Business & Finance

Posts Tagged ‘Income Tax’

If you do decide to seek help with filing your returns, it’s important to choose your tax preparer carefully. First of all, you want someone who has a good understanding of taxes. How do you know that? You can ask friends, family, coworkers, or associates for referrals to tax preparers they think are knowledgeable and reputable. You can also consider how long a preparer has been in business. Look for a person or group who are associated with national professional associations. Choose someone with relevant expertise; if you have a small business, for example, hire a tax preparer with experience in preparing taxes for small businesses. If you want help filing online, find a professional with experience in that service. Participation in continuing professional education is a good sign that the tax preparer is keeping up to date on the latest tax issues.

Some tax preparers set up shop just for tax season, and then cannot be reached after April 15th. It’s best to choose a professional you can contact in the future if you need to. If your refund is delayed or the Internal Revenue Service questions your return, you will want to talk to the preparer. So look for a preparer whose office is open year round, not just during tax season.

Even if you hire someone for mail-in or online income tax preparation services, you are still responsible for the accuracy of your return. If you don’t understand something, ask questions until it makes sense to you. By signing your return you are confirming that everything on it is accurate to the best of your knowledge, so review everything very carefully before you sign. Make sure the tax preparer has filled in and signed the section of the form specifically for preparers. And be very sure to keep a copy of the return for yourself. Even if you do online tax filing, print out a copy of your return just to be extra sure you have it on hand.