Strategic Tax Partner for CPAs and Advisors
Help clients solve a problem you already see.
For CPAs, Enrolled Agents, and Tax Advisors
Many high-income clients have already implemented traditional tax planning strategies. Yet substantial tax liabilities often remain. Elk Ridge provides a professionally managed real estate solution that can complement your existing tax planning process while allowing you to remain the client’s primary advisor.
What Our Partners Typically Experience
- Increased client retention
- Higher lifetime client value
- Expanded advisory opportunities
- Stronger client relationships
- Access to institutional-grade solutions
- No operational burden
- Dedicated implementation support
- Continued ownership of the client relationship
- Additional recurring tax engagements
- A scalable offering for high-income clients
Recommended CPA & Tax Advisors
Become a CPA or Tax Advisor Partner
Every tax season, CPAs and tax advisors work with high-earning clients who want to reduce a large tax bill. A legitimate short-term rental tax strategy could help, but implementing it may require a client to buy, manage, and operate a rental property. For a professional already balancing a demanding full-time career, taking on the responsibilities of running a rental can be a big ask.
You can help clients reduce taxes without asking them to navigate the complexities of real estate and rental management alone. Elk Ridge Investments serves as a strategic tax partner to accounting and tax firms, handling property acquisitions and operations for short-term rentals. Your firm remains the client’s primary advisor.
What This Partnership Can Offer Your Firm
A tax mitigation product for CPAs and tax advisors should fill a gap in what your firm can deliver in-house. While most firms can identify a client who would benefit from a short-term rental tax strategy, advise them on the material participation requirements, and handle the resulting tax return, they aren’t usually equipped to help that client acquire and operate the property.
That’s where Elk Ridge Investments comes in. As the operating partner, Elk Ridge handles the real estate side of the strategy. They can help:
- Find the right investment
- Underwrite the property
- Coordinate the cost segregation study
- Furnish the rental
- Manage daily operations
Your client participates as a capital partner and completes the required activities to meet the participation requirement for the deductions.
Your firm stays focused on advising the client and preparing the return.
The partnership structure, including how referring firms are compensated and the engagement timeline, is something the Elk Ridge team will discuss directly with each firm. This allows the process to account for differences in firm size and client base.
Tax advisory support for accountants often means software, research tools, or a referral list. This is different. Elk Ridge works alongside your firm to execute a specific strategy for clients who may need a solution beyond the standard tax-planning options.
How This Can Affect Your Firm’s Growth
Clients with a large, recurring tax bill and few remaining deduction options often ask their CPA every year if there is anything else they can do. Once the standard options like retirement contributions, entity structure, and timing adjustments have been addressed, firms may have fewer practical options for their highest-income clients.
Help clients reduce taxes with a strategy your firm doesn’t have to build in-house. A client who successfully reduces a six-figure tax bill through a strategy your firm helped introduce has a strong reason to stay, to consolidate more of their financial needs with your firm, and to refer other high-income clients your way.
Not only can you add another tax strategy to your client’s plan, but you may also give your firm another way to create value for the clients it wants to retain the most. When you introduce a sophisticated, defensible strategy that can meaningfully reduce a client’s tax bill, you can strengthen your firm’s reputation and attract more high-income clients.
Many high-earning CPA clients already ask about bonus depreciation strategies, particularly when they have significant income and have used the most familiar tax planning options. An STR strategy CPA firm partnership may be able to give your team access to a specialized operating partner that can handle the property and rental operations while your firm remains focused on the tax relationship.
Which Firms Benefit Most From This Partnership
This partnership typically suits a firm with a strong base of high-income individual clients, including business owners, executives, physicians, and other professionals earning in the high six figures. These clients are more likely to have significant tax liabilities and may already ask about strategies involving real estate, cost segregation, or bonus depreciation.
The partnership may also work well for firms that want to offer more sophisticated planning without taking on another area of operations. A solo CPA can use the partnership to expand what the firm offers without hiring additional staff, while a larger practice can serve more clients without building a separate real estate team.
Geography doesn’t have to be a limitation. Elk Ridge currently sources properties across roughly 20 states, so firms with clients in different markets can work with the same partner rather than finding a separate provider for each location. Tax planning support for accounting and tax firms usually works best when it complements the firm’s existing advisory services and gives clients access to expertise the firm doesn’t need to maintain internally.
The partnership is less likely to be a good fit for firms that want to build every service themselves or remain solely responsible for every part of a client’s STR strategy. The model typically works best when your firm focuses on client relationships and tax advice, while Elk Ridge handles the required real estate work.
How the Partnership Works
Each Elk Ridge property is structured as a joint venture. Elk Ridge serves as the operating partner, and your client serves as the capital partner. The client co-owns the property and participates in the activity as required to meet the applicable material participation rules for non-passive treatment. Elk Ridge sources the deal, underwrites it, coordinates the cost segregation study, furnishes the property to a standard built for the short-term rental market, and manages day-to-day operations, from guest communication to cleaning schedules to bookkeeping.
Your firm’s role begins with determining whether a client is a good fit and advising them on how the strategy fits into their overall tax plan. Your team then prepares the client’s return using the information and documentation from the property.
