What should I look out for when looking for someone to help me handle my taxes?
You’re looking for three main things in a tax preparer, and low cost isn’t necessarily one of them.
Experience is critical. A good preparer knows tax law inside and out, and is aware of how the law changes every year. Evaluating that experience as a lay person will be difficult to do for you, so we suggest a long conversation and close attention to recommendations.
A good preparer also has the business acumen to tell you when you should make changes to the way you work. Anyone can run Quicken or use H&R Block automated tax preparation software. It takes brains to know how to use the tax information to glean business insight.
Integrity is non-negotiable. You cannot do business with a tax preparer that wants to cut corners, or wants you to engage in legally suspicious behavior. The fact that you’ve handed off your tax preparation to an outside firm does not mean you bear no liability for your tax filings – you’re still on the hook if your tax preparer decides that it’s legal for your finance officer to write off a trip to a Nevada brothel as a business expense.
At the minimum, your tax preparer should be able to use the IRS’ new electronic tax filing system, called the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.
Which companies are the best known tax payment services? Do they offer services targeting small and medium-sized business?
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