Tax Relief by Hiring a Tax Professional
By: Rogelio Little | Posted: 14th February 2011
It's frustrating at times to face the reality that the United States government takes what can be a significant percentage of your hard-earned money in the form of taxes. Then add the stress of having to pay a fee to file your federal tax return, in addition to the cost of paying your accountant or tax professional to prepare your return. Read on and learn how to find out if you qualify to file your federal tax return free.
Be sure the website you choose allows you to itemize your deductions. Some sites may have simplified software that isn't equipped to handle the complexity of itemizing deductions. Being able to properly itemize your deductions allows you to maximize your tax savings by claiming every dollar you've donated or spent on business purposes.
Tax attorneys have chosen to specialize in tax law. They usually have their juris doctor degree and a master of laws degree in taxations. They are great for handling your complex legal matters, such as estate tax returns.
The government is banking on your ignorance of the ever changing tax codes. Most people just don't realize that there are ways around much of the tax code and ways to get around all the penalties and interest that comes along with it. They want to get every penny out of you. Lots of times tax payers give in to the government's demands because they are afraid of what might happen to them. Don't fall in that trap and give up. Find a tax professional to protect your rights and represent you.
The way taxpayers have been preparing and submitting their tax returns to the government has evolved throughout the years. It started with manual filling of IRS forms by tax advisors, continued with the development of professional tax software that do most of the calculations for the tax preparers (allowing them to focus on tax advisory and planning) and ends with the most recent trend of e-filing, which allows taxpayer to prepare their own tax return without using a tax professional and submit their tax returns directly to the authorities online!
After the professional tax software idea proofed to be successful, some computers geeks decided to take it to the next level and allow almost any John Doe to act like a tax professional. How did they do it? The geniuses simply took the basic features from the professional tax software, the most common forms, the most common deductions, the most basic credits and package it as a do-it-your-self tax software. Even if it started slow, it really caught up and quickly millions of taxpayer dropped their tax advisors and cheated with Turbo Tax, Tax Cut and alike.
Send it in. If you have delinquent tax returns, the best advice is to send the tax return in to the U.S. Postal Service as soon as possible by certified mail with return receipt requested The IRS will send back a little receipt in the mail a few days later showing the date and time your returns were delivered to them and who signed for it. Thus, you will have proof that they received what you mailed. Regardless of why a tax return was not submitted on time: unprepared emotionally, procrastination, financially can't afford to pay taxes owed, it is still crucial to file a return. Not filing this year to avoid getting caught because you didn't send anything last year is not a good excuse either.
Just ONE OUT-OF-THE-WAY deduction can pay for the professional's entire fee. Sometimes, many times over. Don't forget amended returns from back tax years. A pro can often work magic in reclaiming funds paid in to the government that you never owed in the first place. It's like "found" money.
If you decide to take on your tax debt yourself, make sure you analyze your tax return for potential deductions you have might have overlooked. When you resubmit any deductions or changes, this is called Amending the Return. If you can find some deductions, then you can most likely lower the total amount of taxes you owe. However, sometimes hiring a tax professional is the best way to go because Amending a return usually requires a lot of paperwork and supporting documentation. Therefore, you are better off hiring a tax professional who can help you submit the detailed paperwork so you don't get audited.About the Author
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Tags: hard earned money, complexity, stress, united states government, accountant, business purposes, taxpayers, tax attorneys, tax payers, legal matters, federal tax return, tax preparers, e filing, professional tax software