William Timlen, CPA, has over three decades of experience across tax, accounting, and management. He concentrates on partnership taxation and passive activity loss rules, with a focus on profit and loss allocations and distributions. He advises borrowers on the tax consequences of debt restructurings and distressed real estate situations, including foreclosures, deeds-in-lieu, and bankruptcy. He also works closely with real estate owners and developers on strategic tax planning. He provides advisory services to high-net-worth individuals and families, including support during complex federal and state tax examinations.
William joined a New York-based firm in 2016 as a Tax Partner in the Real Estate Group. The firm is known as a top 15 international tax advisory organization. Over the past 10 years with the firm, he has generated more than $2 million in new business, including $1 million in 2018. His work includes serving clients among the largest participants in the New York City real estate market. He also increased the capacity and technical strength of the NYC Real Estate Group by recruiting experienced professionals across both tax and audit practices.
As part of the Real Estate Group Leadership Committee, he helps shape the direction of the Real Estate Practice. His role includes contributing to thought leadership, supporting business development, guiding educational initiatives, and strengthening branding.He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Timlen began his career in 1993 as a Staff Accountant at a CPA firm in Princeton, New Jersey. During his four years there, he prepared tax workpapers and completed federal and state partnership, individual, corporate, and trust tax returns. He also prepared, compiled, and reviewed financial statements, researched tax issues, and assisted managers with client-related tax correspondence.
In 1998, he joined a global firm as a Supervising Senior. In that role, he prepared detailed audit workpapers for international Fortune 100 companies operating in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. This experience strengthened his understanding of audit practices and large-scale financial reporting.
William later established his own accounting firm in Princeton, New Jersey. His firm focused on tax consulting for high-net-worth individuals, real estate partnerships, and corporations. Within the first three years, he built a business generating more than $600K annually. He developed long-term client relationships, designed structured tax-planning strategies, applied management advisory recommendations, and conducted detailed tax research to support client planning.
After 10 years of running his own firm, he accepted a Tax Manager position at a firm in New York. In this role, he reviewed complex partnership, corporate, trust, and individual tax returns. He advised clients in the real estate sector on like-kind exchanges, helping them defer millions in taxes. He also conducted tax research to support compliance and planning and represented clients during tax examinations before the IRS and state taxing authorities.
William Timlen then moved to another firm as a Tax Principal in the Real Estate Group, where he worked for seven years before joining his current organization. In this position, he provided tax and consulting services to a broad client base, including large multinational real estate and development companies, professional service firms, and high-net-worth individuals.
He served as the lead tax contact for one of the firm’s largest and most profitable accounts. He maintained and developed the client relationship, led tax engagements, handled billing and collections, and managed teams of tax managers and senior staff. He also focused on business development by identifying cross-selling opportunities within the firm’s existing client base and building new relationships through professional networking.
He was also part of a management group responsible for identifying opportunities to improve the NYC Tax Department's efficiency, effectiveness, profitability, and morale, and for offering practical, actionable recommendations.
Timlen attended a college in Rhode Island, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. While there, he played Division 1 baseball as a pitcher for four years.
He attended a high school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where he was recognized as an All-State Baseball Player for two years.
He was born and raised in New Jersey and now lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his family. William is married and has two sons who are currently in college. One son is a senior at a university in Connecticut, and the other is a junior at a university in Miami. He follows college sports closely, especially basketball and football, from his alma mater.
He is also an active golfer and a member of a country club in Greenwich. He enjoys traveling across the United States and internationally.
He will be celebrating his 55th birthday this May. William Timlen continues to maintain a steady balance between his professional responsibilities and personal life.
Portfolio 1: william-timlen.com
Portfolio 2: williamtimlenct.com