paid for 3 years of bookkeeping that was never done – $25,000 IRS penalty followed
Paid for years of bookkeeping that was never done – $25,000 IRS penalty as a direct result
I have been a client since 2022. W-V incorporated a US Corporation in Delaware for me, including a UK holding structure. The incorporation itself was handled professionally. Everything that followed was not.
I paid bookkeeping fees for 2023, 2024 and 2025. The bookkeeping was not completed in any of these years. Not partially – not at all. The first contact from their accounting department came 19 months after incorporation, 7 months after the first Federal Tax deadline had already passed without anyone informing me.
Their own account manager took explicit responsibility in writing: "Will do", "Let us fill out the forms", "I will actively check everything myself too." None of this happened. Neither the Franchise Tax nor the Federal Tax Filing were submitted. The direct result: an IRS penalty of approximately $25,000 – purely for late filing, not for unpaid taxes.
What I find most troubling: After the firm already knew about the IRS penalty, they continued to invoice me. I was billed for bookkeeping and operating costs for 2026 and I paid. So I paid for services that were demonstrably never delivered, while a $25,000 penalty – caused entirely by the firm’s own inaction – was already on the record. I will leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions about what that says about this firm’s business practices.
The firm has acknowledged its failures in multiple written communications: lack of escalation, internal documentation issues, failure to meet expected standards, and confirmed that delays were caused by their own internal problems – not by me. Their exact words: "Any repeated clarification requests reflect internal continuity and documentation issues rather than a lack of disclosure on your side." I responded to every single request within 1–3 days.
Despite all of this in writing from their own staff, management refuses any compensation and claims I should have delivered documents faster. The documentation proves otherwise.
For a one-time company formation, this firm may deliver. For anything beyond that – bookkeeping, tax compliance, ongoing management – I strongly advise caution. Make sure everything is documented and do not rely on verbal commitments.
10 February 2026
Unprompted review