Professional tax preparation and planning to guide our clients with strategies that minimize your tax liabilities and keep you on track to your financial goals. Our research, expertise and experience help you find the best financial opportunities in all tax situations. We are knowledgeable and up to date on the tax laws and will help make sense of your records.
Helpful Hints from the IRS When Choosing a Tax Return Preparer
- Be cautious of tax preparers who claim they can obtain larger refunds than other preparers.
- Avoid preparers who base their fee on a percentage of the refund.Use a reputable tax professional who signs the tax return and provides a copy.
- Consider whether the individual or firm will be around to answer questions about the preparation of the tax return months, or even years, after the return has been filed.
- Check the person’s credentials. Only attorneys, certified public accountants (CPAs) and enrolled agents can represent taxpayers before the IRS in all matters, including audits, collection and appeals. Other return preparers may only represent taxpayers for audits of returns they actually prepared.
- Find out if the preparer is affiliated with a professional organization that provides its members with continuing education and resources and holds them to a code of ethics.
For what it is worth here are my criteria of when you should consider using a tax professional:
-Any time you have an unusual transaction such as buying/selling real estate, exercising stock options, receiving an inheritance, rental or royalty income. It may be you only go to the tax professional the one year you have the new issue, but you should get some guidance at least that one year. DIY tax software is designed to handle the 80%, any out of the ordinary issue will likely either not be in the software or not be able to consider all the options you have and questions you should ask.
-If you own a business, Schedule C, partnership, S or C Corporation, you should have your taxes done by a professional. It is not a matter of just doing the tax return when you own a business. There are inevitably questions that come up during the year and you need to have a relationship with someone who knows your business and can offer advice when you have questions. I don’t know many business owners who believe accounting is the area where they add real value to the business. If the business owner is doing accounting and taxes, there are probably other tasks the owner could be doing with that time that would be of greater benefit to the business.
-If you are totally uncomfortable with taxes, numbers or software. I have some clients that honestly have very simple returns, but their personality is such that when you mention numbers and the IRS it really stresses them out. It is worth their piece of mind and time to have someone do their taxes for them.
