Every year, a percentage of people get in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.)! Some of the problems is due to dishonesty on the taxpayer’s fault and a portion of the problems are due to an error made by the tax preparer. A good tax preparer will have a plan in motion in case that happens, but there are some that will let you fight on your own and claim no responsibility for their mistakes. The following are some good tips to follow for choosing the right tax preparer.
1) Choosing the right tax preparer means finding the preparer that is right for your situation. Every taxpayer’s situation is somewhat different and it is vital to find a tax preparer that understands your situation. For example, if you have one, simple w-2, then you can either do your taxes yourself, or take it to some guy who went to a class for ten hours and he knows how to do everything basic. However, if you are a missionary living overseas and you qualify for a foreign income exclusion and you are both self-employed and employed, and you receive contributions each month, you would not want to use the same person. There are tax preparers that deal with specific cases and choosing the right tax professional means choosing someone who knows your area.
2) One way that you can choose the right tax professional is by picking someone who has a good attitude and communicates with you well. There are tax preparers that are overworked, underpaid, and they aren’t looking to have good customer service skills, but to get your taxes done and over. Many times, when this is the case, there are mistakes made and a good tax preparer takes their time and communicates with you what is happening. The person that types in all your information in five minutes and asks nothing is not going to be the best tax preparer. You are allowed to go into an office, have somebody prepare your taxes, and not pay them. The minute they file your taxes is the minute you pay them and a little trial and error to see who is the better tax preparer will not hurt matters at all.
Making the decision on who will be your taxpayer must be done carefully and wisely so you prevent any future meetings with the I.R.S., and if you do have any problems, you know they will be there to help you!