GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – It’s tax season. And for many people, that means finding someone they can trust with handling their finances.
Taxes can be confusing. Tax preparers can make the job a lot easier. But it’s important to know what you’re looking for before you just hire someone to help.
First, it’s important to understand the different types of tax preparer and their qualifications. Only enrolled agents, certified public accounts and attorneys may represent their clients to the IRS on matters such as audits, collection issues, and appeals. There are about 700,000 non-credentialed tax preparers across the country, and while they may be competent, they might not be the right fit.
“If you have a highly complicated taxes and you think that you may need representation in front of the IRS, only those 3 groups can do that for you,” said Susan Bach of the Better Business Bureau. “Make sure you review the tax preparer’s credentials. Ask to see their CPA license and their enrolled agent and tax preparer ID number.”
When it comes to choosing the right kind tax preparer for you personally, much will depend on the complexity of your tax situation.
“You’re handing over some very personal information to your tax preparer, so you don’t want to give that to them and then have them disappear. that would be the biggest fear,” Bach said. “Get referrals from friends and family. Then take a couple of the names once you do that and start doing research. Go to the Better Business Bureau’s website and check for any kind of consumer reviews or complaint details.”
She recommends sticking with your gut and avoiding people who don’t have good reviews or a history of screwing up other people’s tax filings.
“The kind of complaints that the better business bureau hears about after tax season are that [consumers] gave information over to the tax preparer and he or she either prepared them wrong or they were very difficult to get a hold of,” Bach told WTAQ News. “We didn’t get our taxes filed until that day, or maybe even they were late. That’s really a problem for some people, they like to have more communication between the tax preparer and themselves.”
For more information on different types of tax preparers and other things to watch out for, head to BBB.org.
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