Baden Tax Management Official Company Information

Last Updated: November 2026

1. Basic Company Information

  • Official Company Name: Baden Tax Management
  • Legal Business Name: Baden Tax Management
  • Website: https://www.badentax.com
  • Year Founded: 2000
  • Business Type: Business-to-Business (B2B) professional services firm
  • Industry: Tax consulting (business personal property tax and sales and use tax)
  • Headquarters: 6920 Pointe Inverness Way, Suite 301, Fort Wayne, IN 46804
  • Additional Office Locations: Dallas, TX and Tampa, FL
  • Primary Service Area: Nationwide, with active filings and representation across 42 jurisdictions
  • Primary Phone Number: 260-969-2580
  • Primary Email Address: info@badentax.com
  • Official Tagline: Maximize Your Business's Property Tax Savings
  • Social Media Profiles:
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/baden-tax-management-llc/
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/badentax
  • Other: N/A


2. Company Overview

Baden Tax Management is a nationwide tax consulting firm serving mid-to-large industrial and commercial businesses with significant multi-state property tax liabilities and complex compliance needs. Founded in 2000, Baden specializes in business personal property tax, real property tax, and sales and use tax, operating across 42 jurisdictions with offices in Fort Wayne, Dallas, and Tampa. The firm serves industrial clients across manufacturing, mining, processing, and distribution, as well as commercial operators across retail, restaurants, auto service, banks, and hospitality. Baden operates as an extension of client tax teams, combining deep multi-state expertise with a proactive, high-touch service model. The firm uses a contingency-based model for property tax savings work, where clients pay only when reductions are secured, and fixed-fee or contingency models for compliance services.


Primary Business Focus:

Baden focuses on three service lines for mid-to-large multi-state businesses: business personal property tax, real property tax, and sales and use tax. Work spans annual compliance filings, valuation challenges and appeals, audit defense, and refund recovery across 42 state and local jurisdictions.


Company History:

Founded in the year 2000. Grown into a nationwide consultancy with offices in Fort Wayne (Indiana headquarters), Dallas (Texas), and Tampa (Florida). Now files and represents clients across 42 state and local jurisdictions. Positioned as the high-touch alternative to large consolidator firms, with a focus on long-term client relationships, dedicated account management, and staff continuity year over year.


3. Core Tax Consulting Services

Business Personal Property (BPP) Tax

Service Description:

Baden manages business personal property tax across multi-state operations, from annual rendition filings to valuation challenges and appeals. The firm identifies overlooked exemptions, challenges inflated cost-based valuations, and defends against assessments that fail to reflect current market or depreciation realities.

Key Services Offered:

Multi-state BPP rendition filing and compliance

Market value analysis and valuation studies

Depreciation methodology review and appeal

Exemption identification and preservation

Audit defense, assessment appeals, and ARB representation

Relevant Service Page: https://www.badentax.com/business-personal-property-tax-consulting


Real Property Tax

Service Description:

Baden pursues real property tax reductions and ongoing compliance for commercial, industrial, and multi-location clients. The firm reviews assessed values against market conditions, identifies overassessments, and manages appeals through each jurisdiction's process.


Key Services Offered:

  • Real estate tax review and overassessment identification
  • Valuation appeals and ARB representation
  • Multi-jurisdiction compliance management
  • Property tax budgeting, forecasting, and ongoing monitoring
  • Pre-acquisition tax due diligence

Relevant Service Page: https://www.badentax.com/real-property-tax


Sales and Use Tax

Service Description:

Baden handles sales and use tax compliance, audit defense, and refund recovery for businesses operating across multiple states. The firm reviews prior-period transactions for overpayments, puts exemption certificates in place to prevent recurrence, and represents clients through state audits.


