AICTP Essentials
Congratulations! You've shown a strong desire to transform your business by adding tax planning advisory services to your practice! Welcome!
This sampler of the American Institute of Certified Tax Planners program* offers insights into our ideas, our strategies, and our education.
Once you understand what we have to share, we know you'll want to join our organization and transform your business using proactive tax planning!
*Certification for CPAs, EAs, and Practicing Tax Attorneys Only
Considering adding tax planning advisory services to your business? You've come to the right place!
Whether you're just starting out, or a seasoned professional, we've helped accounting and tax pros just like you transform their business.
Do any of these thoughts resonate with you?
"I’m pouring time and energy and money into my business, but I'm not seeing the results I want or deserve."
Even though I love what I do, SOMETHING isn't working. I’m tired of leaving money on the table and not seeing returns that match my efforts. I deserve better!
"I’m doing fine in my business, but I want to become a valued expert and consultant instead of filling out forms."
I want to elevate my business to an elite service.
I know I already add value but I also know I can do much more for my clients and my own life.
"I see the accounting industry is changing and I’m concerned about being left behind."
Client advisory services, tax planning – it seems EVERYONE is doing something different these days. I don't want to lose out! Change can be a great thing!
"I already do tax planning, but want to refine my skills to add more sophisticated strategies."
I'm proactive with my education, and already work with high-net-worth tax planning clients. I want to go further with my offerings with a system for more comprehensive and complex plans.
We start our accounting or tax businesses with the dream of being independent, being a valued partner with our clients, and making the kind of money that lets us live the lifestyle we desire for ourselves.
The reality is, after working so hard, and after crunching the numbers, you may be dissatisfied with the kind of clients you're working with and tired of being under-compensated for your time. You may feel like an order-taker instead of a valued expert partner with your clients.
The tax industry has been changing over the years. Accountants have lost business to DIY tax software, and many of our services have been commoditized, resulting in noticeable downward price pressure. You need more and more clients to cover rising overhead costs. This includes the need for more employees, which means more work and time on management and organization skills. And even after all the expenses of growing your business, often your income hasn’t increased very much at all! It can feel like an uphill battle to grow your profits without taking on more than you can handle.
And what about the new trend of Client Advisory Services? It’s so broad. It feels like there are so many choices that it's hard to determine what's useful and what may be a waste of time. But we have an answer for you!
The American Institute of Certified Tax Planners (AICTP) offers a full-service solution to developing Client Advisory Services in your firm, focusing on the specialization of tax planning. We offer the proven methodology, guidance, and expert training that accounting firms need to develop and implement a tax planning approach to attract and engage clients.
Essential Item One: Self-Assessment
You might still be uncertain what exactly you are looking for,
but you DO know what you don’t want... the STATUS QUO!
We all think we want change. But only an elite few will invest the time, energy, and funds to make it happen.
Understanding where you are NOW will help you better evaluate how beneficial making an investment
in change will be for you and your business.
TAKE ACTION! Use these two interactive tools to do a self-assessment.
Take the time to EVALUATE where you are now and consider what you want to BECOME.
What are Your Competitors Earning?
Are you undervaluing your own expertise? Compare your pricing to the national averages, then consider what adding Tax Planning and Value Pricing could add to your bottom line.
What's Your Tax Planning IQ?
Check your tax planning awareness and think about how you might change YOUR business to focus on tax planning. See if you THINK LIKE A TAX PLANNER!
Essential Item Two: Adopt Value Pricing
One of AICTP's strengths is teaching you the VALUE of your expertise and how to
PRESENT YOUR VALUE CONVINCINGLY, AND CHARGE ACCORDINGLY!
And how the VALUE you are offering makes your tax plan a great deal!
Trading time for money is a trap. You don’t make money unless you're working. If you take time off, you don’t earn income. In the end, you may find yourself feeling trapped at work because you just can't afford to lose the money when you're not.
