Do you need to hire a tax preparation service to help you with your income taxes? It should be pretty easy to find one in your area.
At this time, there are more than 60,000 tax preparers scattered across the country. This should allow you to pick from at least a few different options in your city or town.
Prior to choosing tax preparers, though, you should learn about the factors that you’ll want to consider when selecting them. Regardless of which types of taxes they’re going to assist you with, these factors should help you determine which tax preparers will be the best fit for you.
Here are eight factors to think about when choosing tax preparers.
1. Experience
When choosing tax preparers, one of the first things you’ll want to look at is experience. You do not want to hire someone to help you who has next to no tax preparation experience.
The rules and regulations regarding taxes can be very complicated for even the most experienced tax preparers. But they’ll help you navigate your way through them so that you’re able to file your taxes successfully.
2. Qualifications
It’s not enough for tax preparers to simply have a whole lot of experience under their belts. They also need to have the right qualifications for you to think about working with them.
Fortunately, the IRS makes it simple for you to find tax preparers with the right qualifications through the use of their Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications directory. You should turn to it early and often when you’re on the hunt for tax preparers.
3. History
You should always ask tax preparers to walk you through their own histories. They should be able to tell you how long they’ve been helping people prepare taxes and what formal training they’ve received over the years to help them do it.
You should also do some digging around on your own to see if tax preparers have ever gotten themselves into any trouble with the Better Business Bureau. You can see if they’ve ever faced any disciplinary action or had any official complaints filed against them.
4. Reputation
What have other people had to say about working with specific tax preparers in your area? That’s something that you’re going to want to try and ask yourself when you’re searching for good options.
Every tax preparer is going to tell you that they have a stellar reputation. But you can find out what people have really said about them in the past by looking for online reviews for them.
These online reviews have become an invaluable resource for those in the process of choosing tax preparers. You’re going to want to look exclusively for tax preparers who have a wealth of positive references and reviews.
5. Services
Just about all tax preparers are going to be able to help a single person with a regular job and no house or kids. It’s easy enough for a tax preparer to assist a person like that.
But if your situation is a bit more complicated, you’re going to have to be a little bit pickier when it comes to choosing tax preparers. You need one on your side that can set you up with the tax services that you’re going to need.
You’re also going to need to have a tax preparer in your corner who employs tax strategies that you agree with. You don’t want to be butting heads at every turn with your tax preparer while trying to figure out your taxes.
6. Availability
You can spend a ton of time tracking down the absolute best tax preparer in the business. But what good is it going to do you if they aren’t available to extend their services to you?
While you’re calling around to different tax preparers in your area, you shouldn’t be shy about asking them whether or not they have time to help you. Depending on your specific situation, they might not always be able to offer their tax services to you.
You want a tax preparer who is going to be able to devote as much time as it takes to assist you with your taxes. If they can’t promise you that, then you’ll want to take your business elsewhere.
7. Cost
Unless there are some extenuating circumstances with your taxes, the average tax preparation service is going to charge you somewhere between $20 and $400 to help you. Comparing preparer fees to see which ones charge the most affordable prices will be key.
This doesn’t mean that you should simply contact a bunch of tax preparers, see which ones are the cheapest, and then go with one of them. But it does mean that you should shop around for the tax preparer that’s going to give you great services for a great price.
8. Customer Service
If you’re like most people, the mere thought of doing your taxes probably stresses you out. It’s not much fun spending time trying to sift through tax documents.
But even still, the tax preparer that you choose in the end should strive to make it a pleasant experience for you. They should welcome you with open arms and ease your troubled mind as you work your way through your various tax forms.
If you feel uncomfortable in the least working with a tax preparer, you should look for another option. You don’t want to spend all your time with your tax preparer feeling uneasy.
Choosing Tax Preparers Is Easy When You Consider These Important Factors
When you first start trying to find tax preparers to help you with your taxes, you might get overwhelmed by all your options. This could lead to you picking whichever ones seem halfway decent.
Don’t do this! Instead, keep these factors in the forefront of your mind while choosing tax preparers. It’ll make your search so much simpler and leave you with the best tax preparer around assisting you.
Check out the other articles found on our blog for more tips on doing your taxes.
