PETER MARCHIANO, CPA SPOTLIGHT: MEMBER
Peter Marchiano is a devoted family man who loves to help people. Both qualities are clearly on display in his journey from tax accountant to tax resolution expert. Peter was already doing tax resolution for more than a decade when he met Michael two years ago at a conference in Nashville. “I was an accountant who did tax returns, not really knowing that it was tax resolution I was doing. I was just trying to help people with IRS problems. I didn’t know there was an actual tax resolution niche until I met Michael. What really sold me on tax resolution was Mike himself — and my instincts were correct.” Just two weeks after the Nashville conference, Peter and Jeanne, his wife of 25 years, faced their biggest challenge when their 17-year-old son was killed in a freak accident. Peter says it set him back about a year, but adds, “Once I got myself going again, the biggest problem I had was time management. I didn’t have any structure to what I was doing.” Peter says one thing he has benefited from learning from Michael is to implement systematic procedures. “Having a system is a must because there’s no other way to keep track of things,” he explains. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t know what stage the case is in.” Peter is also having success using Michael’s system for doing the mini 433A during client-intake meetings. Where it was a three-step process before, after filling out a mini 433A, he can quote fees and sign clients in just one meeting. Peter reports that he was able to have $20,000 in penalties abated for a client recently, and he is now working on an offer in compromise for another client that should settle a $173,000 tax liability for $21,000.
Peter’s other success story is learning to charge what his services are worth. Early in his tax resolution business, he placed a client who owed $170,000 into “currently not collectible” status. His fee? $500. “I would have charged $5,000 for that today,” Peter says. “Michael has opened my eyes to the money that can be made in this business.” It’s a good thing Peter has organized his practice to maximize income and free up his time. After the death of their son, Peter and his wife added two more children to their family (which includes a 13-year-old daughter, a golden retriever, and a cat), their son’s 3-year-old daughter and her 2-year-old brother. “The kids were put into foster care, so I took them in,” Peter explains. “It’s quite a difference from the first year after we lost my son. We had a dreary house, which was just me, my wife, and our daughter. Now we have the two grandchildren, so it’s a lively place now.”
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