It’s difficult to break out of this trap. The truth is, if you really want more time for the things you love (and even some of the things you don’t love, like marketing for great clients) you have to change your business model in order to scale your growth and income. The concepts around Client Advisory Services (CAS) are becoming more popular of late, but we've been training people in this strategy for over 15 years.
While there's no one single right way to determine your pricing strategy, there are some key guidelines that will help you with your decision. At AICTP, we’ve found that our members get paid more than the average tax professional. This is primarily due to the following factors:
Positioning & Differentiating
Not all tax pros are the same. You know this, but do your clients and prospects know it? The painful truth is that most taxpayers view you and your competitors as the same. And when prospective clients think you provide the same service as the next guy, no matter how good you are, you’re both apples. Apples to apples comparisons make it hard for you to charge what you’re really worth. Clients can always find someone faster, cheaper and more convenient, making it nearly impossible for you to justify premium fees.
How do you avoid the “apples to apples” comparison? Distinguish yourself as a Certified Tax Planner! This type of positioning gives you the ability to charge premium fees.
Communicating Your Value
Emphasizing the value you bring gives you the ability to earn premium fees. As soon as you mention the word “savings,” you will have your clients’ undivided attention. Once you have your clients’ tax returns, look at the returns carefully and then quantify the tax savings possibilities for them. Then, you can present those quantified possibilities to your clients.
Identifying tax savings for your clients not only satisfies them, but is also a great opportunity to inform your clients of your fees relative to the savings that they can achieve with your plan.
How to Price
It's important to remember to quote your fees relative to the savings. We're not suggesting that your fee is tied into these savings or that you are charging a percentage of the savings or anything of that nature. In fact, Circular 230 prohibits us from doing that as tax professionals. However, if you present the fee relative to the tax savings, this enables you to sell your tax planning services at a higher rate and have your clients excited to pay those fees because of how much you'll be saving them.
At AICTP, we teach you how to strategically present your pricing, and give you guidelines to grow confidence in what you offer, and be comfortable saying "no" to clients, too! One of the biggest benefits of membership is growing your own self-confidence that you are worth the price you quote, because of the value of the savings you are bringing to your clients. It truly is a win-win!
Creating Demand
Becoming a Certified Tax Planner will set you apart. As you begin to work with clients and build your reputation, you can take advantage of referrals and word of mouth. We also teach you strategies to focus and safeguard your time, helping to make your valuable tax-saving services more in demand because of your limited availability.
Your membership also offers you exposure through our Certified Tax Planner Directory, which matches business owners and investor clients with Certified Tax Planners near them. AICTP also educates the general public about the benefits of hiring a Certified Tax Planner, and placement in the directory puts your elite company in a high-traffic zone that opens your door to leads from across the country. This demand created just for you gives you the ability to get paid higher fees – it’s simple economics.
TAKE ACTION! Enjoy this full class and support materials from AICTP on Value Pricing.
Value Pricing Toolkit
The interactive forms will let you evaluate your current client base and pricing strategy and help you envision how moving towards client advisory services and value pricing can dramatically increase your profitability.
Watch this course on VALUE PRICING, one of AICTP's core principles.
Invest this important time in the health of your business. Remember AICTP is here to guide and inspire you on this journey!
Essential Item Three: Tax Planning Education Not Available Elsewhere*
There's tax planning, and then there's TAX PLANNING.
Not all tax planning is the same!
You may think you’re ALREADY DOING tax planning...(you might be surprised.)
There’s even so-called DIY tax planning software!
This does NOT replace actual training in strategies and their applications.
There are thousands of tax strategies that help the 1% avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes year after year. If you don’t recognize these, and ask the right questions, you can’t begin to REALLY reduce your client’s taxes. Tax planning is about discovering what your client COULD BE DOING DIFFERENTLY to capitalize on all the legal opportunities available to them.
