Elite Pro-Tax: Services, Costs and How It Works

What is Elite Pro-Tax?

Elite Pro-Tax & Financial Services describes itself as "a professional tax, accounting and financial services firm based in Easley, South Carolina." Its slogan is "Committed to Solutions." It works with four broad groups: individuals and families filing personal returns, self-employed people and gig workers, rental property owners, and small businesses, including S corporations.

The work falls into three areas, which is how the firm's own services page groups it:

• Individual tax services: personal tax preparation, amended returns, back-year filing, help with IRS notices and audits, self-employed and freelancer returns, and support with payment arrangements.
• Business tax services: business returns (including S-Corp returns), tax strategy for owners, year-round tax planning, and South Carolina sales and use tax filing.
• Financial services: monthly bookkeeping, catch-up and clean-up bookkeeping, payroll, and business formation.

The firm stresses two things across its pages. First, it is open all year, not just between January and April: "Unlike seasonal tax shops that close in May, we're open all year." Second, you can work with it either face to face in the Easley office or entirely online through a secure client portal (TaxDome), and the site says both routes get "the same preparer and the same return."

Who owns and runs Elite Pro-Tax?

The firm is led by LaToya Clark-Thompson, its founder and CEO. According to the About page, she is a Greenville, South Carolina native who "has been preparing taxes since 2016," which the firm counts as 10 years of experience, and she "holds an IRS Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP) Record of Completion." She previously used the name LaToya (Latoya) Clark, and client reviews quoted on the site refer to her as "Latoya." The Better Business Bureau profile lists the principal contact as "Ms. Latoya L Clark, Owner."

The site says clients deal directly with the person doing the work: "One preparer who knows your situation, not a queue and a different name each season." Reviews mention "Latoya and her team," but the site does not publish a staff list, so ask who else will handle your file if that matters to you.

Service pages carry the line "Reviewed by LaToya Clark-Thompson, Founder" with a last-updated date.

Is Elite Pro-Tax legit?

That is a fair question before you hand anyone your Social Security number and bank details. Here is what can be checked:

• A real office and phone line. The firm publishes a street address, 207 Siloam Road, Suite B, Easley, SC 29642, and a phone number, (864) 781-4035, on every page. The BBB profile shows the same address and number.
• A Better Business Bureau record. When we checked on 19 October 2026, the BBB listed Elite Pro-Tax & Financial Services, LLC in Easley as a "BBB Accredited Business" with an A+ rating, 0 complaints filed in the last three years and 0 customer reviews on BBB. The BBB shows the business as started on 7 July 2023. That date is the BBB's record for this business entity; the firm dates its founder's tax preparation work to 2016.
• A checkable IRS credential. The firm says its founder holds an AFSP Record of Completion. The IRS lists AFSP participants in its public Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications, so you can look the name up yourself. We did not run that search for this guide.
• Clear statements about what it is not. The About page says the firm "is an independent tax and accounting services firm and is not represented as a CPA firm," and its resolution pages say no specific result can be guaranteed. Those are the kinds of limits a careful firm puts in writing.
• Its own review figures. The site says it is "Rated 5.0 from 95 verified Google reviews" and shows "949+ returns filed." These are figures the firm publishes; it links to its Google profile so you can read the reviews there.
• Written terms. It publishes Terms of Service with a fee and cancellation policy, and a privacy policy that covers texts and calls (details below).

Is Elite Pro-Tax a CPA firm?

No, and the firm says so directly. Its About page states that it "maintains a professional working relationship with an independent licensed Certified Public Accountant," and that when a client needs services outside its scope, "a tax resolution matter requiring professional representation, for example," it can "coordinate with, or refer the client to, the appropriate licensed professional."

In practice, the split described on the tax resolution, audit and notice pages is:

• Elite Pro-Tax does: reads the notice, pulls transcripts, prepares and files missing or amended returns, gathers and organizes documents, and keeps you informed.
• The independent licensed CPA does: representation before the IRS or the South Carolina Department of Revenue where a matter requires it, such as audit representation, installment agreement requests, Offer in Compromise submissions, lien and levy matters, wage garnishment and innocent spouse requests.

The site does not name the CPA. If you are dealing with an IRS collection or audit matter, ask who the CPA is and how their fee is quoted. The tax resolution page says the quote you get after the consultation includes "the CPA's part where one is needed."

Tax preparation, one service at a time

Tax preparation is the firm's core service. The tax preparation page lists eight parts, and separate pages go deeper on several of them.

Self-employed people get their own page. Its main point is that "nobody is withholding anything for you," so income tax and self-employment tax arrive later as one bill. The firm says it sets quarterly estimates "from real projections rather than last year's figure" and gives entity advice, including "honestly when it is not" worth forming an LLC or electing S-Corp status.

