Billings & Locati Nab Top Tax Slot in Readers’ Choice

For Scott Billings, Charles Locati and tax preparers all over Mill Valley, April 17 – this year’s deadline for filing taxes – can’t come soon enough.

“It’s kind of like a funnel – the closer you get to the bottom the faster you spin,” Billings said of the weeks leading up to the traditional April 15 deadline. “It builds and builds and builds and then it drops off a cliff, in this case on April 17.”

Since Billings and Locati merged their firms four years ago, they’ve garnered a reputation for helping their clients navigate those frenetic weeks as smoothly as possible. , located on Miller Ave., for best tax preparation services in town.

Billings credited the win to basic attributes like fair pricing, accuracy and customer service, but also noted that the firm goes out of its way to be available to its clients.

“Most accountants are unreachable, but we go out of our way to make sure people know that they can call and talk to me or Chuck and not get shielded by a receptionist,” Billings said. "We make it a point to respond, and people notice.”

Billings, who went to and graduated from , connected with longtime local accountant and fellow Tam grad Locati several years ago. Both have lived in Mill Valley for more than 30 years, and Locati’s family has deep ties in town, having once owned the popular Brothers Tavern on Locust Avenue before it closed in 1988 after 54 years.