When Is The Right Time To Hire A Tax Preparer?
A question that comes up year after year is, “Do I need to hire someone to do my taxes for me?” Everyone’s tax situation is different but, it is generally safe to say that if you have only one job and no large deductions or investments, you should have no problem filing your taxes on your own. There are times, though, when taxes become more complicated. Perhaps you travel extensively for work, you are self-employed, or you have accrued a high number of medical bills. These situations may warrant hiring a professional to prepare your taxes
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The use of a tax professional is highly recommended when you experience major change. Death of a family member, birth of a child, divorce, marriage, children away at college or any changes in any business ventures you may be involved with all warrant tax advice. Let’s take a close look at why you should hire someone else to do your taxes.
Should You Hire Someone Else to Prepare Your Taxes?
If all you have is a 1040, with a minimal number of Schedules, it might not make sense to hire someone else to prepare your taxes. After all, it’s a fairly simple process, and there isn’t a lot to it. However, as your taxes becoming increasingly complex, it makes sense to have someone else prepare them. This is especially true if you are a business owner. An accountant or other tax professional can help you fill out both tax returns, and can do it in a way that coordinates both returns as they are filled in. An accountant can make sure that all the information matches between the business and individual tax returns.
Other Reasons to Hire a Tax Professional
- It saves you time: Preparing your own taxes, especially if you have a business return as well, can be a time-consuming proposition. The year before I began seeing the accountant it took more than four hours to complete my tax return. It was frustrating. Now, because I organize my documents throughout the year, it only takes me about half an hour to double check that I have everything, and then it’s only an hour to take my documents in, and have the accountant prepare everything. That’s two and a half extra hours to do what I want — or make more money.
- You could miss something: No matter how informed I think I am, my accountant is always better informed. After all, it’s his job to be. He always comes up with something that I miss, and he tries various scenarios to ensure that I truly am reducing my tax liability as much as legally possible.
- Your accountant can represent you to the IRS: Many accountants will represent you if you are audited. While this doesn’t let you off the hook, things can be resolved quicker and easier when you let your accountant represent you and take care of everything having to do with an audit.
- You can deduct the cost: While you can only deduct the cost of having your individual return prepared if it amounts to two percent of your AGI, your business return can be deducted against your business income, as an expense. Which is great, since a business tax return usually costs more to prepare.
If you have a complex tax return, or multiple tax returns, it’s probably worth it to pay someone else to take care of things. You’ll stress less and have some measure of protection.
Professional Tax Preparation
Our services are designed for peace of mind. Tax preparation can be intimidating. Many individuals worry over it all year. With a tax preparer you get a free lesson in preparation, guaranteed accuracy, and a maximization of deductions. There is nothing to lose. This tax season don’t stress or wait until the last second. Call LBS Tax for your tax preparation needs today!