Visiting a Tax Preparer
There really is no secret or special process to visiting a tax preparer.
But just to maxamize your results and minimize your effort, here are
some simple steps. Each of these are a link to a page with more details or help.
-
Prepare for the visit.
This assumes that you are coming in to have your tax return prepared.
(Actually, some people prefer to simply mail us their records and
we communicate concerning any questions using email or phone calls.)
Here are some handy check lists.
- Make an appointment
if you prefer not to mail us your information.
- Before we can assist you on your tax return, we must have a signed
Engagement
Letter. We suggest you print this in advance
because if you are married, both the taxpayer and spouse must sign it.
If you are mailing your informationto us, please include this.
Also, it refers to our
Privacy Statement that you should review.
- Finding us.
Most people have a few concerns about what it might cost to visit a tax
professional. At one time we did too. This will be an issue in particular
if you have heard stories of people paying $500 to $1000 (or more!) for a tax
return. Sure, there are complicated returns that can cost that much, but most
are far less.
In reviewing individual tax returns for last year,
our average price per return was under $200.
We price tax return preparation based on the number of forms used
and the complexity of the return.
We price tax return preparation based on the number of forms used and the
complexity of the return, so prices do vary.
We try to offer estimates when we can, but invariably there ends up being
items in the return that were not expained in the request.
Realize too that any effort to offer a low estimate will likely cause
displeasure if the return costs more than the estimate. Conversely, if
we guess a bit high to avoid that, then we are discouraging potential
clients with estimates that are likely more than the actual cost will be.
It really is a "lose-lose" situation.
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