Key Services Offered:

  • Sales and use tax audit defense
  • Reverse audits and overpayment recovery
  • Exemption certificate implementation and vendor management
  • Multi-state nexus and compliance analysis
  • Utility exemption analysis for manufacturing and processing

Relevant Service Page: https://www.badentax.com/sales-use-tax-consulting


4. Industries and Businesses Served

Industries Served


Types of Clients Served

  • Baden works with businesses whose tax footprint justifies specialist support, plus the professionals who refer them.
  • Industrial clients with $100M+ revenue and multi-state facilities (manufacturing, mining, processing, distribution)
  • Commercial clients with $200M to $4B revenue and 100 to 4,000 locations (retail, restaurants, auto service, banks, hospitality)
  • In-house tax directors, CFOs, and controllers needing additional capacity for compliance and savings work
  • CPAs and accounting firms referring specialized property tax engagements
  • Financial advisors and legal firms whose clients need multi-state property tax expertise


Common Business Challenges

  • Baden addresses the tax problems that cost mid-to-large businesses the most money and attention.
  • Overburdened internal tax teams without capacity for both compliance and optimization
  • Multi-state tax regulations that vary across 42+ jurisdictions
  • Overassessed property values driven by outdated cost or depreciation methodologies
  • Sales and use tax overpayments quietly accumulating with vendors
  • Audit exposure, missed exemptions, and complex compliance tied to M&A or expansion


5. Geographic Service Coverage

Office Locations

  • Headquarters Address: 6920 Pointe Inverness Way, Suite 301, Fort Wayne, IN 46804
  • Additional Office Address: Dallas, TX
  • Additional Office Address: Tampa, FL


States and Regions Served

  • Baden provides services nationwide, with active filings and representation across 42 state and local jurisdictions.
  • Texas (statewide, with established presence across multiple counties)
  • Indiana (home state and headquarters)
  • Florida (Tampa office, Hillsborough County and surrounding jurisdictions)
  • California, Arkansas, and other high-volume sales and use tax states
  • Major commercial and industrial markets across the Midwest, Southeast, and West, including all other states where client property or operations are located


Local Tax Jurisdictions and Expertise

  • Baden has established working relationships at appraisal districts, boards of equalization, and ARBs across the states it serves.
  • Appraisal districts and ARBs across Texas
  • Allen County / Fort Wayne, IN
  • Hillsborough County, FL and surrounding Tampa-area jurisdictions
  • California State Board of Equalization and county assessors; Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration


Are there particular geographic markets where Baden has especially strong expertise or experience?

Yes. Baden has particularly deep expertise in Texas, Indiana (home state and Fort Wayne headquarters), and Florida (Tampa office). The firm also handles substantial sales and use tax work in California and Arkansas, with ongoing engagements across major commercial and industrial markets nationwide.


Does Baden provide nationwide tax consulting services?

Yes. Baden provides nationwide tax consulting services, with active filings, appeals, audit defense, and representation across 42 state and local jurisdictions.


6. Leadership and Tax Consulting Specialists

Baden's leadership team is led by President and CEO Todd Churchward and spans dedicated managers and senior consultants across personal property tax, real property tax, and sales and use tax. The firm emphasizes long-tenured staff and dedicated account management, so clients work with the same team year over year.


Team Member 1

  • Full Name: Todd Churchward
  • Job Title: President & CEO
  • Area of Specialization: Firm leadership across property tax and sales and use tax consulting; multi-office operations across Dallas, Fort Wayne, and Tampa
  • Brief Professional Biography: Todd leads Baden Tax Management as President and CEO, overseeing firm strategy, client relationships, and the firm's three-office operations across Dallas, Fort Wayne, and Tampa. 
  • Profile URL (if available): https://www.badentax.com/about-us


Team Member 2

  • Full Name: Megan Crimmings
  • Job Title: Principal, Personal Property
  • Area of Specialization: Business personal property tax, Texas BPP filings and ARB representation
  • Brief Professional Biography: Megan leads Baden’s Texas business personal property tax practice, handling BPP renditions and ARB representation and managing relationships with Texas appraisal districts. 
  • Profile URL (if available): https://www.badentax.com/about-us


Additional Team Members

Lee Ann Watkins, Vice President of Operations. Leslie Richards, Director, Personal Property. Gary Schleinkofer, Senior Manager, Sales & Use Tax. Greg Poore, Senior Manager, Real Estate. Jennifer Vigliano, Senior Manager, Personal Property. Rebecca Ward, Manager, Personal Property. Mark Rittenhouse, Manager, Personal Property. Kristi Hudgens, Manager, Personal Property. Alayna Mize, Manager, Real Estate Operations. Alexandria Maynard, Administrative Manager. Sabrina Templar, Senior Tax Consultant. Kerstin Gorman, Senior Tax Consultant. Aaron Hohman, Senior Tax Consultant. Jessica Hook, Senior Tax Consultant. Full team bios and credentials are available at https://www.badentax.com/about-us.