AICTP has resources and training on hundreds of the most impactful court-tested and legal tax strategies and how to evaluate, combine and apply them to your client's unique situation to maximize their potential for savings.
We review past returns to identify overlooked opportunities, and then follow a roadmap of strategies to look for every tax reducing opportunity our clients can LEGALLY QUALIFY FOR. We ask questions. We dig deep as a trusted advisor. Then we guide our clients, often with outside expert legal assistance, on proactively changing their business or financial situation to actively pursue those savings.
There's a reason we require our members to be licensed professionals! You will grow your understanding of complex tax rules with a focus on reducing your client's tax liabilities. Includes ideas for treatment of passive income and losses and real estate transactions, multiple business entity strategies, captive insurance companies, retirement plans, attribution rules, and exempt income, just to name a few.
- Proactive planning requires YOUR creative thinking combined with OUR PROPRIETARY PROCESS to help you evaluate and discover opportunities your client isn’t even aware of.
- The EDUCATION and STRATEGIES you receive cannot be sufficiently replaced with software alone, and is not taught anywhere on college campuses or other certification programs.
- The creative THINKING you do is unique, the relationship you build with your client irreplaceable, and your knowledge as a Certified Tax Planner is the value you bring to your client.
These are NOT PASSIVE reporting strategies. These are PROACTIVE ACTIONS.
Differentiation Is Your Key Value!
TAKE ACTION! Read these 3 articles that provide clarifying concepts around tax planning.
*These three articles further elaborate on AICTP's distinction in the market of tax planning education. Our founder, Dominique Molina, is a CPA with a Masters in Taxation from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Having been through these rigorous educational programs she has learned first hand that tax planning strategy is NOT being taught as traditional cirriculum today, and education cannot adequately be replaced with DIY software.
Why is it impossible to do tax planning at the same time as you prepare a tax return? Simple. Tax planning is making shifts in a taxpayer’s financial and business situation to minimize their tax burden both in the short term and over time. This often requires working in advance, before the end of the year, to identify and evaluate solutions and implement them. Read this 2-part article to see the detailed differences...
Software programs that purport to give you a tax plan without any prior experience can easily lead people into trouble.
While it is possible to follow a “boilerplate” tax plan, it would be difficult at best to defend your tax positions if and when the IRS audits. And unfortunately, “the software told me I could do it,” is not an allowable defense. At this point, there is just no computer replacement for human judgment.
There’s a common myth that might be limiting your ability to help your clients: the idea that tax planning is all about retirement savings. It’s a widespread belief, but it barely scratches the surface of what tax planning can do.
Let’s explore how you can break out of the retirement planning box and fully unleash the potential of tax planning.
Essential Item Four:
Get Guidance from a Trusted Expert
The American Institute of Certified Tax Planners has educated, mentored and certified over 1,500 tax planning experts over the last 15 years.
AICTP is led by Dominique Molina, co-founder and President of AICTP.
As the driving force and visionary behind the San Diego-based not-for-profit organization, Dominique set out to change the way tax professionals approach tax planning. In 2009, realizing that many tax professionals were missing government tax breaks that could save millions, Dominique created an elite network of tax professionals including CPAs, EAs and tax attorneys who are trained to help their clients proactively plan and implement tax strategies that can rescue thousands of dollars in wasted tax. Dominique has successfully licensed over 1,000 tax professionals as Certified Tax Planners across the country, creating a national network of highly qualified advisors.
TAKE ACTION! Get to know our Founder, Dominique Molina,
in this interview by Salim Omar.
Dominique's Story
I’m a tax professional and Certified Public Accountant with a Masters in Taxation, small business owner, author, educator and fierce advocate for all my colleagues in the accounting industry. I’m not really all that different from you – except I made an investment in my education, took the leap of faith to move outside my comfort zone, and actually built the business of my dreams!
