Tax season comes around every year and ends on April 15th. The two guarantees in American society are death and taxes. Everybody is going to die and everybody is going to have to pay their taxes to the IRS. The other important information one needs to consider is tax rules and regulations change each and every year. Therefore, it is very important to choose a tax preparer who is both educated and experienced in the field of tax preparation.
There are two types of tax preparation services to choose form, the individual tax preparer and the large tax preparer. The individual tax preparer could be a personal friend who does taxes, a tax preparer working for him/herself or an accountant. The larger tax preparers would be H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, Amscot and many others. There are advantages and disadvantages to both the individual and large tax preparers.
The advantage of the small tax preparation individuals is usually the cost. When an individual is working by themselves, they have no middle man and the costs are smaller. They in turn can give their customers better prices. This is not always true when you use a personal accountant to prepare your taxes. Accountants may work alone, but they often charge more for tax preparation because they went to college and have to pay back those loans.
The disadvantages of the small tax preparation individuals may be their lack of college education, they may not keep up with all the changing tax laws (as well as they should) and they will have nobody to back their work. Again this can differ with personal accountants because they are educated and usually keep up with the changing tax laws. Personal tax preparers can be found online, in the telephone book and through word of mouth. They don’t often have the same huge blinking signs that the larger tax preparation companies have outside their places of business. If you go through an individual tax preparer, don’t be surprised when you have your taxes done at their home.
The advantages of using the larger tax preparation companies like H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt are many. The larger tax preparation companies are very easy to find. You don’t have to look on the internet to find them because their advertisement is huge during the tax season. The advantages are many at these large tax preparation companies. You can get your tax refund faster through loans and debit cards, you deal with individuals who always keep up with every tax law change, you have a large company that canback up their work through guarantees and the large companies will stand behind you if you are audited. Large tax preparation companies like H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt give you peace of mind. Some of the larger companies also have specials where people with easy form taxes will have their taxes prepared cheap or free. Because the larger companies train their employees, they often find more deductions for you and will get you more money back on your tax return. Keep this in mind when choosing a tax preparer.
The disadvantages of using the larger tax preparation companies are usually the costs. H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt charge you for every form they have to use with your tax preparation. They are large companies and they have individual tax preparers they have to pay. The customer is the one who pays for all the services you get through the larger tax preparation companies. There are also different levels of tax preparers at these larger companies. You want make sure you pick a master tax preparation individual. You never want to get stuck with a beginner when it comes to your taxes.
Choosing the correct tax preparer may be one of the most important choices a person makes in their lifetime. It is up to you if you want to choose an individual or a large company when it comes to preparing your taxes. If you want peace of mind and you don’t mind the higher costs, go with one of the larger tax preparation companies. If you want to save a few bucks, try out an individual tax preparer and see how they do. Whatever road you choose will lead you to April 15, where you will have to pay your taxes each and every year of your life.