Murtha & Murtha Handling Covid Fallout This Tax Season

Kyle Flischel (left) and Tom (not pictured) and Patrick Murtha take on every tax problem, big or small, at Murtha & Murtha, LLC. (Photo: Charmaine George)

Every tax season is different.

Some are busier than others, some are upended by new tax laws or bills, while still others are a mad scramble.

This tax season, however, is almost indescribable, says Patrick Murtha, who along with his father Tom and new partner (but longtime senior accountant) Kyle Flischel run Murtha & Murtha, LLC, in the Seven Oaks Professional Park off S.R. 56 (across from Sam’s Club).

Due to Covid-19, nothing about this tax season seems normal, Patrick says. Everyone was impacted, with some people losing their jobs and collecting unemployment, others receiving PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loans and many  people having to borrow money from their retirement plans in order to survive. 

Some people moved away from Florida, but many others moved in. And, not everyone struggled, Patrick says, noting that some clients had their most lucrative years ever  in 2020.

Either way, Patrick says 2020 was the year of “major life changes,” and clients need more help now than they ever have as they navigate through tax season waters that are now murkier than before.

“This has been amazingly busy,” says Patrick. “The average return is a little more complicated, and we have a lot more clients coming in. It’s crazy.”

That means thousands of tax returns between Murtha & Murtha’s two offices (the Murthas recently merged with another office in Zephyrhills, which is now called Henson & Murtha, CPAs.)

Luckily for clients new and old, Tom, Patrick and Kyle have more than 60 years of combined experience in handling taxes on behalf of their accounting clients.

Because of Covid-19, the Murthas have adapted to the new reality. They started last year, when Covid hit right at the annual March peak of tax season, and now have a well-oiled virtual online machine to help them assist clients.

“We pivoted pretty quickly,” Patrick says. “Right when Covid hit last year we made that move, making virtual appointments, video calls, phone appointments. We bolstered that a lot more in the offseason. Now, we’re a full, web-based client center.”

Clients can sign in, upload their tax documents and any other paperwork the Murthas may need to complete their taxes. “We created a really convenient way for us to work, and for our clients, too,” Patrick says.

He adds that about half of Murtha & Murtha’s clients are handling this tax season online. The other half still prefers to come in to the office, where CDC guidelines are strictly followed. As the pandemic passes, there may be less of a need for an online exchange of tax forms and paperwork, but the firm plans to keep the online option in their arsenal.

That arsenal is quite full as it is. Murtha & Murtha consults, advises and deals in complicated and intricate tax laws, providing business valuations and due diligence while also running the successful Murtha & Murtha Mergers and Acquisitions, LLC.

Tom is fond of saying “we do it all,” which isn’t too far off. And, while taxes are a huge part of what Murtha & Murtha does, Tom says consulting with clients throughout the year is often just as valuable.

A Little Background

Tom Murtha, CPA, earned his B.S. degree in Management from Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY, in 1976, and his M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration) degree in Accounting from St. John’s University in Queens, NY, in 1981. He has been doing mergers, acquisitions and business valuations since the 1990s.

Patrick, who grew up around tax codes at his father’s business, graduated from the University of South Florida in 2009 with Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in both Finance and Accounting. He joined his father in opening a firm in Tampa in 2010, focusing on mergers and acquisitions.

Meanwhile, Kyle Flischel, CPA, is practically family, having gone to school with Patrick at USF.  

Murtha & Murtha offers a popular “CFO Retainer Package,” which helps businesses (and those who are self-employed) who might need a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) but who don’t have the budget to hire a full-time manager or accountant for that job.

For a fraction of the cost of a full-time CFO, the Murthas operate in an advisory position and can handle everything from accounting and bookkeeping to setting up payroll and ensuring that all of a client’s income and expenses are classified correctly.

They also will put together a budget, which Patrick says hardly any other companies do. The Murthas are big on budgeting, which helps their clients make decisions in real time, instead of waiting until the end of the year.

And of course, they will take care of all of your tax preparation and planning.

“The CFO program is growing just as quickly as our tax business is,” Patrick says.

Since starting the CFO program, Patrick says they’ve only lost two clients, but both were due to capital acquisitions. “In both cases, the companies were successful,” he says.

If using Murtha & Murtha sounds daunting and exorbitantly-priced, the Murthas promise that it’s not. The firm handles just about every kind of client, from rich businessmen to small business owners to regular W-2 workers, and the prices are comparable to other tax firms like H&R Block. And, every client gets the same personal treatment. It is that personal touch that differentiates Murtha & Murtha from others, Patrick says. 

While they handle the taxes of some large companies, Patrick says that individual returns account for about two-thirds of Murtha & Murtha’s billings — and that number may be growing this year with the influx of new clients.

During Covid-crazy 2020, Patrick says the firm still grew but not at the rate they originally anticipated. However, he says this year could be record-breaking.

“Whatever we should’ve gotten last year we are getting this year,” Patrick says, “(in addition to) what we would have normally gotten this year. It’s going to be the busiest season we’ve had by an order of magnitude.”

