Individual Tax Service | Family Business of the Year

40 years ago, folks in Chicago gave former IRS agent Hank Gory the nickname Mr. Tax. And though we incorporated as Individual Tax Service in 1997, it’s not unusual for someone to ask for Mr Tax to this day because when it comes to taxes, trust is everything. And around here, Mr. Tax isn’t just anyone - he’s family.

Our family business started with 20 or so friends (pg3 attachment) who came to Hank for expert help on their taxes. In the years since, we’ve grown to include Hank’s wife, Deb, all three of his daughters, and a handful of other family members (some officially related, some unofficially adopted in) who provide over 2000 people and corporations with tax filing and business accounting services every year, in Chicago and across the nation.

We’ve never needed to spend a single dollar on marketing. Every client came to us through the community - by word of mouth, family tradition, or because they’ve spent their whole lives driving by our sign on 103rd St (pg6 attachment). When we ask our clients why they choose us, the answer is always the same: they come and stay because we listen.

Beyond collecting numbers on a page, we make a point to learn about our client’s lives and businesses. By doing so, we’re often able to find money they didn’t know to look for through deductions, credits, and insight. Listening to one client explain a loss he was claiming revealed that he qualified for a $59,000 refund, which he then successfully received. Listening to a widow describe a 401k pension plan alerted us she’d been overpaying taxes and could save over $20,000 just by filing a different form.

The trust we’ve earned by listening is reflected in our incredible 80+% retention and the countless examples of serving the same families across generations. We’re proud of our family business, but even more proud that our clients also consider themselves family (pg4 attachment). Their stories, their dollars saved, and the lifelong relationships we share with them are our most meaningful measures of success.