Are you one of those do-it-yourselfers who believes it is always better to know than it is to pay someone else who knows? If so, it is likely that you also feel that you should be doing your own taxes. After all, how hard can it be? Millions of people do their own taxes. There are even easy-to-use software programs to help them through it. Well, while you may be right that you can do your taxes yourself, what you might not have considered are the reasons for why you might want to pass this job off to a professional. Here are five reasons you should hire a CPA this tax season:
Good advice. When you take your tax documents into a CPA’s office, you can expect to get much more than a completed tax form in return. CPAs can give you very valuable advice for how to save on next year’s returns, which can snowball into literally thousands of dollars in subsequent years. That’s because once a CPA sits down to examine your tax-related habits over the course of the previous year, it is easy to identify what you can do differently for a better outcome next year.
Education. Sure, you can buy a computer program and plug in some numbers, but that doesn’t mean you know all about tax code. Unfortunately, what you don’t know might hurt your pocketbook. CPAs are required to stay abreast of the latest code changes, and are privy to potentially money-saving information that you just don’t have.
Liability. If there is a mistake on your tax returns and you aren’t responsible for it, then guess who is responsible. That’s right, the person who prepared the returns. This can save you major headaches down the line, if you are ever audited.
Higher returns. When you hire a CPA, it is likely you will be asked questions about deductibles you’d never even heard of. Having a CPA’s knowledge at your disposal can equate to considerably higher tax return refunds – must more than what a CPA’s services might cost you.
Your questions. When you use a computer program, who answers your questions? What if you don’t know how to account for your home office, or if your housekeeper counts as an employee? Who will tell you? A CPA.
It’s great that you like to do things yourself, but it’s not always necessary . . . and sometimes it’s downright unadvisable. Do yourself a huge favor and skip the stress this tax season by hiring a CPA to do the dirty work.
About the Author: Angelena Chernosky completed her phlebotomist training program in 2011 and plans to work with a CPA to determine how her educational expenses will affect her filing. She was once unemployed but now works in a local hospital and hopes to continue her education so that she can become a registered nurse. Visit http://www.associationphlebotomytraining.com/ for mroe information on how you can enter the field of phlebotomy or healthcare in general.
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- How to Choose a Tax Professional (2012taxes.org)
- TurboTax Mobile Apps (2012taxes.org)
