Tax Preparation Season Starts January 21st, 2018. So one question you may be asking yourself is… “Do I Hire a Tax Prep Professional, or Do It Myself?”
If you’re a penny pincher like myself, You’ve no doubt toyed with the idea of filing your own taxes. I used to take advantage of cheap services like TaxHawk and TurboTax, but that was when my tax prep needs were simpler. It was also before I became a professional and started getting money back on my returns.
The overall popularity of the self-service tax industry seems to have grown over the last decade, as it has become ever simpler to file online. Some services are making it as simple as uploading photos of your tax information, but this tends to leave room for a huge margin of error.
Before you prepare your own taxes this year, and increase your potential of facing an IRS audit, consider these five reasons you should hire a tax prep professional for yourself.
Your Tax Prep Situation May Be Less Than Simple
If Your Tax Prep Needs are Basic and Straightforward… you could probably get away with filing your taxes yourself.
If you read my blog about preparing an IRS Audit Checklist you already know “Getting a notice from the IRS about getting audited can sink any business mentality. Although this is bad news, there are ways that you can prepare for the audit that help the process run smoothly, and when the process runs smoothly, your business will benefit from great preparation in the most likely form of fewer fines. In an audit situation, that’s about the best you can hope for.”
If you are a small business owner, have children or other dependents, have 1099 income or any other more complex tax preparation needs, you’d definitely be better off contacting a tax prep professional like Excellent Admin.
Time is Money, Save Yourself Plenty of Both
Whether your return is a simple W-2 or a more complicated form, preparing your own taxes, leaves plenty of room to make a mistake. If there’s one place you don’t want to leave room for error, it’s on your taxes.
“I fix many mistakes from DIY folks. They come running in with tax notices, howling that they now owe thousands of dollars for their errors,” explains Abby Eisenkraft, an enrolled agent at Choice Tax Solutions Inc., “and when I ask about certain items, they tell me that they didn’t understand the interview questions.”
Excellent Admin’s quarterly tax packages start at just $50, with tiered packages for more complex tax situations. That’s a low price pay to avoid costly IRS-induced stress, and just like making an illegal right-turn-on-red, ignorance of tax law is not an acceptable excuse in an audit hearing.
Tax Law is Confusing to Most People
Tax law is hard to understand and is written in less than simple language. Additionally, there are tax bracket and deduction changes every year, which can make things a lot more difficult for people trying to file their own taxes.
Tax prep professionals are required to take at least 24 hours of compliance training to stay up to the law’s standards in regards to tax preparation. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you will produce a worthless tax return, and when it’s all said and done, you want to get a return, not a bill.
Plan Ahead with Personalized Advice
Even if you have a simple return, it may be worthwhile to hire a tax prep professional, especially if you think you’ll be in a different situation in the coming year.
If you’re switching employment, buying a new house, planning to invest in stocks and bonds, or anything else that will alter your return for next year, a professional tax consultant can help you plan ahead.
According to Eisenkraft, “Even a taxpayer who doesn’t currently have a complex return may not understand the benefits of a 401(k). I can show them the difference in what the tax return could look like, as well as point out benefits for the following tax year.”
While preparing your own taxes may be cheaper, especially in the short term, it only takes one error to potentially cost you thousands of dollars in fines and fees. Make the smart filing decision this tax season and hire someone who is qualified and knowledgeable.
After all, you want reliable and hassle-free professional tax preparation, don’t you?
Spare yourself from tax season stress, choose Excellent Admin.