Gary Winston CPA & Goodman Tax Services Inc.

Truth T. _{on Yelp}

Aug 18th, 2022

So I went to a new CPA yesterday.  She wanted to look at my last 2 years of taxes which were prepared by Denning, Winston & Co.   They didn't even claim my rent as a write off even though I am self-employed.  The new CPA said I overpaid and suggested amending the tax returns because they were so poorly done. Definitely would warn anyone reading this to stay away from these people.  This is the absolute worse tax job I've ever paid for.  You'd get a better return using TurboTax.

Ap L. _{on Yelp}

Aug 3rd, 2022

NEVER USE GARY OR ALLEN. they are absolutely horrible and will but you in a horrible tax situation like they did to our business.

DP R. _{on Yelp}

May 19th, 2022

Gary and team have done our taxes for over 10 years.  Winston CPA makes it easy to safely submit documents through their client portal, and each year we have a document to fill out with any changes, etc.  This questionnaire makes us think of things that we might not otherwise make note of or let them know about.  We don't live in CA anymore, but we still go to Winston CPA for our tax needs.

Ryder C. _{on Yelp}

May 18th, 2021

Gary made a mistake on my taxes last year then almost made it again. Then when I finally was able to chase them down, I got Allen to fix it and then they never sent me my copies to sign and send in. I'm still waiting and it's after May 17th. I've called, texted and emailed. I've already paid them for their services. I find this rather unprofessional. I would not really recommend this business. Update-they finally got back to me and said they are working on it.

Lynn F. _{on Yelp}

Jan 16th, 2023

Gary Winston became the accountant for my elderly relative when he purchased the practice of her previous accountant. In assisting my relative with various administrative tasks, I worked with this office for more than 5 years. Other Yelp reviews of the office helped me realize recently that I needed to take my business elsewhere, so I'm returning the favor by sharing part of my experience with Winston's office on Yelp. One year, they failed to make my relative's tax payments on time and did not tell her. She was quite upset and left several messages with the office. Later, Winston called me and said the payment had failed because my relative had insufficient funds. This was not true, and would not have explained their lack of communication if it had been. I now realize what a huge red flag this was. Winston later wrote to my relative and took responsibility for the failure, paid the penalties, and asked her to keep her business with his office. She agreed, but I assumed responsibility for making the tax payments after that.After my relative died, I made the mistake of using Winston to do the accounting work necessary to settle her affairs, including her final tax return. I credited that he is a CPA in good standing and asked myself how much could go wrong? The answer: a lot.Just to choose one example, I submitted everything needed to prepare the tax return early. Winston sent me a draft return just before the deadline. I reviewed it and sensed that he'd made some mistakes (spoiler alert: he had!), so I asked him by email to get an extension and then to review his work on the return and explain it to me when convenient.Over the next few months, he sent me cursory responses and made it clear that he always had more important things to do than help me understand his work so that I could feel comfortable signing off on it. He regularly told me that his partner was ill with cancer, so I tried to be patient. I followed up by email every few weeks. As the extended deadline in September drew near and it was clear he was not going to give me satisfactory answers to his questions, I terminated Winston and took the work to another accountant, who quickly resolved everything and determined that Winston had made several key errors.Winston was unapologetic about the poor service and slow to send me the documents I requested. He sent me emails trying to put me on the defensive for not signing the return, as if I was uniquely unreasonable. When I emailed him pointing out that his practice had numerous negative Yelp reviews, he responded in part as follows (this is a cut-and-paste from his email): "I have 3000 happy clients. ... I have never had a client in 36 years question the size of a refund and the legal basis on which the refund was claimed and then having received the reason refuse to act expeditiously to receive their refund. If I had 3000 clients that operated this way I would never get anything done.... In the last few weeks of going round the round with you I have sent out 10 returns a day without a hitch. Supervised the employees in my 3 offices and had a very pleasurable experience dealing with clients all the while attending to my terminally ill girlfriend. I sense that you probably have a cat and never were fortunate enough to enjoy your own children because of the manner in which you chose to deal with me with your constant barrage of inuendo and insult. I am very happy with my practice and am adding clients every day through referrals. I just picked up an Executive on Friday and another client yesterday."If you like the idea of working with a CPA who communicates with customers this way, Winston may be for you. If not, I'd recommend looking elsewhere. I'd further note that Winston has been uncurious about the mistakes the other accountant uncovered. Even highly trained professionals make mistakes, but the good ones try to learn from them.