About The Tax Dude

Neil Johnson (aka The Tax Dude®) has been a tax professional for over twenty-five years and has prepared thousands of tax returns for individuals, small businesses, trusts and estates. Neil’s background in taxation coupled with his experience in personal financial planning gives him a base of knowledge truly appreciated by his clients.

A graduate of Loyola University of Chicago in 1988, Neil built a diversified tax, accounting and financial consulting practice serving primarily advertising agencies and other graphic arts businesses.

Neil also served on the board of directors for David Bruce & Company, a software developer for the financial markets and was instrumental in its successful sale to First Options of Chicago. His experience includes work in the tax department at The Northern Trust Company, Tax Manager for CTS Financial Group, Inc., Senior Tax Manager at Brown, Kaplan and Liss, LLC and most recently as a Partner with The Dolins Group, Ltd.

Over the years, Neil has gained extensive knowledge on what he calls “The Three D’s” (divorce, debt and death). Each of these situations provides unusual and often complicated challenges for many people. Neil remembers his early divorce engagements and how he “followed the money” before the phrase was common place and practicing forensic accounting before it became its own niche.

Neil has helped numerous clients deal with IRS and state taxing authorities. He has successfully negotiated IRS penalty abatements totaling over hundreds of thousands of dollars. Neil has also helped his clients obtain installment plans, offers in compromise and innocent spouse relief. He gets a real chuckle watching former IRS attorneys on television pitching these services as if they are truly advocates for the taxpayer.