Hi, I’m Mallory Carra, a Los Angeles-based CTEC Registered Tax Preparer specializing in federal and California state income tax returns for freelance journalists and other sole proprietors. I understand the unique needs of freelancers because I’ve lived them: I’ve worked as a journalist for more than 20 years across print, digital media, and audio — including more than a decade as a freelancer managing my own client base, business income, expenses, records, and taxes.
I’m also an adjunct journalism professor at USC Annenberg, where I teach the foundations of journalism and lead Freelancing 101 workshops that help students navigate the business side of working for themselves. You won’t have to explain the nuances of freelance work to me — and, like any good journalist, I know the right questions to ask.
Services
Tax Consulting
Statutory audit, review and compilation engagements, agreed-upon procedures, internal control reporting.
Income Tax Prep
Federal, state and local compliance; planning for owners, estates and trusts; controversy and appeals.
How It Works
Enquiry
We meet before we quote. A partner spends an hour understanding the work, at our cost, whether or not you engage us.
Scope & Fee
You receive a written scope, a fixed fee and the name of the partner who will do the work. Nothing starts before you sign it.
The Work
That partner does the work, not a team you have not met. Findings reach you as we make them, not in a summary at the end.
Review
Every file is read by a second partner before it leaves the office. Both names go on the report, and both stand behind it.
FAQs
NO. I’m happy to answer tax questions through a paid consultation, but I do not provide free advice by email, text, DM, or casual conversation. A “quick question” still requires professional knowledge and responsibility.
My fees are fair, transparent, and based on the scope and complexity of the work. I will explain the expected cost before we begin, and I will let you know if new information changes that estimate.
I do not publicly advertise rates due to IRS restrictions on tax preparer advertising.
Yes. The partner named in your engagement letter does the work and answers the telephone. If that partner leaves the firm, you are told before the file moves.
Routinely. A good many of our engagements sit beside counsel or a bank we did not introduce, and we have no interest in displacing them.
No, but there is a minimum standard of preparation. If the records are not in a state we can work from, we will say so before quoting.
For a free, no-obligation quote that could save you substantial money
Request a Quote or call 1-888-000-0000, 24 hours a day.
