Smart Spending moves to WordPress. Come see our new home
Come along with Mr. Cheapskatin’ as Smart Spending changes addresses. This move won’t cost you a cent.
The latest entry might help you find air fares for spring break and summer travel that won’t leave a hole in the ol’ piggy bank.
Bookmark our new site (http://blogs.ajc.com/smart-spending-blog/) and be sure to sign up for the RSS feed.
Home > Smart Spending > Archives > 2009 > January > 19
Monday, January 19, 2009
Tax Preparers: How Not To Spend An Arm And A Leg On ‘Em
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My income tax preparer is a longtime pal who meets with me at her office home within a brisk walk from mine. Far as I can tell, her performance is A-plus. An ideal setup, except …
Her fee is $150 per hour. Pretty steep, to be sure.
Do you pay close to that amount? Worth it?
There are some tasks I do — and you can do — to trim the tab if your preparer charges by the clock.
Mine provides me with a form that I fill out as fully as possible with numbers I have compiled. Any figures that I cannot supply on my own, the chore falls in her lap — which means a higher bill for me.
I save receipts, W-2s, copies of relevant checks and medical bills during the year. Besides totaling them for the form, I paper-clip by category and supply the entire batch to the preparer, which saves her time (and me money) in sorting through them.
Whether it’s bookkeeping or tax expertise, she charges the same rate. I’m smart enough to handle the former, not the latter.
Are you organized enough to compile the necessary paperwork and do the simple math?
I schedule our get-together well before April under the assumption she will be slammed when the filing deadline approaches, increasing the chance of mistakes. Correcting them could shoot my final bill higher.
You can remove the human element out of tax preparation and do it yourself with software programs such as TurboTax. They are dirt-cheap but are advised only for those using simple tax forms.
Have you dabbled with online tax programs?
If you are searching for a preparer, check out these tips from the IRS.
Mr. Cheapskatin’ hates to pay top dollar with anything, so I may hunt for a replacement despite all of the pluses with my situation. With apologies to the Clash: Should I stay or should I go?
