Bend tax guide · 2026 year-end and the 2027 filing season
Tax Preparation & Tax Services in Bend, Oregon
8 Bend tax offices checked on their own sites, with each preparer’s posted credentials matched to the IRS directory, what tax prep actually costs (2025 national fee study), Oregon’s preparer-licensing rules, year-end moves and free filing options.
By All Things Bend · Updated October 24, 2026 · Credentials checked against the IRS preparer directory
Walk-in, drop-off and virtual options with long seasonal hours across three Bend offices.
Call to ask
3 numbers
Also in Bend: Lisa J. Ihander, CPA (131 NW Hawthorne Ave, Suite 106; 541-633-7690) says it is no longer accepting new clients but keeps a referral and wait list. Hogue Accountancy (2514 NE Division St, per earlier listings) has no website we could find, so we couldn’t check it.
Bend tax preparers, CPAs and enrolled agents
Services and credentials as each firm lists them on its own site. Confirm availability and fees before you send documents.
Showing all 8 offices
Enrolled agents · NW College Way
High Lakes Tax Service
Three enrolled agents who are also Oregon Licensed Tax Consultants, focused on individuals and small businesses.
A Bend practice run by enrolled agents, now at 1444 NW College Way. It prepares individual returns (including investment, retirement and rental income) and small-business returns, and offers year-round planning. Work starts with an engagement letter and a secure online account for documents.
Jonathan Parlan, EA #122793, LTC #34185-C · Todd Strible, EA #145981, LTC #34724-C · Estelle Desmarais, EA #49645, LTC #4416-C (as posted; all three listed as EAs in the IRS directory)
New clients
Says it has some space; contact before late January. Some new clients may be put on extension.
A CPA firm for business owners, complex personal returns, and estate, trust and gift tax work.
A Bend CPA firm, recently moved to 2796 NW Clearwater Drive, offering personal and business tax preparation, estate, trust and gift tax work, and proactive planning for clients across the U.S. Partners Cody Martin, CPA, and Kyle Dover, CPA, CFP, lead a team of Oregon-licensed CPAs, several of them also financial planners.
Tax work tied to outsourced accounting, for owners who want books and taxes in one system.
A Bend CPA firm combining individual and business tax preparation and planning with outsourced accounting and controller-style support, estate and trust work, and business setup help. It works with clients through a secure online platform.
A long-running eastside office that also does prior-year returns, payroll and bookkeeping.
Serving Bend since the late 1980s. Owner Jane has been an Oregon licensed tax consultant since 1987 and an enrolled agent since 2005; the firm says its preparers hold Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners licenses or are also enrolled agents. It prepares individual, small-business, estate, trust and nonprofit returns.
The farm-and-rental specialist, with Spanish-speaking preparers and free notary service for clients.
Owner Patti King, an enrolled agent and Oregon Licensed Tax Consultant for 40-plus years who teaches tax law at Central Oregon Community College, runs this office at Highway 20 and 27th Street. It specializes in small businesses, farms and rentals, prepares returns on site with a second licensed reviewer, and has bilingual Spanish staff.
Downtown tax and bookkeeping shop with QuickBooks setup and training.
A downtown Bend firm preparing income tax returns for individuals, businesses, trusts and estates, with accounting and bookkeeping, startup and entity-change consulting, and QuickBooks setup, support and training.
For returns that have moved past simple: partnerships, corporations, trusts, estates and gift tax.
A Bend tax practice (doing business as Gary L. Plagmann Tax Accounting PC) preparing individual, partnership, corporate, trust, estate and gift tax returns, plus tax consultation.
Walk-in, drop-off and virtual options with long seasonal hours across three Bend offices.
H&R Block lists three Bend offices, two marked small-business certified. Service options include in-person, drop-off and virtual preparation. Credentials vary by preparer, so ask whether yours is an enrolled agent or CPA.
CPA vs. enrolled agent vs. tax preparer: what is the difference?
You don’t need a CPA for every return. In Oregon, every paid preparer needs one of these credentials.
CPA
Licensed by the Oregon Board of Accountancy. Broad accounting training: tax, audit, financial statements and business advisory. Strongest fit when the return ties to business books, entities, estates or complex planning. Can represent you before the IRS.
Licensed by the IRS after a three-part exam on federal tax, with continuing education. Tax is all they do. Unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS, like CPAs and attorneys. Many Bend EAs also hold Oregon’s LTC license.
