Spotlight on Partnership Taxation Nick Dulo

Our Spotlight series shines a light on the careers and lives of tax professionals around the world. This week, the spotlight is on CPA Nick Dulo, tax associate at BDO’s office in Greater Washington, DC.

Dulo has extensive experience in advising on matters involving Subchapter K taxation and a clientele consisting largely of real estate developers, construction companies, private holding companies and professional service companies.

In addition to his client management responsibilities, Nick is the co-lead of BDO’s Greater Washington, DC real estate practice.

What is your official title and what does it mean? My title is fiscal partner. I am a business advisor to my clients with over 12 years of experience providing tax compliance and advisory services, primarily to businesses organized in partnership. My main sectors of activity are real estate and private equity. I work with clients to provide tax planning strategies and alternatives, determine tax-minimizing accounting policies and ensure compliance with mandatory returns.

Free time: book, audiobook or podcast? Audiobook, especially through Audible. I have a rotation of leadership, self-improvement, biographies, memoirs, history, race, culture, and fiction books. My goal is 100 pounds for the year, and I’m currently two pounds ahead of the goal by the end of the year. My favorite book this year is “The Rage of Dragons” by Evan Winter.

Taxation is a huge subject. What is your particular area of ​​interest? The taxation of partnerships, which I affectionately call the far west of the tax world. The rules for distributing income and losses can become complex very quickly. You never get bored, so working in a tax partnership requires being a year-round advisor, rather than just a tax preparer. I also enjoy working with partnerships as it allows me to take a holistic approach to advising my clients, ensuring that entity level decisions are made with the most optimal outcome for taxpayers in mind. ultimate, which are usually individuals.

What’s the last movie or show you watched and liked (DVD, Netflix or at the movies)? My kids have kept me busy, so I don’t watch a lot of movies these days, but Disney’s “Luca” has been rehearsing in my house since it was released a few weeks ago. My almost five year old loves it, and I’m sure we’ve watched it over 30 times, but I enjoy it too, so it works.

What college did you attend and what did you study? I obtained both my Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and my Masters of Accounting from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Go to pickup: Coffee or tea? Definitely coffee.

What’s the best tax or financial advice someone has ever given you? The late John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard, has spent his professional life preaching the idea of ​​long-term investing rather than short-term speculation. His advice is to select a few low-cost diversified funds and build a “hold” portfolio. I buy every month from a select group of funds, regardless of the noise in the public markets, and I never sell.

If you weren’t in the tax industry, what would your dream job be? University professor with a very limited workload and a lot of time to attend university sporting events.

If you had the option of making a change to the tax code — an additional credit, an unauthorized deduction, whatever — what would it be? I would have a “transportation credit for work” – a tax credit for part of the cost for people who use public means to get to work. I would recommend phasing it out with an increase in income.

Favorite food, snack or candy during tax season (or other busy time)? I go through many bags of almonds during tax season. I can eat them at any time of the day.

What new or tax measure has had the most impact on your firm or your clients over the past year? The CARES law. We quickly became loan advisors for PPP loans, helped clients with various loans and changed returns in response to certain rule changes like bonus amortization. 2020 looked like a 12 month tax season, but it was more important than ever to be a proactive tax advisor to our clients.

If Uncle Sam gave you a big tax refund check right away, what would you do with it? I’ll give the boring but financially responsible answer of a tax professional: I would probably put it in my brokerage account.

Find Nick Dulo on LinkedIn. Learn more about his company, BDO LLP USA, at bdo.com.
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