Amended returns are tied to a free offer: a no-cost review of a return you already filed, whether you did it yourself or paid someone else. The firm says the review "carries no obligation to file with us afterwards" and that "sometimes it finds nothing, in which case that is what we tell you."

A document checklist is published as a page and a free two-page PDF with no sign-up. It covers ID and prior-year returns, income forms, deduction records, business records and life changes. The firm's advice is to bring "a short note of what was different about this year compared to last."

Tax planning and S-Corp setup

Tax planning is sold as a year-round service, separate from filing. The planning page lists ten parts, including quarterly projection reviews, retirement contribution planning (SEP IRAs, Solo 401(k)s and traditional IRAs), timing of income and expenses, entity reviews, capital gains planning, multi-year projections, and modeling the tax effect of life events such as marriage, a home purchase or selling a business. The process is a consultation, an analysis of your returns and books, then quarterly reviews. The firm itself says planning is only worth paying for "when there are decisions still to make"; if the year is over, what you need is accurate preparation.

Business formation covers LLC filings with the South Carolina Secretary of State, operating agreement guidance, C-Corp incorporation, EIN applications, state registrations, annual reports, and restructuring an existing entity. The firm says you get "a complete formation package" and can add bookkeeping, payroll and tax preparation afterwards. The firm is not a law firm, so ask whether you also need an attorney for anything beyond the standard filings.

S-Corp setup is one of the firm's most visible services. It includes the Form 2553 election, converting an LLC, working out a reasonable salary for the owner, setting up owner payroll, quarterly estimates and the yearly Form 1120-S. The firm says it runs the numbers first and "won't push you into an S-Corp if it doesn't make financial sense." A free S-Corp calculator on the site shows both the payroll tax difference and the extra costs of running payroll and filing a separate return.

IRS problems: notices, audits and back taxes

The tax resolution page lists ten services: audit representation and defense, back tax filing, installment agreement setup, Offer in Compromise evaluation, penalty abatement requests, lien and levy resolution, wage garnishment relief, innocent spouse relief, South Carolina Department of Revenue matters, and IRS notice response. As explained above, matters needing representation go to the independent licensed CPA, while Elite Pro-Tax handles the returns, documents and communication with you.

The firm's process for IRS problems has four steps: a confidential consultation, a review of your IRS and state transcripts, filing any missing returns while the CPA deals with the authorities where needed, and help staying compliant afterwards. It says an installment agreement "may be set up in a few weeks, while an Offer in Compromise can take several months," and that "no specific result or reduction in tax debt can be guaranteed."

Two of its pages are useful even if you never hire the firm:

• IRS audit help starts by pointing out that "the great majority of IRS correspondence is not an examination." It lists what not to do: ignore the letter, send everything you have, phone the IRS to argue before you understand the notice, or amend the return in question too early.
• Back tax filing explains why unfiled years get worse on their own, including that the IRS can prepare a substitute return with no deductions or credits, and that an unfiled year "stays open indefinitely."

Bookkeeping, catch-up books and payroll

Monthly bookkeeping comes in four published packages. The site describes what is in each and who it is for, but gives no prices for them:

The firm works in both QuickBooks and Xero and says it will take over books someone else set up "rather than asking you to start again from scratch."

Catch-up and clean-up bookkeeping is, in the firm's words, "usually the first thing we do for a new business client." It rebuilds the missing period from bank and card statements, reconciles every account, fixes mis-categorized history where it matters, and then keeps the books current monthly. A separate "Messy Books Help" section covers situations such as four or five years with nothing entered, personal and business money mixed, unfiled business returns, or a lender waiting on figures. Its stated approach: deal first with anything that has a deadline, accept records "as it is" without asking you to sort them, work oldest period first, and send questions "in one batch per period." There is also a free online cleanup planner that the site says sends nothing to the firm.

Payroll can be bought alone or with bookkeeping. The payroll page lists processing with direct deposit and check printing, federal and state payroll tax deposits, quarterly Form 941 and annual Form 940 filings with South Carolina equivalents, W-2 and 1099 preparation, new hire reporting to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, an employee self-service portal, workers' compensation reporting, and setup for new employers. The firm says "every payroll run is reviewed by a real professional" and that it does not lock clients into a long-term contract.

South Carolina sales and use tax is handled too: retail license registration with the Department of Revenue, filing on your assigned schedule (including periods with no sales), local hospitality and accommodations tax filings, use tax on out-of-state purchases, back-period clean-up and nexus reviews for businesses selling into other states.

