Guntersville, Alabama

Guntersville tax returns, from lake houses to the county courthouse

Our office in Arab is about 15 miles, or roughly 23 minutes, from Guntersville. Call ahead and we will set a time, so we can sit down with you and give your return our full attention.

Call 256-586-4635 Contact us

We have one office, in Arab. We do not have an office in Guntersville.

A county seat on a peninsula

Guntersville, the Marshall County seat, sits on a peninsula in Lake Guntersville. TVA’s Guntersville Dam began holding water in 1939, and TVA puts the reservoir at about 67,900 acres, stretching 76 miles with close to 890 miles of shoreline. Many of the tax questions we hear from Guntersville clients trace back to that water, from lake houses rented out some weekends to businesses that follow the seasons.^[1,2,3]

The lake shapes a lot of local life: Lake Guntersville State Park covers about 6,000 acres with a lodge on Taylor Mountain, and education, health care and manufacturing are the largest sources of jobs in town. So we see both sides of the local economy: steady W-2 paychecks from schools, health care and plants, and self-employment income from people who work on the lake.^[4,2]

Guntersville Dam on the Tennessee River — Guntersville Dam and Lake Guntersville

Worth knowing

8,553 residents at the 2020 Census.^[1]
US-431 and AL-69 both run through town, and AL-69 continues on to Arab.^[2]
The city issues business licenses on a calendar-year basis.^[5]

What Guntersville clients ask

This is general information, not advice for your return. Every return is different, so please call us to talk about yours.

We rent our lake house some weekends. What does that do to our taxes?

Rental income has to be reported, and the expenses that go with it (cleaning, repairs, a share of insurance and utilities) may offset part of it. The rules change depending on how many days you rent it and how many days you use it yourself. Keep a simple calendar of both and bring it along with your records.

Tax planning

I guide fishing trips on the side. Is that a business?

If you do it regularly to make money, the IRS generally treats it as a business: the income goes on your return, you may owe self-employment tax, and the costs of the trips can count against it. Good records make that conversation much easier.

Bookkeeping for small businesses

I retired from the state. Is my pension taxed in Alabama?

Pensions from the Employees’ Retirement System and the Teachers’ Retirement System are exempt from Alabama income tax, and so is Social Security.^[6]

How we help around the lake

Rental and second-home owners Rental income and expenses, and the records you will want when you sell. We help you keep track of both from year to year, so the history is there when you need it. Marinas, guides and tourism businesses Bookkeeping, payroll and quarterly estimates for businesses that are busy in season. We help you plan for the uneven months, when income comes in quickly and then slows down. County and school employees Withholding checks and retirement questions. We review your pay stubs and talk through how your retirement plan fits on your return.

Guntersville is a short drive away

Call 256-586-4635 and we will set a time at our Arab office, a straight drive down AL-69.

Call 256-586-4635 Other towns we serve

Sources

Local details on this page come from these public sources, checked in September 2026.