Do You Need an Accountant to Handle Your Personal Taxes?
Posted on: 24 August 2016
It's probably safe to say that many people manage their own personal taxes; they may use an online program or a software program they buy, but may not feel that they need the professional help of an accountant to get them through tax time. While it may be legal for you to do this, not everyone should manage their own taxes at the end of the year. Note a few signs that it's good to rely on a qualified accountant to prepare and file personal taxes and why this can be beneficial.
You "can't math"
Don't be ashamed to say that you cannot balance your checkbook, figure out percentages, or perform other simple math equations. Taxes are not always easy, as you need to do all these things to figure out your deductions, your tax bracket, what you owe versus what you earned, and so on. While you don't need to be a math genius to figure out taxes, an accountant can more readily handle all these complicated and complex figuring so that nothing is done inaccurately. This can also ensure you don't file your taxes late simply because you got overwhelmed with the process and put it off until after the filing deadline.
Your returns always seem very paltry
If you have a friend or family member with the same basic income and family situation as you but they always seem to get a larger return, it may be time to hire an accountant. Chances are you're missing certain deductions, claiming income that isn't really income, or otherwise making simple mistakes that are costing you money. Obviously everyone's tax returns are different and there may be factors you're overlooking, but if your returns always seem very paltry, it can be good to hire an accountant to see if you're overlooking anything or making some simple but costly mistakes.
Things have changed, drastically
Changing jobs so that you earn a bit more or less probably won't change your taxes that much, but if you got married, bought or sold a house, made a large amount of money from investments, had a child or adopted a child, had to go on disability of some sort even for a short period, or otherwise faced major changes, you might want to call an accountant. These things can greatly impact your tax bill and even the way you file, and assuming you can just check off different boxes can be a mistake. An accountant can ensure you're lowering your tax bill for these situations as much as possible, saving you as much money as possible.
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