Refund advances

During filing season, the firm offers refund advances through two outside lenders. A refund advance is a loan based on your expected federal refund; it is not the refund itself. The firm says it "is not the lender" and that the bank, not Elite Pro-Tax, decides approval and amount.

The terms published on the site for the coming season:

• Dates: applications open 2 January 2027 and are accepted through 15 March. You can join a contact list now.
• Refund Advantage (loans by Pathward, N.A., Member FDIC): $250, $500 and $1,000 options at 0% APR; larger loans of 25%, 50% or 75% of the expected refund, from $1,250 to $7,500, at 36% APR, with interest charged only until the refund repays the loan and capped at 60 days. The $7,500 maximum is for "well-qualified applicants" only.
• Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (loans by First Century Bank, N.A., Member FDIC): $500 to $7,000 at 35.99% APR, with no 0% option.
• Other fees: the site says tax preparation, Refund Transfer, card, check or processing fees may apply and are separate from the loan's APR. Disclosures come before you agree.
• Optional: "Your return can be prepared and e-filed without applying for an advance or a Refund Transfer."

The refund advance page includes an interest calculator and a link to the lender's own pricing sheet. It also explains what happens if your refund is smaller than expected (you may still owe the lender) and that an advance does not make the IRS process your return faster.

Where it is and where it works

The only office is at 207 Siloam Road, Suite B, Easley, SC 29642, in Pickens County, "a short run west of Greenville along Highway 123." Some service pages refer to a "Greenville office"; the only street address the firm publishes is the Easley one.

Local area. The firm has pages for Easley, Greenville, Simpsonville, Powdersville, Five Forks, Greer, Mauldin, Taylors, Travelers Rest, Fountain Inn, Pickens, Clemson, Liberty, Seneca, Piedmont, Anderson and Spartanburg. It says most clients are "within half an hour" of the office, and that if your town is not listed you should call and ask.

Nationwide. Tax returns can be prepared and e-filed for clients in 44 of the 50 states. The six it cannot currently serve are California, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, New York and Oregon, which the firm says license or register tax preparers on their own terms and where it is not registered.

Hours. Opening hours are not listed on the pages we checked. The Easley page asks you to call before dropping in, says "appointments get priority during filing season," and says "the office runs on a schedule from January through April." The firm describes itself as available year-round.

Parking and access: not described on the site. Ask when you book.

How much does Elite Pro-Tax cost?

The firm does not publish its own price list for tax preparation, planning, bookkeeping, payroll, formation or resolution. Every service page says the price depends on what the work involves and that you get a figure before work begins, usually at the free consultation. What it does publish:

What affects the price, according to the site: the number of forms and schedules, business and rental income, how many states are involved, transaction volume and number of accounts for bookkeeping, how far behind the records are, and for payroll, the number of employees and how often you pay them.

How the Best Rate Guarantee works. The firm calls it "a comparison against a real number, not a vague promise." Bring the invoice; without it "there is nothing to beat, and we will quote normally instead." If last year's return was missing a schedule that should have been there, the firm says this year's return is a different job and it will tell you before starting.

Paying. The home page shows Visa, Mastercard, Amex and PayPal logos, and the About page says payments can be made in the client portal. The Terms say certain fees "may be deducted from your tax refund where applicable" (a Refund Transfer). The site also warns that a fee set as a percentage of your refund "is a warning sign."

Fees, refunds and cancellation terms

• Fees disclosed first. "Fees for services will be disclosed prior to engagement."
• No refunds once paid, by default. "Payments made for services are non-refundable unless otherwise stated in writing."
• Cancelling after work starts. "Once work has begun on your tax return or financial services, fees are considered earned." If you withdraw before the work is completed, an inconvenience fee of at least $150 may apply.
• When you become a client. Filling in a form does not make you a client. That happens after onboarding, once the firm accepts you and you sign its agreements and disclosures.
• Your responsibility. You are responsible for giving accurate, complete information and keeping records that support your return.
• Documents. The firm asks clients not to email or text tax documents; they go through the secure portal.
• Texts and calls. The privacy policy says marketing calls or texts only go to people who opted in, consent is never a condition of a download, and phone numbers and emails are not sold or shared for others' marketing.
• Guarantees. Beyond the price guarantee, the firm does not promise outcomes. Its resolution pages say results "depend on your circumstances, eligibility, documentation and the decision of the taxing authority."

What happens step by step

The home page sets out two routes.

Virtual clients

1. Create your portal account. The Get Started form asks for your name, contact details and the services you want, then takes you to the TaxDome portal.
2. Upload documents. Tax forms, ID and any required forms, plus an intake questionnaire.
3. The firm prepares your return, reviewing everything and applying credits and deductions you qualify for.
4. Review and sign electronically in the portal when you are told the return is ready.
5. Filing. The firm submits the return and confirms once it is accepted.

