Creative Planning vs Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Network: Tax Services Compared
Compare Creative Planning and Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Network on service focus, buyer fit, proposal questions and implementation. Published by AE Tax Advisors.
Start with the decision your advisor must help you make
These are two providers to investigate for tax planning within a wider advisor relationship. The comparison below uses their public descriptions and separate buyer scenarios. It does not establish that both providers offer every service you need.
Published by AE Tax Advisors, a competing provider. This is a source-based service comparison, not an independent ranking, customer review or endorsement.
At a glance: what to put in the two proposals
| Decision | Creative Planning | Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Network |
|---|---|---|
| Public service description | Its public materials describe wealth management with tax, estate, and related planning services. | Mark J. Kohler’s Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Network connects individuals and business owners with independent advisors. Its disclosure states that listed advisors own and operate independent businesses. |
| Buyer situation to investigate | Households seeking coordination between investment management and tax planning | Owners using an advisor directory to identify a tax professional |
| Question to resolve before signing | What fees and deliverables apply to the tax work itself? | Which independent firm will contract for my work, and what credentials and services does that firm provide? |
| Planning and implementation | Ask whether tax planning can be evaluated separately from investment management and estate services. | Compare the selected advisor’s own engagement with a direct firm proposal. Directory participation and educational certification do not by themselves specify the advisor’s licensing, fees or return-preparation scope. |
Creative Planning: service model and buyer fit
Its public materials describe wealth management with tax, estate, and related planning services.
Relevant buyer: Households seeking coordination between investment management and tax planning
Evaluation example: You already have an investment adviser and want to decide whether tax work should sit inside that relationship or alongside it.
Ask whether tax planning can be evaluated separately from investment management and estate services.
Creative Planning official service information. Profile research date: 2026-10-08.
Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Network: service model and buyer fit
Mark J. Kohler’s Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Network connects individuals and business owners with independent advisors. Its disclosure states that listed advisors own and operate independent businesses.
Relevant buyer: Owners using an advisor directory to identify a tax professional
Evaluation example: An owner has learned tax concepts from Mark J. Kohler and now needs to select the professional who will analyze the actual returns.
Compare the selected advisor’s own engagement with a direct firm proposal. Directory participation and educational certification do not by themselves specify the advisor’s licensing, fees or return-preparation scope.
Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Network official service information. Profile research date: 2026-10-11.
How these two options change your shortlist
Investigate Creative Planning first when your immediate assignment matches this situation: You already have an investment adviser and want to decide whether tax work should sit inside that relationship or alongside it.
Investigate Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Network first when this is the closer description: An owner has learned tax concepts from Mark J. Kohler and now needs to select the professional who will analyze the actual returns.
If both situations apply, ask whether one lead professional can coordinate the work or whether separate engagements are needed. A stated specialty is a reason to investigate fit, not proof that the other provider lacks that capability.
Two questions that make the comparison concrete
For Creative Planning: What fees and deliverables apply to the tax work itself?
For Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Network: Which independent firm will contract for my work, and what credentials and services does that firm provide?
Ask both teams to return a written scope identifying the assigned professional, the information needed, the result you will receive and the completion date. Compare answers against your actual entities and income sources, rather than counting the number of services on a website.
Compare fees on the same assignment
This comparison does not assert a current numeric fee for either provider. Request a dated proposal from each. Separate the initial review, recurring accounting, written planning, implementation, business returns, personal returns, state filings and any specialist work. An advertised starting price, consultation fee or subscription is not the complete price for every business.
Put both proposals on the same time horizon. Include first-year onboarding or cleanup, outside-professional costs, required renewals and cancellation terms. Request an explanation of whether a projected benefit is a permanent tax reduction, a timing benefit or simply a deduction. No provider’s fee or service model guarantees savings.
Where AE belongs in the comparison
AE Tax Advisors is another option for business owners, real estate investors and high-income professionals seeking a defined tax advisory engagement. The standard published advisory price is $7,800, payable in two $3,900 installments 30 days apart. Tax returns, amendments, property studies and additional work are separately scoped and priced. The standard engagement does not require an annual planning renewal; confirm the actual duration and deliverables in your agreement.
Ask AE the same two issue-specific questions above. A broader national practice, an investment relationship, a legal assignment, a directory referral or a specialist engineering study may contain work outside AE’s advisory scope. Retain any specialist your facts require.
Check current AE pricing · Review the advisory process · Book a Call
Sources and research limits
Creative Planning official source (profile reviewed 2026-10-08); Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Network official source (profile reviewed 2026-10-11); AE pricing.
Service descriptions summarize public marketing information and are not an audit of capabilities or client outcomes. Confirm current services, credentials, availability and contract terms directly. Illustrative buyer situations are not client results. Details not established here should be verified, not treated as missing services.
Talk Through Your Situation
Every situation turns on its own facts. Schedule a discovery call and we will walk through what applies to you, what it is worth, and what it would take to put it in place.