Hiring A Tax Accountant – Advice From An Expert
June 14, 2010 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under Personal and Business Taxes
There are all sorts of accountants in the world today. Some of them are allowed to work for the IRS itself and are permitted to electronically file your tax return, while some of them have little to no official training and are really just glorified book keepers. A variety of them work on behalf of individuals, others with businesses, still others perform tax returns, while others do not even touch tax returns. It may prove to be a difficulty, locating a reliable tax accountant, although simply tracking down a person to file your tax returns on your behalf is not so difficult. Tracking down a tax accountant who is officially sanctioned by the IRS is the most critical part. Since people who prepare taxes are out there without any official license, busily plying their trades, sometimes it is hard to discover if your accountant is the one in which you should have faith. In order to side step any undesired scrutiny from the IRS, you should seek out an officially sanctioned IRS tax preparer to handle your electronic over the Internet filing. Such tax filers are put through intense criminal background checks by the IRS. It goes so far as to fingerprint them and keep these fingerprints on hand. Furthermore, they investigate such tax preparers’ business history with regional area officials, as well as the tax preparer’s individual tax return. To select a tax accountant, interview several. Set aside an hour to speak with your potential accountant regarding their business history. You will specifically ask them about their audit record. Ask if they have personally been audited or if their clients have ever been audited. This meeting should be a courtesy; no charge should be incurred. Don’t hire someone before you’ve talked to at least three accountants. Make sure the person you hire is comfortable answering all of your questions and seems confident and competent. Anyone can hold it together during a short interview. The accountant you’re interviewing will likely look the part, and can probably talk the talk as well. That doesn’t mean they are as good as they seem. Rather than be fooled, resolve to run your own background check on your potential accountant. Start by Googling their name. Are there client reviews posted? Were people satisfied? Check the Better Business Bureau as well. Has anyone filed a complaint? See what you can find out about their past work record and their standard practices with clients. It may seem like spying, but you’re better safe than sorry in cases like this. Since you will be opening up all of your darkest financial secrets to such a person, you should make certain that you track down a reliable tax accountant on whom you are able to rely. After all, should the IRS come looking to audit you, these are the people who will be your advocates before them. Just because you have complete confidence in such a tax accountant, this does not signify that you ought to simply walk behind them like a sheep, signing off on anything that they put in front of you. Ultimately, you are the only one fully responsible for the data on your own tax return, despite whoever got them ready and filed them on your behalf. Regardless of how strongly you believe in your tax professional, you ought to go through all of the papers which they want you to sign in advance of simply putting down your John Hancock on the bottom line.
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