Why Us?
You might not need a professional to file your tax return.
If you just have wages from a regular job, don’t own a house, don’t go to school and don’t contribute to retirement the best choice might be using one of the numerous websites approved by IRS, buying any off-the-shelf Tax return software or filing 1040EZ/1040A the old "paper and pen" way.
Why hire a professional Tax Preparer?
A good professional will save you time, nerves and money. Even for a simplest personal return you needed to get through the most updated 1040 instructions, check every line of the 1040 form and make sure there are no additional deductions or credits you might qualify for. Even if nothing changed in your situation from last year, the tax laws did! And then comes the kids, mortgage, overcomplicated IRS calculations of credits and tons of small details...Sometimes you are much better off hiring a professional!
Why not H&R Block, Liberty Tax or any other Income Tax return outlet?
Any big corporation is always putting its shareholders interests as a first priority. In order to achieve highest returns corporate management puts pressure on local offices to maximize revenue and minimize expenses. This never ending race inevitably ends up in quality decreases and less attention to clients. In recent years business practices of industry leader H&R Block appeared to be especially criticized and had to undergo number of lawsuits around the country.
In order to maintain aggressive growth and keep existing client base big corporations are forced to hire inexperienced staff and teach them on site. Many prepares are making just a little bit over minimum wage, so don’t expect the attitude and attention better that in fast-food restaurants. Corporate tax return software has to be developed with the first year prepares in mind. As a result, their software has to cover every aspect and all possible situations, making a simple 15 minute return an hour long appointment. Often customers have to go through a dozen additional offers, which have little to do with taxes. You’ll be asked to open a checking and a saving accounts, meet with a financial advisor, apply for a mortgage or refinance, open an IRA with returns below inflation… A meeting with such an agent often feels similar to a visit to a used car dealership or an auto mechanic.
By federal law Tax preparers can not advance a tax return, however big corporation managed to bypass this restriction by “accelerating” returns with the help of affiliated banks. An option to get the money right away is probably the biggest advantage of corporate tax outlets, however it is VERY EXPENSIVE! If you decide to use one of the RALs or RACs don’t forget that you are not accelerating the process with IRS by any means. You are simply getting a LOAN and as any other loan it will appear on the credit report and most likely reduce a FICO score, making it more expensive to get a car loan, mortgage or even a credit card in the future. The normal rate on loans without collateral is ranging around 20% a year. For a loan from a tax preparing corporation with almost guaranteed return the rates are easily climbing to more that 100%, which is just outrageous.