What Is an Enrolled Agent?

An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a person who has earned the privilege of practicing and representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. EAs are licensed by the Department of the Treasury, and can represent taxpayers at any IRS office throughout the United States before all administrative levels for audits, collections, and appeals. To qualify, EAs are required to demonstrate their competence in matters of taxation, pass a rigorous test, and pass a background check. Unlike attorneys and CPAs, who may or may not specialize in taxes, all EAs specialize in taxation.

Doreen and Irena have also attended the National Tax Practice Institute, a program developed to sharpen the skills of EAs. Students expand the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to successfully guide clients through the challenging maze of Federal and state laws and regulations.

Doreen Bray, Enrolled Agent

Doreen Bray has been preparing taxes since 1980 and became an Enrolled Agent in 1982. She is President of her brother's 30-year-old sister company, Bray's Tax Service, Inc., and formed Saugatuck Tax Group, Inc. in 2004 with Irena Sarapiniene. Doreen is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, a Fellow of the National Tax Practice Institute, a member of the National Association of Tax Practitioners.

Irena Sarapiniene, Enrolled Agent

Irena graduated Cum Laude from Concordia College, Bronxville, NY, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She specializes in Individual and Small Business returns, from Schedule C companies to C Corporations, S Corporations, Partnerships, and LLC's. Her strengths include tax planning, preparing trial balances when needed, calculating depreciation, and looking for deductions you may have overlooked. She also prepares payroll returns, including end-of-year W-2's and 1099's for subcontractors.

New Businesses

Irena also specializes in New Business start-ups. She will advise you on everything you need to know to start a new business, including IRS and state requirements from record-keeping to payroll laws, and everything else a new business owner needs to know, such as:

• When is a person an employee or a subcontractor? (Payroll and 1099 requirements)
• What records do I need to keep for my auto, travel, and entertainment?
• Do I have to setup profit sharing and when?
• Can I deduct gifts for business?
• Can I deduct my home office for business?
• Can I deduct medical expenses under Section 105, or setup a medical plan for my spouse?

Other things covered are:

• How to keep records using Quickbooks
• Applications for IRS and state registration numbers
• Sales tax requirements
• Deposit procedures
• plus more. . . Irena can answer all of your questions on starting up a new business, and more.