Why Use a Preparer?

Using a tax professional will save you time, aggravation and money. Every year tax law changes and some of those changes can have a definite impact to your tax bill.  Unless your tax situation is extremely straightforward (you are single, have only one W-2 and no other sources of incomes, and do not have any deductions to itemize) then you will likely benefit from consulting with a tax professional. No tax preparation software is a substitute for knowledge of the tax code. And no tax preparation software is a substitute for the services of a licensed tax professional! As with any software program the rule is "garbage in - garbage out". If you don't know how to enter the information, or what information to enter, you will not get the best, or even the correct, answer.  A tax professional’s job is to take their knowledge of the tax code and apply it to your specific set of circumstances so that you pay the least amount of tax that you are legally required to pay.  A tax professional can also make suggestions for actions you can take that you can apply to reduce your tax bill in the future, or in some instances in the current year. Also, the tax software can’t be there for you if errors are made. Should the IRS come after you for errors on your tax return you can’t blame software. The U.S. Tax Court has on two separate occasions rejected the "Turbo-Tax Defense" when a taxpayer attempted to blame tax preparation software for a negligent tax return.  If a licensed tax professional makes a mistake, that professional may be obligated to pony up for the mistake. The IRS estimates that do-it-yourself software users spend an average of 10 to over 20 hours longer on the return than if they used a paid tax preparer, depending on complexity of the return.The bottom line is – if you don’t know what you are doing do not rely on a tax preparation software package to make up for your lack of tax knowledge.