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How to prepare for the tax preparer
By Larry
Getlen • Bankrate.com
While tax preparers need to be organized and
professional to properly serve you, you need to be equally organized
to allow them to do their jobs, and to ensure that you get the most
from their time and service. In fact, good organization can reduce
not only your taxes, but your preparer bill, as well.
Here are several steps to take before meeting
with your tax preparer:
- Assess your situation
early, before even shopping for a preparer. That way, you'll
be able to accurately describe your situation, increasing the
chance of ending up with the professional best suited to your
needs, and also increasing the accuracy of the fee estimate.
- Review last year's
return. This will remind you of any unique tax situations
you'll need to discuss.
- Organize all receipts
and paperwork. The shoebox method may have worked for Oscar
Madison, but chances are it won't work too well for you. (Actually,
if you remember correctly, it didn't work too well for Oscar,
either.) Have your receipts organized by category, along with
any other relevant
documents, including W-2 forms, 1099s, sales journals, bank
statements, rent receipts, records showing the purchase and sale
of investments, any documents relating to the sale of real estate
or lawsuit settlements, and anything else with impact on your
finances. If you aren't sure if a document has tax implications,
bring it and ask.
- Prepare information
on unusual situations. If you have any unique tax situations
or liabilities, prepare to discuss them. This includes any past
problems you may have had.
- Bring relevant computer
disks. If you track your finances on a program such as
Quicken or Microsoft Money, having a disk of your program might
assist in answering any last minute questions. Call first to make
sure the preparer's office supports your file format.
- Be on time.
This should be obvious for any business situation, but while we're
all busy, perhaps no one is as pressed (and stressed) for time
as a tax preparer during tax season. Tax preparers deal with hundreds
of tax situations during the season, and your lateness could strongly
deflect from the attention they are able to give you.
- Schedule early.
The earlier in the tax season you schedule your appointment, the
less likelihood the preparer is dealing with hundreds of stressed-out,
last-minute clients, and is probably in that stressed-out, distracted
mode, too.
- Don't delay information.
If, after your initial session, you need to get back to your preparer
with additional information, do so immediately, for all the reasons
listed above -- to avoid the stress of rushing things at the last
minute and backing up against April 15th.
- Have a list of questions
handy. Don't fumble around in the preparer's office, wasting
both of your time.
- Brush up. While
it's not always possible to be fully abreast of the tax
law (that's why we have preparers), the more informed you
are, the better you'll be able to assist in the return preparation
process, provide important information and keep unnecessary questions
to a minimum.
Remember, even though the preparer bears some
responsibility, you are ultimately responsible for your tax return.
So the more prepared you are, the greater the chance the return
preparation will go smoothly.
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