In-office clients

1. Schedule by phone or online (the firm uses Calendly for bookings).
2. Bring W-2s, 1099s, ID and other income or deduction records.
3. Go through your information together in the office.
4. The return may be finished during the visit or shortly after, depending on complexity.
5. Review and sign, electronically or in the office.
6. The firm files and you get confirmation.

The firm says that on either route, "you are told what the return says before it is submitted, not after."

Free tools, checklists and industry pages

• Five federal calculators: a refund and balance-due estimator, a W-4 withholding calculator, a self-employment tax calculator, a quarterly estimated tax calculator and an S-Corp savings calculator. The site says they are federal only and do not replace advice.
• Industry deduction checklists: printable lists of potential deductions and supporting records for 34 sectors, from restaurants and trucking to churches and short-term rental hosts. They are free; the form asks for a first name, email and mobile number.
• Industry pages: the firm says plainly that it is "a general tax and accounting practice, not a single-sector specialist," and that each page describes where a sector's accounting tends to go wrong.
• A large FAQ that the site says indexes 842 questions across 187 pages, plus a blog.

How it compares with other options

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Questions to ask before you hire

1. Who will prepare and sign my return, and what are their credentials?
2. What will my return cost, and is that price written in the engagement letter?
3. If I bring last year's invoice, what does the Best Rate Guarantee price come to?
4. For an IRS problem: who is the independent CPA, what will they charge, and how do they communicate with me?
5. Which bookkeeping package fits my transaction volume, and what does it cost per month?
6. What is the payroll price for my number of employees and pay frequency?
7. If I want a refund advance, what fees come out of my refund besides the loan interest?
8. What happens to my fee if I stop part-way through?
9. What are the office hours this season?

How to get started

1. Call (864) 781-4035 or email info@elitepro-tax.com, or book a free consultation from the contact page.
2. New clients can use the Get Started form to set up a portal account.
3. Gather your documents with the tax prep checklist.
4. Bring last year's return and invoice if you want a free review or a Best Rate Guarantee quote.
5. Get your quote, sign the engagement, then upload or drop off your documents.

Visit Elite Pro-Tax

Terms you'll see on the site

• AFSP: the IRS Annual Filing Season Program, a voluntary program for return preparers who are not CPAs, enrolled agents or attorneys. Completing it earns a Record of Completion and a listing in the IRS public preparer directory, plus limited rights to represent clients whose returns the preparer prepared and signed.
• CPA: Certified Public Accountant, licensed by a state board, with full rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS.
• Schedule C: the form where sole proprietors and single-member LLCs report business income and expenses.
• S-Corp election (Form 2553): a federal tax election that lets an eligible LLC or corporation be taxed as an S corporation; the owner must take a reasonable salary through payroll.
• Form 1120-S / Form 1065: the federal returns for S corporations and partnerships.
• Offer in Compromise: an IRS program that, in qualifying cases, accepts less than the full amount owed.
• Refund advance: a loan from a bank, based on your expected refund and repaid from it.
• Refund Transfer: a bank product that lets preparation fees be paid out of your refund instead of upfront; it carries its own fee.
• TaxDome: the secure client portal the firm uses for documents, messages, signatures and payments.
• Use tax: South Carolina tax due on business purchases from sellers who did not charge sales tax.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

All pages checked on 19 October 2026.

1. Elite Pro-Tax home page: eliteprotaxgvl.com
2. About us: eliteprotaxgvl.com/about-us/
3. Why choose us (Best Rate Guarantee, free review): eliteprotaxgvl.com/why-choose-us/
4. Services: all services, tax preparation, tax planning, tax resolution, bookkeeping, payroll, business formation, S-Corp setup, self-employed taxes
5. Specialist pages: IRS audit help, back tax filing, amended returns, sales and use tax, catch-up bookkeeping, messy books help, tax prep checklist
6. Refund advances: eliteprotaxgvl.com/refund-advance/
7. Locations: service areas, Easley
8. Year-end and tax season: eliteprotaxgvl.com/year-end/
9. Tools, checklists and industries: tools, deduction checklists, industries
10. Client reviews: eliteprotaxgvl.com/testimonial/
11. FAQ: eliteprotaxgvl.com/faq/
12. Contact and Get Started: contact, get started
13. Terms of Service and privacy policy: terms, privacy
14. Better Business Bureau profile: bbb.org
15. IRS, Annual Filing Season Program: irs.gov
16. IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers: irs.treasury.gov