How To Find A Good Tax Preparer In 5 Simple Steps

How To Find
A Good Tax Preparer
in 5 Simple Steps

Looking for a good tax preparer? This page will help you find one. It’s easy if you follow these five steps.

Step 1. Schedule a meeting.
Once you’ve found someone that you think might be a potential candidate, schedule an appointment to get to know him/her. Be upfront about this. Simply say, “I’m looking for a good tax preparer and I’d like to meet you and spend a few minutes with you before making a decision to hire you. When can we get together – it should take about 30 minutes.” That’s all there is to it.

Any tax professional worth pursuing would be glad to do this – at no charge, of course. If he balks at the idea or expresses any reservations or wants to charge you for this initial meeting, take your business elsewhere. This guy is not for you.

This meeting can be in person or on the phone. If he’s local, do it in person. If he’s out-of-town, which is increasingly common these days, do it by phone. You can get a feel for what he’s like either way. (With phone, fax, email and overnight snail-mail, hiring an out-of-town tax pro is very doable.)

Step 2. Ask lots of questions.
Conduct a question-filled interview. It really comes down to having a conversation in which you do one simple thing: Ask questions. So you want to be in the driver’s seat here. You should ask many questions and let him do most of the talking. Take notes. You want to know several critical things about him and his tax preparation business before taking the plunge.

Here are some of the questions you should ask:

How long have you been doing tax returns?
How many tax returns have you done over the years?
What kind of tax returns do you do? Personal only, or personal and business?
Do you offer electronic filing? Do you charge extra for that?
Do you guarantee your work? What happens if you make a mistake on my return?
What are your professional credentials? (examples: CPA, EA, NATP)
Can you provide at least 3 references? (the names and phone numbers of several existing clients, colleagues, and/or former employers)
What are your tax preparation fees?
What other services do you provide besides tax return preparation?
Who will actually prepare my tax return? Will it be you or another person on your staff?
How long does it take for you to complete my tax return?

Step 3. Go home and contact the references.
Call the references and ask them about their experience with this preparer.

Step 4. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Find one or two other prospective tax preparers and repeat the process.

Step 5. Think about it for a while, then make a decision.
Don’t be in a hurry. Mull it over for a few days. Once you’ve made up your mind, let the winner know you’d like to do business with him.

Many Happy Returns
Wayne Davies

________________________________________

Wayne M. Davies Inc.
4660 W Jefferson Blvd, Suite 220, Fort Wayne IN 46804
Phone 260-459-3858
www.GoodTaxPreparer.com
www.FortWayneTaxPreparationServices.com

© Wayne M. Davies Inc. -- All Rights Reserved

Wayne Davies - Good Tax Preparer

Wayne Davies
One Good Tax Preparer

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