We have hired a tax professional to prepare our taxes the past few years. The firm is small with several staff and is owned and operated by an individual trained as a lawyer who is also an Enrolled Agent. We figured the firm size was a reasonably good fit for us and liked that the owner seemed to have good experience.
One of the things I always request is a copy of the worksheets and other supporting materials / documentation. While the government may not require that the information be included in the tax filing, I want to be sure to retain the information for our records. The IRS says as much ("save your worksheet for your records" (or similar language).)
Admittedly, I do not go through each page of the entire file to confirm everything is included, but I probably scroll through and typically see a considerably higher page count and leave things at that.
This year we owed a tax penalty (for under withholding), and I happened to notice that Form 2210 was omitted. I found this surprising, as well as unsettling, as I would have not known had I not "stumbled on" this omission. (I can't even remember now how I found out, it's not as if I was actively trying to find something missing.)
I really dislike doing taxes and figured it was worth outsourcing. We can afford it, and it was a step towards hiring out things one dislikes to improve quality of life, etc. However, now this gives me pause, or at least makes me think that one needs to still stay on top of things to a degree (at which point sometimes I think it's easier to just do something oneself). Anyway, I digress.
So, here are my questions:
1. Based on the experience of others on the forum, either as a professional tax preparer yourself or someone who retain those services, would you expect to provide (in the case of a preparer) or receive (in the case of a consumer of tax prep services) various worksheets and other supporting documents, e.g., Form 2210, if this was requested?
2a. Do tax preparers automatically provide supporting documentation or only on request?
2b. If you hire a tax preparer, do you automatically receive supporting documentation or only on request?
3. Would you be inclined to continue with this particular tax preparer in the future (if you were me, say) or would you plan to find another solution next year? Assuming that your experience prior to this circumstance was neutral, how would you proceed?
Thanks.
One of the things I always request is a copy of the worksheets and other supporting materials / documentation. While the government may not require that the information be included in the tax filing, I want to be sure to retain the information for our records. The IRS says as much ("save your worksheet for your records" (or similar language).)
Admittedly, I do not go through each page of the entire file to confirm everything is included, but I probably scroll through and typically see a considerably higher page count and leave things at that.
This year we owed a tax penalty (for under withholding), and I happened to notice that Form 2210 was omitted. I found this surprising, as well as unsettling, as I would have not known had I not "stumbled on" this omission. (I can't even remember now how I found out, it's not as if I was actively trying to find something missing.)
I really dislike doing taxes and figured it was worth outsourcing. We can afford it, and it was a step towards hiring out things one dislikes to improve quality of life, etc. However, now this gives me pause, or at least makes me think that one needs to still stay on top of things to a degree (at which point sometimes I think it's easier to just do something oneself). Anyway, I digress.
So, here are my questions:
1. Based on the experience of others on the forum, either as a professional tax preparer yourself or someone who retain those services, would you expect to provide (in the case of a preparer) or receive (in the case of a consumer of tax prep services) various worksheets and other supporting documents, e.g., Form 2210, if this was requested?
2a. Do tax preparers automatically provide supporting documentation or only on request?
2b. If you hire a tax preparer, do you automatically receive supporting documentation or only on request?
3. Would you be inclined to continue with this particular tax preparer in the future (if you were me, say) or would you plan to find another solution next year? Assuming that your experience prior to this circumstance was neutral, how would you proceed?
Thanks.
Statistics: Posted by rjbraun — Sun Apr 21, 2024 1:43 pm — Replies 5 — Views 330