January comes around every year
and the same topic comes to mind: Tax Preparation
The search begins for the best option to do that tax preparation and the goal for a lot of people is to find the closest and the cheapest. Sometimes we even give it a try and use one of the available software to do that yearly tax prep ourselves. Who doesn’t like to save a buck?
This is especially true for people living in big cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, etc. They want to save money… and time!
We put together a small list of pros and cons of doing your own tax preparation. As always, if you have any questions that are not answered in this article, please contact us, we like helping people.
Pros :
1. Cost – CPAs Tax Accountants – They have spent several hours learning all about taxes so they will come at a cost. Doing your own Tax Returns you can save the expense.
2. Data – You save your tax data on your own system, you have full control of those files.
3. Control – You have control of claiming expenses, deductions and any other requirement. Also, you can do it when ever you want wherever you want.
4. Travel Time – You don’t have to jump in your car and deal with traffic. Get it done right at your kitchen table.
5. Filing Extensions – You decide when to file or submit an extension.
Cons :
1. Accountability – If anything goes wrong, you will have to deal with the IRS directly and the tax code can be complicated to understand and apply for most people.
2. Data – House computers are hacked in a daily basis, having valuable information such as your tax preparation in a hacked computer can lead to identity theft.
3. Knowledge – You may get lost on what applies to you and what doesn’t. Tax Professionals are required to take continuing education classes to keep current on evolving tax code changes.
4. Guidance – You and Google are a team… and you are on your own, good luck making decisions.
5. Money – Sometimes you lose dollars because you are trying to save pennies, your refund may be smaller or worst, you may end up owing money to the IRS instead of getting a refund check from them.
