounds like and what should prompt follow-up.Questions About Fees and BillingQuestions to ask any tax advisor about pricing, what triggers extra charges, billing schedules, refunds, and how fee estimates are handled in writing.Questions About Communication and ServiceQuestions about response times, points of contact, meeting cadence, reporting, and how a tax advisor handles urgent issues and busy seasons.Questions About Audit Support and RepresentationWhat to ask about IRS and state notices, representation rights, fee arrangements, and who handles examinations of returns or recommended strategies.Questions About Strategy Risk and DocumentationHow to ask an advisor about the authority behind a recommended tax strategy, the risks, what documentation is required, and what happens if the facts change.Questions About Data Security and PrivacyWhat to ask a tax advisor about how your sensitive information is stored, transmitted, accessed, retained, and disposed of, including breach notification.Questions Real Estate Investors Should Ask a Tax AdvisorQuestions for real estate investors to ask an advisor about depreciation, cost segregation, passive loss rules, short-term rentals, exchanges, and records.Questions Business Owners Should Ask a Tax AdvisorQuestions for owner-operators about entity choice, compensation, retirement plans, deductions, payroll, multi-state issues, and exit planning.

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Educational purposes only. This page is general education and is not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Descriptions of how AE Tax Advisors approaches engagements are general, and the scope, timing, and fees for any engagement are confirmed with you directly. Tax laws change and outcomes depend on individual facts. No result is guaranteed.