How to Make Tax Preparation More Bearable

It’s that time of year – tax preparation is in full swing!  I’m sure some of you dread this time of year, but I’ve got a few ideas that can make it a bit more bearable and help you in the long run.

1. If you’re not the do-it-yourself type, hire an experienced, professional tax preparer to handle your returns.  Stay away from the generic chain tax prep services – they tend to significantly overcharge for preparing returns…as in charging by the form (which is a rip-off) instead of hourly (much fairer).

2. Make sure you have all needed tax documents.  Sounds simple enough, but being organized about collecting your tax documents makes life much easier for your preparer.

3. Your preparer should ask you lots of questions, especially if it is the first time they are preparing your returns.  Even after the first year, things can change with your personal/financial situations over time, and any qualified tax preparer will know to ask the important questions (law changes, new possible deductions, etc.) so you don’t leave anything on the table.

4. If you work with a CPA, hopefully they offer advice for your specific tax situation during and after preparing your returns.  This can be very important for not only the current year (can a traditional IRA contribution lower your tax bill?) but the following year as well.  Offering suggestions that can improve the amount you get back (or help you pay less than you have in the past) can be very valuable for some.

5. Your tax professional should be willing to speak with any other professionals you have hired.  There are a lot of reasons why insurance professionals, professional financial advisors, attorneys, etc. should speak to your tax preparer (with your permission of course) to coordinate on issues that may be important and need to be looked at from different perspectives.  This way you get the input of trusted professionals on issues that have overlap into several areas of your personal financial/tax situation.

Find an experienced local tax preparer who works for a professional tax preparation firm, earns his/her money from hourly/job fees (NOT charging by the form), believes in helping their clients improve their tax/financial situations, and has the heart & demeanor of a teacher, NOT a salesman, and chances are you’ve found the right tax preparer to help you with your tax situation.

To learn more about Martin Federici, view his Paladin Registry profile.

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