Personal Tax Preparation in Greenville, SC

Your federal 1040 and your South Carolina return are prepared together by an Enrolled Agent who handles the returns software cannot finish, self-employment income, rental property, retirement distributions, and the letters that arrive afterward.

Black circle on a white background.
Black circle on a white background.

One Preparer, From The First Question To The Last Signature

Work goes directly to Jim Lane. The person who prepares your return is the person who answers the phone when you call about it in July, and the person who responds if a letter arrives from the IRS two years from now.


Jim is an Enrolled Agent, a preparer licensed federally to represent taxpayers before the IRS, which covers audits, notices, and disputes as well as filing a return. He holds a Masters in Accounting and a BS in Business Administration, and brings more than 30 years of accounting experience, including controller and accounting-leadership roles at Upstate companies before the firm opened.

Individual Income Tax Preparation Across The Upstate SC Market

A return in Greenville is rarely just a federal return. Many Upstate filers work across the North Carolina or Georgia line, hold property in one state and a job in another, or picked up 1099 income partway through the year. Your federal 1040 and your South Carolina SC1040 are prepared side by side so the state return reflects what the federal return reports.


Personal tax return preparation in South Carolina covers the situations that send people looking for a preparer instead of software:


  • Self-employment or contract income reported on a 1099, which is filed on a Schedule C along with the business expenses that offset it
  • Rental property, including depreciation on the building and the repair and improvement costs that are treated differently from each other
  • Capital gains and investment income, including brokerage sales where the original purchase price has to be established
  • Retirement distributions and Social Security, where how much of the benefit is taxable depends on the rest of the return
  • A K-1, the statement a partnership or S corporation issues to report your share of its income
  • A return from a prior year that was never filed, which can still be prepared and submitted
  • An amended return, filed to correct a return already submitted
  • A notice already in hand from the IRS or the South Carolina Department of Revenue


Bring the situation, not the form numbers. Sorting out which schedule applies is our job.

What To Bring When We Prepare Your Taxes

Gather what you have and send the rest as it arrives. Nothing is filed until the return is complete.


  • W-2s from every employer for the year
  • 1099s of every kind, including 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-R, and 1099-K
  • Last year's federal and South Carolina returns
  • Social Security numbers and dates of birth for everyone listed on the return
  • Mortgage interest and property tax statements
  • Tuition statements and student loan interest forms
  • Records of charitable giving, including receipts for non-cash donations
  • HSA and retirement contribution records
  • Business income and expense totals if you are self-employed
  • Closing documents for any home bought or sold during the year


Documents reach us three ways: secure digital delivery, drop-off at the office at 200 Smith Hines Road in Greenville, or in person at an appointment. Early morning and lunch appointments are available so you do not have to take a day off work.

How Your Return Gets Prepared And Filed

Step 1:

A short intake conversation

We talk through what changed since last year, what income you had, and what documents exist. This is where a rental sale, a new side business, or a move across state lines gets caught before it becomes a correction.

Step 2:

Documents come in

Send them digitally, drop them off, or bring them to the appointment. We tell you what is still missing rather than waiting for you to notice.

Step 3:

The return is prepared

Your federal and South Carolina returns are prepared together. Most individual returns are ready within one to two weeks of complete documents, and longer during the final weeks before the deadline.

Step 4:

We review it with you before anything is filed

You see the return, the refund or balance due, and the reasoning behind any position taken on it. Questions get answered while there is still time to change something.

Step 5:

Electronic filing and your copy

The return is filed electronically once you approve it, and you keep a complete copy. We retain ours, so next year starts with your file already in hand.


If the deadline is close and documents are not, we file an extension. An extension moves the date your return is due, not the date your tax is due, so any balance owed still needs to be estimated and paid by the original deadline to avoid interest and penalties. We tell you what that estimate looks like before you sign anything.


Fees are quoted before work begins, based on the schedules your return actually requires. You can see what personal and business tax preparation costs before you call.

If You Own A Business, Both Returns Belong On One Desk

When the business return and the personal return are prepared in two different offices, the numbers have to be reconciled after the fact, and usually by you. Preparing them together means owner compensation, distributions, mileage, home office, and estimated payments carry the same treatment on both.


We also handle small business tax preparation and year-round planning, including federal and South Carolina business returns, quarterly estimates, and sales tax reporting. Your Schedule C, K-1, or S corporation return and your 1040 are prepared in the same file, on the same timeline.

Answers Before You Choose A Tax Preparer

  • What do I need to bring to get my taxes done?

    Bring your W-2s, every 1099 you received, last year's return, and Social Security numbers for everyone on the return. Add mortgage interest, property tax, tuition, charitable giving, and retirement contribution records if they apply to you. If you are self-employed, bring income and expense totals rather than a box of receipts, and we will sort out what is deductible.

  • How long does a personal tax return take?

    Most individual returns are ready within one to two weeks once all documents are in hand. Returns with rental property, self-employment income, or multiple states take longer, and the final weeks before the April deadline are the slowest stretch of the season. We tell you the timeline when we see the documents, not after.

  • Do I need to file a South Carolina return if I work in another state?

    If you live in South Carolina, the state generally taxes your income no matter which state you earned it in, and you may also owe a return in the state where you worked. A credit usually keeps the same income from being taxed twice, but it has to be claimed correctly on both returns. This is common for Upstate filers working in North Carolina or Georgia, and we prepare both returns together.

  • Can I file a return I missed from last year?

    Yes. A prior-year return can still be prepared and filed, and doing it voluntarily is a better position than waiting for the IRS to build a return for you. If a refund was owed, there is a window for claiming it, so the sooner the return is filed the better. We start by pulling what the IRS already has on record for that year.

  • Who can help me with an IRS letter about my personal return?

    An Enrolled Agent can. Jim Lane is federally authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS, which means he can respond to the notice, speak with the IRS on your behalf, and handle an audit or dispute, including on a return someone else prepared. Send us the letter and the return it refers to, and we will tell you what the notice actually asks for and what the deadline on it is.

  • Can my personal return and my business return be filed together?

    Yes, and it is the reason many Upstate owners come here. The business return and your 1040 are prepared in the same file, so owner compensation, distributions, and estimated payments line up across both. Bookkeeping and payroll are handled here as well, which means the books the return is built from are the books we maintain.

  • Can you prepare my return without me coming to the office?

    Yes. Documents can be delivered securely online, the return review can happen by phone or video, and filing is electronic. Clients across the Upstate work with us this way year round, and the office is open for anyone who would rather sit down in person.

  • What is an Enrolled Agent, and how is that different from a tax preparer?

    An Enrolled Agent is licensed by the federal government and holds unlimited practice rights before the IRS, meaning representation in audits, collections, and appeals in addition to preparing returns. Many seasonal preparers can file a return but cannot represent you afterward. That distinction matters most in the year a letter arrives.

A Tax Preparer Serving Greenville And The Surrounding Upstate

The office is at 200 Smith Hines Road, Greenville, SC 29607, and individual returns are prepared for filers in Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Travelers Rest, Fountain Inn, Simpsonville, Greer, Mauldin, Gray Court, and across the Golden Strip. Multi-state returns for Upstate residents working in North Carolina or Georgia are routine here, as are South Carolina Department of Revenue notices and returns for people who moved into or out of the state mid-year.


Send a message through the contact form or email jim@lanefinancialservices.com with a short description of your situation, and you will hear back with what your return needs and what it will take. You can also call (864) 346-6157