For years I managed my own full-service tax, accounting, and business consulting firm in San Diego, serving hundreds of business owners and investors across the country. I grew sick and tired of begging clients to pay me, constantly discount my rates, and charge off bad accounts. I had tried it all: Quick refund low profit, high volume returns. High dollar consulting and auditing engagements. Outsourcing, bookkeeping, payroll… you name it, I tried it. Anything to be that successful business owner I had always imagined I’d be.
My epiphany moment came when my three-year-old son came in to see me during the busy tax season, but then he stopped. He looked at me and said, “Oh, Mommy tax time!” and he turned around and left me alone, and speechless…
What was I doing to my life, and why was I working so hard, if I was unavailable for my own son? I knew something needed to change!
Over the course of my career, I began to understand the sophisticated tax strategies that fortune 500 companies employed to legally and dramatically reduce their taxes. I realized that many tax professionals were missing legitimate government tax breaks that could save their clients millions! The solution was to bring this incredible value and knowledge of tax planning to MY clients, to save THEM money, and get paid handsomely in return!
I decided to go all in and change my business model to specialize in tax planning, so I could stop the endless stream of busy work and trading my time for dollars. I set out to distinguish myself from the competition by offering a high value service few others could offer. When my clients realized how much money I could save them, I grew a steady stream of new clients excited to work with me because of my unique specialty. Now, my clients don’t ask for discounts or whine about fees, because I’m able to save them so much money, even in today’s tough economy. In fact, I’ve got more clients than I can handle and have a backlog of prospects on a waiting list for my next available appointment. And I’ve done it all while increasing my income from planning engagements to over $1,000 per hour!
When I realized how life changing this knowledge could be, I wanted other accountants to learn how to serve their clients in the same way, and find the rewards I enjoyed. I co-founded the American Institute of Certified Tax Planners in 2009 to teach other accounting and tax professionals exactly HOW to develop these sophisticated tax plans. AICTP’s proprietary tax planning system guides you through the process. You learn how to evaluate tax returns to find every missed opportunity, and to proactively suggest changes to your client’s business that can produce profound tax savings.
The hands-on, fundamental tax planning knowledge our program teaches is crucial.
No DIY software can take the place of really understanding how things work.
This is much more than reporting taxes. Typical tax preparers simply plug in the numbers as they currently exist. Tax Planning proactively GUIDES and CHANGES the way your clients run their businesses, to take advantage of every tax reducing strategy they can legally qualify for.
On average, tax planning saves your client $35,000, and tax plans generally start at $5,000 – MUCH HIGHER than the average $800 for a typical tax client! You can have fewer–and better–clients, serve them at the highest level, and earn much more while working less. It is the ultimate win/win!
Your expertise will set you apart from your competition, and the value and savings you bring to your clients means you can charge premium prices, regain the respect you so richly deserve, and dramatically improve the quality of your OWN life.
If you are licensed as an EA, a CPA or a Tax Attorney, I invite you to join our supportive community of Certified Tax Planners and begin your journey to change your life and the lives of your clients by learning the expert skill of tax planning.
Dominique Molina
Co-Founder and President, AICTP
To read more about Dominique's expertise and AICTP's educational staff, click here.
Want more? Read Dominique's book, Get Paid What You're Worth
Can't survive on tax prep alone? Are you working your fingers to the bone because you can't make a living doing only standard tax preparation? The solution to growing a healthy practice lies in mastering the art of getting paid for your expertise. This book will allow you to focus on high value tax planning concepts and strategies.
Essential Item Five: Follow The Perfect Plan
AICTP's Roadmap to building a Tax Planning Practice
AICTP’s advanced education, training and membership program shows you how to replace your low prices, long hours and frustrating clients with a specialized and lucrative tax planning business. Our proprietary system and membership program guides, supports and teaches you how to find the right clients, evaluate their tax situation, find every tax savings strategy they can qualify for, and proactively change their business and their lives.