Oregon licenses paid preparers through the Board of Tax Practitioners. A Licensed Tax Preparer (LTP) works under a consultant; a Licensed Tax Consultant (LTC) can run their own practice. Anyone paid to prepare Oregon returns needs this license unless they are a CPA, EA or attorney.
Rarely needed for routine returns. Call one for disputes headed to court, criminal exposure, complicated transactions or estate plans with tax at the center. See our Bend lawyers guide and estate planning attorneys.
How to check: ask for the preparer’s PTIN and license number. Look up EAs and CPAs in the IRS directory, CPAs with the Board of Accountancy, and LTPs/LTCs with the Board of Tax Practitioners. Anyone who won’t sign the return they prepared is a red flag.
What tax prep costs in Bend
None of the Bend offices above posts prices online (Columbia Pacific lists package tiers without prices). These national benchmarks from the 2025 NATP fee study, reported December 2025, are the best dated yardstick.
Forms, not hours.Most preparers price by form and schedule: each rental, K-1, business or state adds cost.
Your organization.A clean P&L and a complete document list can cut the bill; shoebox receipts add bookkeeping time at hourly rates.
Credential.CPAs average more than EAs, who average more than non-credentialed preparers.
Timing.Late-March documents can mean rush fees or an extension (which a few Bend firms set for new clients by default).
2027 tax season: the quick version
Returns filed in early 2027 report tax year 2026 income.
Standard deduction for 2026: $32,200 married filing jointly, $16,100 single or married filing separately, $24,150 head of household, per the IRS’s 2026 inflation adjustments.
Oregon doesn’t automatically follow every new federal deduction or business provision. Ask your preparer how Oregon’s 2026 conformity changes apply to you.
Oregon’s elective pass-through entity tax runs through tax year 2027, which can matter for partnerships and S corporations.
If you own a business or rentals, sold investments, changed states, inherited assets or have back taxes, talk to a preparer before the January rush.
Typical 2027 tax-season timing
Late Jan.
W-2s and most 1099s arrive
The IRS usually opens e-filing in late January.
Mar. 15
Partnership and S corporation returns
Forms 1065 and 1120-S. K-1s from these entities hold up owners’ personal returns.
Apr. 15
Individual federal and Oregon returns and payments
Also Forms 1041 and 1120 and the FBAR, and the last day for 2026 IRA and HSA contributions.
Oct. 15
Extended individual returns
The extension moves the filing date, not the payment date.
Tax planning works best before the year ends, while you still have choices.
Individuals and families
Check federal and Oregon withholding against expected 2026 income
Gather records for large charitable gifts now
Keep cost basis for investment and crypto sales
Save home purchase, sale and mortgage papers
If you moved into or out of Oregon in 2026, keep proof of move dates and where income was earned
Talk to a pro before a big capital gain or Roth conversion
Self-employed people and businesses
Reconcile books through the latest month
Separate personal and business transactions
Confirm payroll filings and deposits are current
Collect W-9s from vendors who may need a 1099
Review estimated payments made
Ask about Oregon’s pass-through entity tax election and the Corporate Activity Tax
Don’t buy equipment only for the deduction without running the numbers
Rental property owners
Rent collected and deposits held
Repairs vs. capital improvements
Property-management fees
Insurance, mortgage interest and property taxes
Purchase, sale and depreciation records
Personal-use days for a vacation home
For Bend short-term rentals: city and state lodging-tax filings
Renting out a Bend home through a manager? Our guide to choosing a property manager covers the year-end statements a good one should send.
What documents will your preparer probably ask for?
Income
W-2s
1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, 1099-K
1099-INT, 1099-DIV and brokerage consolidated 1099s
1099-R and Social Security statements
K-1s
Business P&L and balance sheet; rental records
Deductions and credits
Mortgage-interest statements (1098)
Property-tax records
Charitable receipts
Childcare, education (1098-T) and HSA forms
Estimated-payment confirmations
Background
Last year’s federal and Oregon returns
Any IRS or Oregon DOR notices
Bank info for direct deposit
Photo ID for you and your spouse
Don’t email tax documents through ordinary email unless your preparer says to. Every firm above that describes its process uses a secure portal.
Questions to ask before hiring a tax preparer
Ask these on the first call. The answers sort out fit, price and who actually does the work.
