How Much Should You Be Paying Your Tax Preparer? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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How Much Should You Be Paying Your Tax Preparer?

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There are a variety of ways in which tax professionals set their prices for preparing their clients taxes, and no two will charge the same amount. However, one general rule of thumb is that the more complex the financial situation, the higher the price will be. – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: How Much Should You Be Paying Your Tax Preparer?


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How Much Should You Be Paying Your Tax Preparer?
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  • There are a variety of ways in which tax
    professionals set their prices for preparing
    their clients taxes, and no two will charge the
    same amount. However, one general rule of thumb
    is that the more complex the financial situation,
    the higher the price will be.
  • Here are a few more guidelines to help you better
    understand how much you should be paying your tax
    preparer
  • Pricing methods used by tax pros
  • Here are a few of the methods used by tax
    professionals to determine a price for their
    work
  • They may have a set fee for each tax form or
    schedule

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  • Their price may be based upon last years fee,
    depending upon whether the tax situation has
    remained the same, or altered
  • A minimum tax return fee, with an extra fee
    dependent upon the complexity of the financial
    circumstances
  • Fees based upon the subjective value of the tax
    preparation service provided
  • A simple, hourly rate
  • A fee that is set for each item of data entry
  • What are the average fees for tax preparation?
  • If you itemize your deductions on your tax
    return, then experts advise that you could expect
    to pay an average sum of 273.

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  • While this may seem high, it does include state
    and federal returns and if you dont itemize,
    then the figure falls to around 176.
  • If youre not organized and arrive at the tax
    preparers office with plastic bags full of
    receipts, or are missing any important documents,
    then you can expect to pay more for your lack of
    effort.
  • What is included in the tax preparation fee?
  • Not all tax professionals will price their work
    in the same way, so be sure to ask yours what is
    included in their price, such as whether they are
    charging more for electronic filing, phone calls
    or office visits.

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  • You will also need to find out what will happen
    if a mistake is made that is the fault of your
    preparer, and what will be included in your
    initial fee if their mistakes cause you to be
    audited.
  • The best way to negotiate a reasonable fee
  • Sticking with the initial quote from one tax
    preparer will never give you an idea of whether
    the work is being priced fairly, or whether it is
    priced worryingly low. Get several quotes from
    tax preparers to have a better understanding of
    what you should be paying and remember that the
    lowest price may not always be as good as it
    sounds and may not include everything that you
    need from them. Added extras can soon mount up,
    so once youve received an initial quote that
    seems fair, talk to them directly about the
    chance of the fee increasing for any reason.

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  • Remember that the price you pay for a tax
    preparer is almost always a sound investment,
    particularly as it can save you from having to
    pay costly penalties further down the line if you
    prepare your own taxes without having the
    relevant knowledge and experience.
  • At Heyer Associates, we proactively assist our
    individual and small business clients in meeting
    their goals. Our key area of focus is ensuring
    that our clients remain compliant with federal
    and state tax laws by providing them with high
    quality accounting and tax service Coral Gables.
    If you are looking for individual tax preparation
    in Miami, Heyer Associates would be a right
    option.
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