Murtha & Murtha, LLC, is located at 2236 Ashley Oaks Cir., Suite 101. For more info, visit TampaTaxFirm.com. To schedule a free consultation, call (813) 991-1120. 

Henson & Murtha, CPAs, is located at 5315 8th Ave. in Zephyrhills. For more info, call (813) 782-0580.

Pasco EDC’s Wesley Chapel Incubator Opens In The Grove

SMARTstart program director Dan Mitchell says space like this boardroom is where small businesses will have the opportunity to collaborate with other owners, industry experts and mentors as they prepare their businesses for launch. (Photos: John C. Cotey)

In the center of what many think is the hottest and hippest entertainment development in Wesley Chapel at The Grove, just above the office of developer Mark Gold, is a large “collab-o-space” hoping to launch the area’s next hottest and hippest thing.

That’s Dan Mitchell’s hope, anyway. The program director of SMARTstart — part of the entrepreneurial arm of the Pasco Economic Development Council (EDC) — stands in the middle of the 5,000-sq.-ft. Entrepreneur Center & Business Incubator and imagines it filled with the bustle and hustle that only enthusiastic entrepreneurs can bring to it.

“It’s going to be a great environment,” Mitchell says.

SMARTstart at The Grove held its official ribbon cutting on Feb. 18. The workspace has 10 private offices, two “huddle rooms,” 32 dedicated desks, a co-working lounge, an executive board room, as well as a classroom and other meeting spaces. 

A digital media studio will offer light boxes, podcasting mics and mixers, as well as other equipment needed to produce various electronic media.

Those desks, offices and board rooms will soon be mostly filled by small business owners sporting ideas but looking for guidance and hoping to reap the benefits a collaborative setting can provide. Small businesses have a large fail rate within the first two years, but Mitchell says SMARTstart helps develop business ideas and get them to market on more solid footing.

SMARTstart at The Grove is open to anyone, but their business must be based in Pasco County. It is looking for small business owners who are in the start-up phase, or in the first year or two of their business.

Once accepted into the program, you choose your membership level and get access to not just the space — you can rent a private office for $600, or just take a desk in the open area for $100 — but also classes, roundtable discussions, workshops and mentorship. The SMARTstart team will assess the needs of entrepreneurs, and will connect them with industry experts and coaches.

“We ask people when they join, what do you need?,” Mitchell says. “What is holding you back? Do you need workspace, do you need guidance, do you need to collaborate with other entrepreneurs, do you need funding, do you need education? We offer something in all of those program areas.”

And, Mitchell adds, “If somebody needs all of it, great. They can get all of it.”

This area provides 20 working spaces for entrepreneurs, but offices and meeting rooms are also available.

SMARTstart is funded by the Penny for Pasco program.

The Wesley Chapel location will be the third EDC incubator in Pasco County, joining the locations in New Port Richey (which focuses on professional services), and the one in Dade City (focused on food innovation).

Those in the SMARTstart program also are eligible for the EDC’s popular “micro loans,” ranging from $30,000-50,000.

Since the program’s inception five years ago, 82 businesses have started and grown in the Pasco EDC’s incubators, including 24 last year. The micro loan program has funded 57 companies, for a total of $1.8 million in loans. 

So far, the new Wesley Chapel incubator has four members, with 30 more on the waiting list.  Those who get in are limited to two years in the incubator, after which they must spread their wings and find their own locations.

“This is not your permanent home,” Mitchell says, but in the meantime, members can use the incubator’s address to register their business with the Florida Department of State at Sunbiz.org (found at DOS.MyFlorida.com), use the conference rooms for meetings, focus groups and more. “People come with an idea and, within six months, can get the funding and when they do launch, SMARTstart will hold a ribbon cutting for them.”

The under-construction SMARTstart crate at The Grove’s KRATE container park be available to small businesses to rent as a pop-up to show or sell their products and services. 

Dade City’s Johnathan McKeen-Chaff has taken advantage of multiple SMARTstart programs and he says that, as a result, his music teaching and academic tutoring business is better off for it. 

He has added a handful of clients and is now ready to open his first physical location at the KRATE container park at The Grove this summer, where his team will give piano, guitar and drum lessons, as well as supplemental tutoring in math, English and other subjects.

“It was worth every penny and more,” McKeen-Chaff says. “That’s the kind of education I can get behind. Dan Mitchell and everyone there are very good at what they do.”

McKeen-Chaff, who says his company is focused on using technology to improve the way people teach and learn, also took advantage of the EDC’s micro loan program.

“They taught me how to start a business, and walked me through everything I needed to do,” McKeen-Chaff says. “I know I have a better chance (of succeeding) just having them on my side.”

McKeen-Chaff will be KRATE neighbors with SMARTstart, which also will be renting a converted shipping container. Members of the SMARTstart program will be able to rent the crate as a pop-up to sell their wares, which could be popular with the fledgling food businesses being cultivated at the EDC’s Dade City incubator.

Pasco County-based businesses interested in more information or in joining the incubator program can fill out an application by visiting SMARTstartPasco.com.