Tax Services and Tax Preparation
Tax preparation is not as simple as putting numbers into some software package. There are many rules and exceptions to rules, tax laws and court cases that your tax preparer needs to be aware of. We have had too many clients come to us with IRS letters stating that they owed thousands of dollars in back taxes because they tried to use software like TurboTax. We also get too many clients who have used tax preparation chains like H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt and Liberty Tax and clients from other CPA Firms that have made some very basic tax mistakes. These tax preparation chains tend to charge fees that exceed those of our firm and the tax returns often contain mistakes and missing information from year to year like student loan interest or educator expense adjustments.
It is important that you find a tax preparer who not only understands accounting and tax law but takes the time to go through your tax returns to make sure you pay the smallest amount of taxes allowed by law. We closely monitor all judgements from the federal and local tax cases on a weekly basis. These court cases often reveal traps or loopholes that we can then use to lower your tax bill.
If you run a business it is imperitive that your accounting is done correctly. If your accounting is incorrect then your taxes will be incorrect. If you own and rent or rehab real estate there are many specific rules that will determine whether or not your real estate rent or sale is a capital gain, ordinary income or ordinary income that excludes social security taxes. Knowing the rules and the latest case law that pertains to your situation can help you keep your taxes as low as possible. Making one incorrect election could even disallow losses that could immediately offset your wages or make you take those losses $3,000 per year for the next 20 years.
Hiring a professional like a Certified Public Accountant is usually your best bet. Go to party's and on vacation with your friends, let professionals prepare your tax returns.