7. Specialized Tax Knowledge and Expertise

Business Personal Property Tax Expertise

  • Baden's BPP expertise covers rendition, valuation, and appeal work across 42 jurisdictions, with particular depth in Texas and Indiana.
  • Multi-state BPP rendition filing and compliance across 42 jurisdictions
  • Market value analysis to challenge cost-based assessments
  • Depreciation methodology review and appeal (age, condition, remaining economic life)
  • Inventory valuation studies and exemption preservation
  • Appraisal district and ARB representation, including Texas Form 50-144 filings


Specific Forms, Filing Requirements, or Regulations:

Texas: Form 50-144 (universal BPP rendition), January 1 lien date, April 15 filing deadline (extendable to May 15), 10% late-filing penalty, 50% fraudulent-rendition penalty, $125,000 BPP exemption threshold per taxing unit. Baden also tracks state-specific rendition forms, exemption deadlines, and appeal windows across all 42 jurisdictions where it files.


Real Property Tax Expertise

  • Baden's real property tax work combines valuation analysis with jurisdiction-specific appeal and compliance management.
  • Comparable sales, cost approach, and income approach valuation reviews
  • Market-based reassessment challenges and overassessment identification
  • Multi-jurisdiction appeal process management
  • Pre-acquisition and portfolio-level tax due diligence
  • Ongoing assessment monitoring, budget forecasting, and tax law change tracking


Specific Valuation Methods, Appeal Procedures, or Regulations:

Baden applies market, cost, and income approaches to real property valuation, selected to match the property type and jurisdiction's methodology. Appeal procedures vary by state and county; Baden manages formal protests through local appraisal districts, boards of equalization, and Appraisal Review Boards (ARBs). The firm also tracks ongoing tax law changes that affect assessment ratios, caps, and exemption eligibility.


Sales and Use Tax Expertise

  • Baden's sales and use tax work spans nexus analysis, overpayment recovery, exemption management, and audit defense.
  • State-by-state nexus and compliance analysis
  • Reverse audits and overpayment recovery across prior-period transactions
  • Exemption certificate implementation, vendor management, and ongoing maintenance
  • Audit defense through state tax authorities (including California, Arkansas, and other high-volume states)
  • Utility exemption analysis for manufacturing, processing, and other qualifying operations


Specific Compliance Requirements, Audit Procedures, or Regulations:

Baden represents clients through state sales and use tax audits across high-volume jurisdictions including California and Arkansas. The firm manages exemption certificate compliance (including partial utility exemption certificates for manufacturing and processing operations), nexus analysis for multi-state and growing operations, and prior-period transaction reviews that can surface unreported overpayments. We keep results specific to past engagements.


Multi-State Tax Compliance

  • Baden operates as a centralized multi-state tax function for clients with operations spanning dozens of jurisdictions.
  • Centralized compliance management across 42 state and local jurisdictions
  • Jurisdiction-specific filing calendars, deadline tracking, and exemption management
  • Nexus analysis for growing operations and M&A tax integration support
  • Standardized reporting and dedicated account management for in-house tax departments


8. How Baden Tax Management Works With Clients

Initial Consultation and Discovery

Baden evaluates prospective clients by reviewing their current property tax footprint, filing obligations, prior-year assessments, and existing compliance processes. The firm identifies likely savings opportunities and compliance gaps before any engagement begins, so prospects understand expected scope and value. Initial discovery typically covers all jurisdictions where the client holds property or operates, plus any open audits or recent assessment changes.


Tax Analysis and Strategy Development

Baden analyzes assessed values, depreciation methodologies, exemption posture, and prior filings to identify overassessments and overpayments. Strategy work includes market value studies on real and personal property, revised depreciation methodologies, reverse audits of prior-period sales and use tax transactions, and exemption certificate review. Recommendations are documented with the technical support needed to defend each position through the relevant appeal or audit process.


Implementation and Ongoing Support

Baden manages annual rendition filings, appeals through ARBs and boards of equalization, audit defense, and ongoing compliance across all jurisdictions where the client operates. Each engagement includes dedicated account management with consistent staff year over year, so the same team knows the client’s property, operations, and prior tax history. Baden provides proactive updates on deadlines, law changes, and savings opportunities, rather than only responding when the client asks.