You can dramatically raise your hourly income, enjoy a bigger bank account, and use your new leveraged time to work a lot less in your business.
You’ll finally enjoy true freedom and independence because the money you make no longer depends on trading your time for dollars. You’ll finally get education that will set you apart, and you'll be paid for this expert value –“Value Pricing”– and your clients will love you for it!
We’ll teach you how to promote, present, and deliver the tax-planning service that gives clients the savings they really want. You’ll learn the process using real world, hands-on tax strategies through case studies in class. And you’ll learn how to present the value you offer your clients. When they understand the value you offer, they'll gladly pay you for those benefits and tax savings!
Then, we help you market your new expertise by including you on our National Directory. That’s right – you’ll enjoy your very own listing as a Certified Tax Coach on our website, where clients from across the country can search for tax planning experts. Sales materials, client alerts, and access to expert vendors can also help you make the switch to a tax planning business model.
How Do We Do This?
Your membership journey with AICTP begins with our Value Pricing Bootcamp, where you learn in-depth the principles of Value Pricing – the method which will allow you to break away from trading hours for dollars.
Dive into the details of proactive tax planning at our LIVE 3-Day Certified Tax Planning Academy, held multiple times a year in beautiful sunny San Diego. Here, we share with you the detailed tax savings strategies we employ, such as income shifting, real estate and retirement strategies, captive insurance, hiring family, leveraging losses and more. Learn a systematic way of evaluating your client's taxes for potential opportunity, and learn how to present your findings while protecting your intellectual capital.
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Our 3-day Certified Tax Planning Academy teaches year-round tax planning, proactive concepts and techniques, and builds a strong professional community.
When you complete Academy and submit your real-life Case Study, you become a Certified Tax Coach, and begin your year of apprenticeship before reaching the Certified Tax Planner designation. Continue to gain Mastery of Tax Planning with our wealth of training courses, guides and materials available on our exclusive member web site.
Study at your own pace with our self-study courses and quick start recordings. You will have access to well over 100 hours of tax planning courses with regular new content.
Throughout the year, you will enjoy our Mastermind mentorship program, where you receive support from your peers and more experienced members. Having this personal support will help you stay focused and motivated.
2 live tax planning webinars a month! The Continuing Your CTC Education (CYCE) live webinar explores more in-depth tax saving principles and keeps your current with all the newest laws. This is CE that brings ROI! Receive ALL your required annual continuing education for your licensure with courses that add to your bottom line!
Join your fellow CTCs for a live monthly Case Study call to hear real life tax planning examples and gain more ideas and insights on how to help YOUR clients.
On top of that, twice a month you can submit your questions and attend our Q & A sessions to get some of your tax strategy or implementation questions answered and learn from other’s experiences and questions.
Your training will show you how to screen to find tax saving opportunities, save them on average over $30K per year, present your findings persuasively to your new clients, and charge anywhere from $2,500-$20,000 or higher per tax plan.
Your membership in AICTP includes a free subscription to
Think Outside The Tax Box, the premier tax-reduction newsletter offering new tax reduction strategies carefully explained and exhaustively researched by the industry’s top experts every two weeks, client alerts, tax webinars and more.
TAKE ACTION! Download your FREE
TOTTB e-magazine sampler here!
AICTP offers two proprietary tax planning software programs to assist in finding the best combination of tax reducing strategies and for creating and presenting your tax plans.
Tru Tax Planner gives you the tools you need to analyze complex tax planning scenarios, run projections, measure the results of your tax reduction ideas, and develop the optimal combination of strategies to reduce tax. Then it helps you package your strategies into a professional presentation to walk your client through the plan you have created, complete with legal references.
And Tax Price Builder empowers you to create tax project price estimates you can be confident about.
Best of all, be part of a large and supportive community of passionate practitioners who are helping their clients and building a better life for themselves, while helping each other to thrive and succeed! Enjoy social Member Mixers and an exclusive membership site stock full of resources and educational materials. Join us for our 2-day Annual Tax Planning Summit and Reunion held around the country for in-person Inspiration, Education and Celebration!