Fit and credentials
Are you accepting new clients for the 2026 tax year?
Do you regularly do my kind of return (rental, S corp, multistate, estate, farm)?
Who prepares and who reviews my return?
What credential does that person hold: CPA, EA, Oregon LTC or LTP? What is the license number?
Can you represent me if I get an IRS or Oregon notice, and is that included?
Price and process
How do you charge: per form, flat, by complexity or hourly?
Is year-round planning included or billed separately?
Do you use a secure portal, and can I sign remotely?
What is your document cutoff for an on-time return?
What happens if my K-1 or documents arrive late?
Filing an extension does not extend the time to pay
An extension gives you until October 15 to file, not to pay. Tax owed is still due April 15, and interest and penalties run on anything unpaid. If you expect to owe, ask your preparer to estimate an extension payment for both the IRS and Oregon.
Free and lower-cost filing options
Not everyone needs a paid preparer.
Direct File Oregon
Oregon’s free state filing option for many full-year residents. Eligibility is set each season, so check when the 2027 season opens.
Guided software from IRS partner companies for taxpayers under the year’s income limit. Use it through IRS.gov so you land on the free version. Free File is a different program from the IRS’s own Direct File, so check which options exist when the season opens.
Volunteer programs (VITA and AARP Tax-Aide) often run seasonal sites in Central Oregon for low- and moderate-income filers and seniors; check the IRS VITA locator in January for 2027 sites and hours.
If you have back taxes or unfiled returns
Don’t let embarrassment stop you. Ask whether the preparer handles unfiled prior-year returns, amended returns, IRS and Oregon DOR notices, payment plans, penalty relief and audit representation. Some firms do all of it; others prepare current returns only and refer resolution work. Representation before the IRS requires an enrolled agent, CPA or attorney.
Bend tax-preparation FAQs
When should I book a Bend tax preparer for 2027?
Now, in fall 2026, especially for a business, rental or estate return. High Lakes Tax Service asks new clients to reach out before the filing season starts in late January and warns some may be put on extension; Lisa J. Ihander, CPA is no longer taking new clients.
Do I need a CPA for a normal W-2 return?
Usually not. An enrolled agent or an Oregon-licensed tax preparer or consultant is often a good fit and, per the 2025 NATP fee study, typically charges less than a CPA for a base Form 1040 ($228 average for EAs vs. $280 for CPAs nationally).
Who should talk to a tax professional before 2026 ends?
Business owners, rental owners, people with big capital gains, anyone who moved into or out of Oregon, people weighing a Roth conversion, and executors or trustees. Year-end is when you still have choices.
Can Bend tax preparers handle previous years?
Many do. All Seasons Tax lists prior-year and amended returns. Ask before sending records, because some firms limit catch-up work during peak season.
Can local firms prepare taxes remotely?
Most use secure portals now: High Lakes sets up an online account, Patrick Casey uses a CCH Axcess portal and Callan works through a secure online platform, and H&R Block offers virtual preparation. Ask whether the whole return, including signing, can be done remotely.
How much does tax preparation cost in Bend?
Bend firms rarely post prices. National benchmarks from the 2025 NATP fee study: a base Form 1040 averages about $280 with a CPA, $228 with an enrolled agent and $185 with a non-credentialed preparer, with Schedule C adding $123–$135 and Schedule A $53–$61. Business returns carry an average minimum of $634.
What if I receive an IRS or Oregon tax notice after filing?
Call your preparer before responding and ask whether notice help is included or billed separately. Only CPAs, enrolled agents and attorneys can represent you broadly before the IRS.
What if I cannot pay the full amount due?
File on time anyway, or file an extension, because the failure-to-file penalty is steeper than the failure-to-pay penalty. The IRS and Oregon Department of Revenue both offer payment plans.
Who can legally prepare taxes for pay in Oregon?
Oregon is one of the few states that licenses tax preparers. Anyone preparing Oregon returns for a fee must hold an Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners license (Licensed Tax Preparer or Licensed Tax Consultant) unless they are a CPA, an enrolled agent or an attorney.
Firm details come from each firm’s own website (linked on its card), checked October 24, 2026. Enrolled agent and CPA listings were checked in the IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers (current as of 10/23/2026). Oregon LTC numbers are as each firm posts them. This is a local guide, not tax advice.
