Editorial standards

This is a comparison site funded by referral fees and sponsored placements. That model only earns trust if the rules are written down and applied consistently, so here they are.

What we verify before publishing

• Fees, minimums, guarantee terms and staffing are taken from published sources, and each provider record stores the sources used.
• Where sources conflict, we say so in the review rather than picking the more flattering number.
• Where a firm publishes nothing on a point, we record the absence rather than filling the gap with an assumption.

What we will not publish

Ratings without a source. A star rating requires a named, linked source and a date it was read. Figures move weekly, and a stale rating presented as current is a small lie that undermines everything around it.

Scores we have not earned. Our rubric has five criteria. Until all five are populated for a firm, its score is not displayed. A number implies research, and we will not imply research we have not done.

Allegations we cannot corroborate. Claims circulate about firms in this category. We check them against primary sources — the FTC case database, state attorney general filings, court records — and if we cannot corroborate a claim, we do not repeat it.

What we will not do

• Countdown timers, visitor counters, fake scarcity or exit-intent popups.
• Review schema markup on third-party ratings that are not ours.
• Publish a ranking in a category where fewer than three firms clear the credential floor.
• Recommend representation to someone who would plainly do better dealing with the IRS directly. Our guides say this repeatedly because it is repeatedly true.

Authorship and review

Every ranking, review and guide carries a named author and is reviewed by someone holding a tax credential before publication. Both names appear on the page and link to a profile.

Corrections and updates

Provider facts are re-verified quarterly, and within 30 days of any change to a firm's regulatory record. Each provider record carries the date it was last checked, and a stale record surfaces a warning in our editorial system.

If we get something wrong, tell us. We will correct it and note what changed.