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Taxes and Tax HelpThe old maxim about death and taxes has always rung true. As long as there are governments in place and scores of people who do no real work for a living (or at least nothing anyone would willingly pay for!), those same governments and people need to find ways to take money from the other hard working people that are actually producing goods and services that others willingly buy. These are called taxes - levies and fees that you must pay to your government or you end up in jail - not much of a choice, really, but that is the reality of it. We pay taxes in the form of property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, employment taxes, estate (death) taxes, you name it, there is a tax for it somewhere. For most people, dealing with taxes and keeping up on the latest tax laws and tax forms is simply too much. Over 50% of Americans now use some paid tax preparer to handle their annual returns as the complexity of the tax system is too much for the average person.
Professional Tax Preparers - H&R Block - Jackson HewittMany people opt for paying accountant or tax professionals to handle their taxes for them. This can be as simple as stopping by an H&R Block tax office in April with your folder full of tax documents, or as complicated as going through a complete tax interview with a CPA firm and having them compile every possible deduction and additional tax form needed to try and pay the minimum tax for you. By the way, that should be the goal of your tax preparer - to get you the lowest, legal tax bill possible. This sometimes means pushing the limits a bit, but you are entitled to take every deduction that is allowed - it may trigger an audit, but if you have your backup documents you are justified in paying the minimum amount possible. An accountant that doesn't push the envelope a bit is leaving money on the table - your money - since audit rates are in the low single digit percentages, meaning you will unlikely ever be questioned about your return as long as it is reasonable, reports all the income and deductions that match up with other 3rd parties that are reporting the same information to the IRS (your bank, mutual fund, employer, etc.), and is in line with what others in your income group and occupation are reporting. JacksonHewitt.com is a big nationwide tax prep firm, with 6000 franchise owned offices. Their specialty is e-filing, but they also do full accounting and tax prep work for more complicated returns. They provide a simple checklist on their site of what you should bring to a tax meeting, things like:
Tax SoftwareProbably the cheapest, easiest way to get tax help if with a tax software program like TurboTax or Tax Cut. For 75% of all tax payers, doing your taxes is as simple as plugging in the tax forms sent to you by your employer, bank, mortgage company, etc. The tax software programs walk you through the tax process through a series of fill in the blank questions. Just tell them your income, taxes withheld, mortgage interest paid, capital gains paid out by your mutual funds, etc. and it will fill out and print all the necessary forms for you, and determine your tax due or tax refund. Both of these programs cost about $30-$50 for a combo pack that will handle both your federal income taxes and your state income taxes. For most people, you can work through your taxes in about 1-2 hours if you have done adequate record keeping throughout the year.
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