When to Hire an Accountant to do your Taxes

Do you fill out your own tax forms, use a software program to file your taxes, or have a tax service do it for you? Each of these methods is a good option, but sometimes it is better to work with a tax preparer. A tax preparer has specialized expertise and knowledge of tax rules making them the perfect candidate to accurately complete tax forms.  The more complicated your taxes are, the more likely you will need the help of an experienced preparer. 

If expense is not a concern for you, having a tax preparer file your taxes for you may be the best decision. You shouldn’t have to worry about your taxes being filed correctly if you are working with an experienced tax preparer. You also don’t have to spend any time calculating details and filing tax forms yourself. Whether you fill out a one-page form or you have a stack of forms to fill out, a preparer will be able and willing to do it for you. However, if you don’t want to throw away your money, simple forms can be done with software programs, through a tax service, or on your own much less expensively.

If you have several sources of income, such as a side business, stock investments, income properties, and other income sources, it is a good idea to have a preparer do your taxes for you. These types of income sources can be very complicated and require several extra forms to be filled out. A good preparer will have experience with it and can ensure that it will be done correctly and efficiently. Filling out a mountain of different forms can be tedious and confusing. One mistake can carry problems throughout the forms. Have someone who knows what they are doing complete it for you. On the other hand, if you only have one W2 form, you should be able to do it yourself.

Whether or not you should have a preparer do your taxes depends on what forms you need to file and how confident you feel doing them yourself. If you like to speed through things and don’t like looking over your work, you could miss important deductions and make costly mistakes. A preparer will ensure things are done right. Precision and detail are important when filing taxes to avoid mistakes and penalties. The more complicated the forms are, the more precise you need to be. If you feel uneasy about it, hire a preparer to do it for you. With a preparer, you are paying for expertise, precision, and accuracy.