Will you prepare your own taxes this year?

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There are so many demands on our time that it is impossible to be an expert in every facet of life, this is why we specialize.  Although many people are comfortable preparing their own taxes, others would prefer to outsource this important responsibility.  If you choose to outsource, find someone who is educated in current tax law to help you pay the least amount of taxes as required by law.  Someone who you can trust to represent you in case of an audit, and help you maintain adequate substantiation of your deductions.  I am a Las Vegas native with strong ties to this community, you can count on me to be here throughout the year for all your tax needs.

How responsible is your tax preparer?

The tax preparation industry is highly unregulated, so it is up to the tax payer to ensure they are receiving quality representation.  There are many large, reputable firms in Las Vegas that train and compensate their employees well.  However, there are some busy tax franchises that just carry a large amount of insurance to cover the errors their that underpaid staff may make.  A tax office can be busy because they are dealing in quantity rather than quality.  Would you rather have your return prepared correctly the first time by a qualified professional?  You should never be charged an additional fee to cover you in case your preparer makes a mistake on your return.

Please be weary of some of the assurance policies offered by tax preparation companies that charge you an additional fee to obtain. You are generally only covered by this add-on if the preparer makes an error, but not if you omit or overlook some information. Those assurance policies generally do not reimburse you if a poorly educated preparer does not take a deduction you could have qualified for.  Remember: you only have 3 years to go back and receive a refund you were entitled to from the IRS.

All of the tax professional's that I network with carry insurance that will cover their client's penalties and interest in case of a mistake, and the client does not pay extra for this either. This professional liability insurance is commonly referred to as errors and omissions insurance.  Since the tax preparer industry is so unregulated, find out how many years of experience your preparer has and if they choose to obtain continuing education. A responsible preparer will take at least 15 hours of continuing education each year.  Make sure your preparer is educationally responsible and stays abreast on the changing industry regulations.

RSS

      Deloitte, one of the big four accounting firms, uses RSS to provide featured headlines to it’s stakeholders.  This article teaches new users how to subscribe to it’s feed and explains to the new users why they should subscribe.http://feeds.feedburner.com/DeloitteUS

Benefit's of RSS feeds

There are benefits of using a feed reader as opposed to signing up for email updates.  These benefits include reduced rick of phishing by not disclosing your email address or any other personal information.  Also, you do not need to unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive news from a source, simply remove the feed.  I have not found a drawback to using a feed reader, I like having the feeds categorized by source rather than sorting them out myself amongst my other emails.  Feedly is a good replacement now that Google Reader is extinct: http://cloud.feedly.com/#welcome  

Using RSS is an easy way to receive news whenever it is updated without going to the sources website.    You can also change the name of the feed in your own account, for example:

What’s in (or should be in) your tax return?

I intend to discuss current tax situations that are relevant to taxpayers today.  I want taxpayers to be aware of potential tax credits and deductions that they may be eligible for.  It is my experience that it is easier, and most cost effective, to do things right the first time.  

Please remember that no matter who prepares your return, or how much you pay to have your return prepared, the ultimate responsibility for the information in your tax return lies with you, if you are the taxpayer who signs that return.  Although, a fraudulent preparer can be fined or worse, you are still financially liable for any tax you would have owed in the first place, and potentially liable for any penalties and interest that may have accrued since the due date of a questionable return.