The American Institute of Certified Tax Planners is a certification program that not only saves your clients money, but adds to your bottom line. AICTP offers one of a kind expertise, a roadmap for successful implementation, and ongoing support to help you realize the practice of your dreams. A win/win for you and your clients!
• Most members double their income in 18-24 months.
• Over 75% of graduates recoup their investment within 3-4 weeks of graduating.
• Our program is 100% GUARANTEED, after attending the live Academy training.
Make this the year you embark on an incredible journey to work only with the clients you want, work fewer hours, and finally get paid what you’re worth!
*The Certified Tax Coach, Planner and Strategist designations are the only additional licenses provided in the tax field, and we are the only ones who offer them. The proprietary process AICTP teaches is not currently taught in any college or masters degree program. AICTP is accredited though the Internal Revenue Service and NASBA to administer the AICTP certification. Our oversight board monitors and approves the requirements for certification, handles appeals as well as disciplinary proceedings.
Are you ready to get started? TAKE ACTION!
You're one click away from making an incredible investment in your business, and joining our Certified Tax Planner family! Book a call today, and take that all-important first step! You don't have to do this alone!
Thank you for all your information, advice, patience, assistance, and everything you guys have done. I am constantly told by clients and referral sources, "No one else in the county has a firm like yours, or looks at businesses and taxes the way you do." It truly has been an amazing year, and while I have worked hard getting it there, it is from utilizing everything you guys have taught me.
Christine Pavlik, CPA
Thank you — it's a wonderful feeling being part of this group of elite proactive tax advisors. And thanks for opening my eyes to your methodology of income shifting. I was aware of Tax Planning but not to such an extent. I am glad that I joined! All the best.
Brian Goldglanz, EA, CTC
What a bargain we offer our clients as proactive tax planners. First, we save our clients precious tax dollars by knowing the tax code and designing a personalized tax plan to fit their situation. Second, if they do get audited, we handle that potentially traumatic confrontation for them. I am so thankful to you for helping me make the transition from being a slave to my tax practice to an elite, proactive, highly paid tax planner. I am really impressed by the care and concern that the AICTP leadership have for the members and that the members have for each other. This is a great network! It is like a second family. Everyone I spoke with was willing to tell me what is working for them and how CTC has helped them transform their businesses. Thanks for all you do and for your genuine concern.
Aric Schreiner, CPA, PFS, CTS
This 3-day seminar was arguably the best education and training event that I’ve attended in my more than 20 year career. The system is well thought out from sales to analysis to delivery to retention, and it delivered real value.
Scott Floersheim, CPA, CFP, CTC
Everything I’ve spent on Certified Tax Coach — the upfront fee, the ongoing dues, etc. — is a fraction of what we’ve earned from learning the tax planning arena and selling tax planning services. The revenue jump has been incredible, and it has made a tremendous difference in our practice in NE Ohio. It allows you to open up a whole new world with your clients.
Tony Amatore
If you like what you've read and heard, and are ready to make a change in the way you do business, the American Institute of Certified Tax Planners has the program and support system to guide you on your journey to start earning what you're worth!
Begin your business transformation by booking a strategy call today!
What Will Happen On This Strategy Call?
STEP 1. We will evaluate your situation and address your business’s unique needs, whether you are just launching your career and are looking for an executive roadmap for success, or if you have years of experience with a large book of clients and are seeking to transform your business and increase your prestige with higher value services.
STEP 2. We'll discuss and explain the extensive tools and strategies AICTP’s program has that can help you achieve your specific goals.
STEP 3. We will make sure you have the necessary education and professional qualifications to be eligible for our program.
STEP 4. If we’re a good fit and you’re ready, we'll give you the opportunity to join our exclusive program!
We look forward to meeting you!
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