The Top Three Questions to Ask Any Tax Preparer

With tax season closing in just a few short weeks, many tax filers are left wondering how they are going to finish their income tax return in time, and how they are going to find someone to do their income taxes for them. If you are a simple filer without much more than a W2, chances are quite good you can file your own return without any issues. However, if you find yourself overwhelmed with a more complex return, finding a tax preparer might be the best choice for you. How do you find one? Simple; you take a few tips into consideration and then you begin your search.

Find A Qualified Preparer

The most important thing you will do when searching for someone to complete your taxes is to find someone qualified for the job. Don’t be afraid to ask your potential preparer where he or she was educated and what credentials he or she has. It’s imperative to know with whom you are working.

Check References

It is always all right to ask a preparer for a few references; and they should be quite happy to provide those for you. Don’t be afraid to ask, and do not be afraid to actually call and ask those references how they feel about their tax preparer and the job that he or she was able to do for them.

Check Prices

If you have a simple return, you do not want to pay someone too much to do your income tax return. Be sure to check prices with several different preparers. If everyone is in the same realm, you’re all right. If there is a huge variation in prices, you might want to find out why some people are charging so much and others are charging nothing at all; there is not really a coincidence in a situation such as this one when it comes to tax filing.

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