Frequently asked questions.

VPTax is a fractional tax department for high-growth companies: a dedicated "VP of Tax" and full-service team handling corporate income tax, tax provision, and sales & indirect tax for one fixed monthly fee. VPTax was founded in 1991 in Silicon Valley and is now a Richey May Company.

VPTax works with high-growth, venture-backed startups and mid-size corporations — often with multiple subsidiaries or multi-state operations — across industries including software, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and digital media. Clients typically outgrow a local accountant but aren't yet ready to build a full in-house tax department.

VPTax was founded in 1991 to fill a gap in the market: growing companies were stuck choosing between Big Accounting firms (excellent but slow and expensive) and local firms (affordable but limited in expertise). VPTax created the "Tax Director down the hall" model to offer both at once.

VPTax has client relationships exceeding 20 years, with departures typically driven by an acquisition, a change in company leadership, or a company growing large enough to bring tax fully in-house. Staff turnover is notably low — Tax Directors specialize by company size and industry rather than rotating roles each year.

Honestly, no — but VPTax can make it cheaper, faster, and easier. That's about as fun as taxes get.

A Tax Director oversees a company's tax compliance and planning end to end — returns, provision, credits, audits, and advising leadership on the tax impact of business decisions. At VPTax, each client's Tax Director functions as an embedded "VP of Tax."

VPTax does not audit, review, or compile financial statements, and does not provide bookkeeping services. VPTax maintains relationships with vetted third-party firms and can make introductions for clients who need those services.

VPTax applies the 80/20 principle: your Tax Director handles the core tax issues that make up the bulk of most companies' needs directly, and brings in vetted third-party specialists for the remaining specialized matters — all coordinated through your single point of contact.

VPTax uses fixed-fee pricing set for each client based on complexity — entity structure, number of states, and scope of services — rather than hourly billing or a published price list. Your fee typically covers corporate income tax return preparation and ongoing consultation; larger one-time projects are quoted separately before work begins.

Five things: communication (straight talk, active engagement), relevant experience (hands-on qualifications for your situation), personal chemistry (mutual respect with the people you'll work with), advocacy (aligned incentives), and wisdom (verifiable through references).

Most clients start with corporate income tax return preparation and quickly find added value beyond the return itself. Growing companies often develop long-term relationships, adding services like tax provision or indirect tax as they scale. Mature companies sometimes engage VPTax for specialized expertise or to supplement an in-house team.

VPTax assigns one dedicated Tax Director as your ongoing point of contact for a fixed monthly fee and focuses only on tax — no audit, bookkeeping, or compilation work — while traditional CPA firms typically bill hourly and rotate staff across engagements and busy seasons.

Yes — VPTax's Tax Directors typically have experience at both Big 4 firms and in-house corporate tax departments, giving them a "front lines" perspective. That background means VPTax weighs tax alongside the rest of the business, rather than treating tax as the only consideration in a decision.

Like many competitors, VPTax's professionals have Big 4 backgrounds. The difference is what VPTax built with that experience: rather than scaling down a Big 4-style practice into smaller studies and deliverables, VPTax built an integrated Tax Director model designed for growing companies from the ground up.