Elk Ridge tracks participation hours, cost segregation results, acquisition dates, and other relevant records throughout the process, giving the tax advisor the documentation needed to support the return.
The partnership typically begins with a conversation about your client base and the tax situations you most often encounter. From there, we can look at whether the strategy makes sense for a specific client before any capital is committed.
How This Differs From a Typical Referral Arrangement
Many tax mitigation strategies for CPAs rely on a simple referral. You introduce the client to another provider, collect a referral fee, and the provider handles the rest. That can work for a one-time transaction, but it leaves the CPA firm with little involvement in what happens going forward.
Elk Ridge takes a different approach. We remain involved as the operating partner and co-owner of the property and continue to work alongside your firm even after the initial introduction.
A firm can quickly add this strategy to its practice much more quickly by working with an established operating partner. Building something similar in-house would require significantly more time, capital, and expertise.
Become a Partner
Every firm’s client base and practice focus are different. Tax-saving strategies for clients usually work best when considered in the context of the client’s income, goals, and overall tax picture. A conversation with Elk Ridge can help you determine whether the strategy makes sense for the clients you serve and whether the partnership fits your practice.
Apply to become a strategic tax partner with Elk Ridge Investments to start that conversation. Schedule a call to discuss your client base, identify potential opportunities, and learn what working together could look like.
FAQs
Will partnering with Elk Ridge create more work for my firm?
The partnership is designed to add a strategy to your firm’s offering without adding real estate operations to your workload.
Elk Ridge handles the property sourcing, underwriting, cost segregation coordination, furnishing, and day-to-day operations. Your team stays focused on identifying potential clients, advising on the tax strategy, and preparing the return.
How is my firm compensated for referring a client?
The compensation structure is discussed directly with each firm during the partnership conversation, since it can vary based on how the partnership is structured.
The Elk Ridge team will walk through the specifics and explain the arrangement during the initial partnership conversation before either side commits.
Do I need real estate or short-term rental expertise to advise my clients on this?
You don’t need to become a real estate expert to advise a client on the tax strategy. Elk Ridge provides real estate expertise, allowing your firm to focus on tax planning and reporting.
That’s where tax mitigation services for tax advisors and CPAs can be useful. It gives your firm access to a specialized strategy without requiring you to build an entirely new department.
Can Elk Ridge help me determine whether a specific client is a good fit before I bring it up?
You can discuss the general details of a client’s income, tax situation, and available capital with the Elk Ridge team before making an introduction.
That initial conversation can help determine whether the numbers and circumstances are strong enough to warrant bringing the strategy to the client.
If the IRS challenges a client's material participation claim, who is responsible, my firm or Elk Ridge?
The responsibilities are different. Elk Ridge tracks and documents participation hours, cost segregation results, and other property records as part of its role as the operating partner. Your firm remains responsible for preparing the client’s return and advising on the tax position taken.
Because tax treatment depends on the client’s individual circumstances, your firm should review the specific requirements and responsibilities with Elk Ridge before referring a client and determine what documentation is needed to support the return.
Does my client need to know Elk Ridge is involved, or can I present this as my firm's own service?
The client will know Elk Ridge is involved because the client becomes a capital partner in a property that Elk Ridge operates. Your firm remains the client’s tax advisor and can continue to guide the tax strategy and return, but the real estate component is clearly provided and operated by Elk Ridge.
What happens if my client wants to sell the property or exit later?
A property sale can have tax consequences, including potential depreciation recapture, so the timing and structure of an exit should be considered as part of the client’s broader tax plan.
Elk Ridge can discuss the property’s exit options, while your firm advises the client on the resulting tax implications. Depending on the circumstances, a 1031 exchange may also be worth considering.
Is there an exclusivity requirement, or can I refer clients to other providers too?
This depends on the terms of the partnership and should be confirmed with the Elk Ridge team before you begin referring clients. Address it during the initial partnership conversation so your firm understands any applicable requirements from the start.
Is there a cost or commitment required for my firm to become a partner?
The details depend on how the partnership is structured for your firm. The Elk Ridge team can explain any costs, commitments, or other requirements during the initial conversation so you know what’s expected before moving forward.
What if my clients are in a state where Elk Ridge doesn't currently operate?
Elk Ridge currently operates roughly 300 properties across about 20 states, but a capital partner’s location doesn’t necessarily determine where they can invest. If you have a client in a state where Elk Ridge isn’t currently operating, the best approach is to discuss the client’s location with the team and confirm which markets are available.
How many clients does a typical partner firm refer in a given year?
There isn’t a standard number or referral quota. The volume depends on your firm’s size, your client base, and how many clients are likely to benefit from the strategy. Some firms may identify only a handful of potential clients each year, while larger practices may have more opportunities.
What does the process actually look like to get started?
The process typically begins with a conversation about your client base and the tax situations you most often encounter. From there, you can discuss potential clients with the Elk Ridge team and determine whether the strategy makes sense before a client commits capital.
As a tax strategy partner for tax advisors and CPAs, your firm remains involved throughout the tax-planning process while Elk Ridge handles the real estate component.