{"id":8152,"date":"2017-01-06T08:32:18","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T16:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.paladinregistry.com\/?p=8152"},"modified":"2017-01-06T08:32:18","modified_gmt":"2017-01-06T16:32:18","slug":"five-tips-tax-preparation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/personal-finance\/five-tips-tax-preparation\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Tips for Tax Preparation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s that time of year \u2013 tax preparation season will be here before you know it! I\u2019m sure some of you dread this time of year, but I\u2019ve got a few suggestions that can make it a bit more bearable and help you in the long run.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_68_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e79a94a3b2d\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e79a94a3b2d\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/personal-finance\/five-tips-tax-preparation\/#Tip_1\" title=\"Tip #1\">Tip #1<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/personal-finance\/five-tips-tax-preparation\/#Tip_2\" title=\"Tip #2\">Tip #2<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/personal-finance\/five-tips-tax-preparation\/#Tip_3\" title=\"Tip #3\">Tip #3<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/personal-finance\/five-tips-tax-preparation\/#Tip_4\" title=\"Tip #4\">Tip #4<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/personal-finance\/five-tips-tax-preparation\/#Tip_5\" title=\"Tip #5\">Tip #5<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tip_1\"><\/span><strong>Tip #1<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>If you\u2019re not the do-it-yourself type, hire an <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/tax-professionals\/understanding-tax-return-preparer-credentials-and-qualifications\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">experienced, professional tax preparer<\/a><\/span><\/strong> to handle your returns. Stay away from the generic chain tax prep services \u2013 they tend to significantly overcharge for preparing returns\u2026as in charging by the form (which we view as being a rip-off) instead of using an hourly rate (much fairer).<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tip_2\"><\/span>Tip #2<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Make sure you have all needed tax documents. Sounds simple enough, but being organized about collecting your tax documents (where did I put that W-2?) makes life much easier for your preparer (and you too)!<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tip_3\"><\/span>Tip #3<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Your preparer should ask you many questions, especially if it is the first time they are preparing your returns. Even after the first year, personal\/financial situations change over time, and any qualified tax preparer will know to ask the important questions (law changes, new possible deductions, etc.) so you don\u2019t leave anything on the table.<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tip_4\"><\/span>Tip #4<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>If you work with a <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/certifications\/certified-public-accountant\" target=\"_blank\">CPA<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, 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 (should you contribute more to your 401(k) at work?). 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.<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tip_5\"><\/span>Tip #5<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Your tax professional should be willing to speak with any other professional you have hired. There are many 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 overlap into several areas of your personal financial\/tax situation.<\/p>\n<p>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 &amp; demeanor of a teacher, NOT a salesman, and chances are you\u2019ve found the right tax preparer to help you with your tax situation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To learn more about Martin Federici, view his<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/financial-advisor\/dallas-pennsylvania\/Martin.Federici.Jr\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Paladin Registry research report<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s that time of year \u2013 tax preparation season will be here before you know it! I\u2019m sure some of you dread this time of year, but I\u2019ve got a few suggestions that can make it a bit more bearable and help you in the long run. Tip #1 If you\u2019re not the do-it-yourself type, hire an experienced, professional tax preparer to handle your returns. Stay away from the generic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":8158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[765],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-finance"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Five Tips for Tax Preparation - Paladin Registry Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s almost tax preparation season. 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