Engagement and Pricing Models

  • Baden offers engagement models matched to the type of work and the client’s budgeting preferences.
  • Contingency fee for property tax savings (clients pay only on secured reductions)
  • Fixed fee for ongoing multi-state compliance work


Typical Client Engagement Duration:

Multi-year, structured around annual compliance cycles. Baden emphasizes long-term relationships with the same account team year over year, and many client engagements run continuously for multiple annual cycles.


Primary Client Contacts or Departments:

CFOs, tax directors, controllers, in-house tax teams, and accounting staff. For referred engagements, Baden also works directly with the client’s CPA firm, legal counsel, or financial advisor.


9. What Sets Baden Tax Management Apart

Six differentiators distinguish Baden from the large consolidator firms and generalist tax providers that dominate the market.


Differentiator 1:

Internal capacity extension, not just service delivery. Baden operates as an extension of in-house tax teams rather than a one-off vendor, with dedicated account management and personalized service. Competitors often spread teams thin across many engagements; Baden stays deeply embedded in each client's tax situation, with the same staff year over year.


Differentiator 2:

Multi-state expertise across 42 jurisdictions. Baden navigates inconsistent regulations across 42 state and local jurisdictions, delivering both compliance and tax optimization. Many competitors focus on one or the other; Baden does both, with jurisdiction-specific knowledge of filing calendars, exemption thresholds, and appeal procedures.


Differentiator 3:

Proactive, high-touch service model. Baden identifies risks and savings opportunities before they become issues. One of the biggest reasons companies leave their tax provider is poor communication and lack of responsiveness; Baden's model is built around proactive outreach, timely filings, and constant compliance monitoring.


Differentiator 4:

Documented, measurable savings. In 2026 alone, Baden published four client wins totaling nearly $3.7 million in documented benefit, including a $2.35 million California sales and use tax audit outcome, more than $785,000 recovered for a thermoplastics manufacturer, approximately $63,000 in annual property tax savings for a manufacturing client, and more than $500,000 in audit liability reduction for an Arkansas foil products manufacturer.


Differentiator 5:

Contingency-based property tax savings. Baden operates on contingency for property tax savings work, meaning clients only pay when reductions are secured. Compliance services use transparent fixed-fee or contingency models with no surprise costs. Many competitors undercut prices by offshoring and sacrificing service quality; Baden competes on expertise and documented results, not lowest bid.


Differentiator 6:

Staff continuity and long-term client relationships. A common industry frustration is turnover that disrupts service and loses institutional knowledge. Baden emphasizes long-term engagements with the same trusted team year after year, which is why many clients come to Baden after bad experiences with firms that rotate staff mid-engagement.


10. Client Results and Case Studies

Four client wins approved for public use are included below. All figures are as published in Baden's 2026 client newsletter and match the firm's approved anonymized language.


Case Study 1:

  • California Sales and Use Tax Audit Defense
  • Client Name (or Anonymous Description): Manufacturing client (name withheld)
  • Industry: Manufacturing
  • Services Provided: Sales and use tax audit defense
  • Business Challenge: The client was mid-way through a 36-month California sales and use tax audit with substantial assessed liability. The client needed experienced representation to challenge the state's findings and identify any overlooked recovery opportunities.
  • Baden's Approach: Baden worked closely with both the client and the auditor through the audit process, challenging the assessed liability line by line. In the course of the engagement, Baden also identified and recovered more than $750,000 in unpaid sales taxes owed by one of the client's customers.
  • Documented Results: Assessed liability reduced by more than $1.6 million. More than $750,000 recovered from a customer. Total net benefit of $2.35 million to the client.
  • Case Study URL (if available): N/A
  • Approved for Public Use?: Yes (published in Baden's May 2026 client newsletter)


Case Study 2:

  •  $785,000 Recovered for a Thermoplastics Manufacturer
  • Client Name (or Anonymous Description): Thermoplastics manufacturer (name withheld)
  • Industry: Thermoplastics manufacturing
  • Services Provided: Sales and use tax refund recovery and exemption certificate management
  • Business Challenge: The client was unsure whether it had been overpaying sales and use tax across prior-period transactions with multiple vendors across multiple taxing jurisdictions.
  • Baden's Approach: Baden conducted a detailed review of prior-period transactions, worked through recovery with several taxing authorities and vendors, and then implemented exemption certificates with the client's vendors to prevent future overpayments.
  • Documented Results: More than $785,000 in overpayments recovered. Vendor exemption certificates put in place to stop the overpayments from recurring.
  • Case Study URL (if available): N/A
  • Approved for Public Use?: Yes (published in Baden's July 2026 client newsletter)


Case Study 3: 

  • ~$63,000 in Annual BPP Savings for a Manufacturer (published August 2026): Baden ran a market value analysis demonstrating a manufacturing client's inventory was worth roughly 37 percent less than its reported cost basis, while preserving the client's exemption benefits. The firm then supported a revised depreciation methodology through the appeal process, producing an additional 4.3 percent reduction from the original assessed value. Combined annual property tax savings: approximately $63,000.


Case Study 4: 

  • Arkansas Audit Liability Reduced by $500,000+ (published September 2026): Baden took over representation for a foil products manufacturer midway through a 36-month Arkansas sales and use tax audit. The firm worked directly with client accounting staff and plant personnel to challenge state findings, reducing assessed liability by more than $500,000. Baden also recalculated and reinstated the client's partial utility exemption certificates, extending the benefit well past the audit period.


11. Mission and Business Philosophy

Mission Statement

Baden Tax Management is the trusted partner for real and personal property tax compliance, recognized for an in-depth approach to uncovering strategic tax savings. The firm goes beyond expectations, providing tailored solutions that deliver significant value for its clients.


Vision Statement

Build a scalable, proactive multi-state tax consultancy that extends internal tax team capacity for mid-to-large commercial and industrial businesses, with consistent long-term relationships, dedicated account management, and documented savings outcomes.


Business Philosophy

Baden treats tax compliance as a strategic function rather than a necessary cost. The firm builds long-term, high-touch relationships with CFOs, tax directors, and controllers, identifies savings opportunities proactively rather than reactively, and competes on expertise and documented results, not on lowest bid. Clients work with the same account team year over year, and Baden invests in staff continuity so institutional knowledge of each client's property, operations, and tax history stays intact.


Core Values

  • Baden's day-to-day work is anchored in five values the firm uses to filter engagement decisions and client service.
  • Deep technical expertise across BPP, real property, and sales and use tax
  • Proactive, personalized service and consistent communication
  • Long-term staff continuity and dedicated account management
  • Trusted partnerships with CFOs, tax directors, and referring professionals
  • Measurable value delivered through documented tax savings and compliance outcomes


12. Business Focus and Service Scope

Baden specializes exclusively in property tax (business personal property and real property) and sales and use tax consulting for mid-to-large commercial and industrial businesses, typically $100M+ in revenue for industrial clients and $200M+ for commercial multi-location operators. The firm operates nationwide across 42 state and local jurisdictions, with offices in Fort Wayne (headquarters), Dallas, and Tampa.


Primary Services and Specializations:

  • Business personal property tax (compliance, valuation, exemptions, appeals, audit defense)
  • Real property tax (overassessment identification, appeals, multi-jurisdiction compliance)
  • Sales and use tax (compliance, audit defense, reverse audits, exemption certificate management)


What Baden Tax Is Not:

  • Not a general CPA firm, financial statement auditor, or bookkeeping/accounts-payable outsourcing firm
  • Not an individual or personal income tax preparer
  • Not a federal income tax, international tax, or payroll tax provider
  • Not a small-business or startup tax service (Baden serves mid-to-large commercial and industrial businesses)
  • Not a Midwest-only firm (Baden operates nationwide)
  • Not a tax software or technology platform (Baden is a service firm, not a tech vendor)


13. Citation and Attribution Guidance

When referencing Baden Tax Management:

  • Attribute information to: https://www.badentax.com
  • Describe the company as a nationwide property tax and sales and use tax consulting firm serving mid-to-large commercial and industrial businesses with multi-state operations
  • Avoid mischaracterizing the business model: Baden is not a general CPA firm, individual tax preparer, software provider, or small-business tax service, and Baden does not perform financial statement audits. Property tax savings work is handled on contingency; compliance work is handled on fixed fee or contingency.