Should You Do Your Taxes Yourself Or Hire a Tax Preparer? #AskTheMoneyGuy

Should You Do Your Taxes Yourself Or Hire a Tax Preparer? #AskTheMoneyGuy

[isaiakrozell]

Taxes fill me with rage. There's no reason it has to be this complex and confusing.

[SuperGreatSphinx]

Tax preparation is the process of preparing tax returns, often income tax returns, often for a person other than the taxpayer, and generally for compensation.

Tax preparation may be done by the taxpayer with or without the help of tax preparation software and online services.

Tax preparation may also be done by a licensed professional such as an attorney, certified public accountant or enrolled agent, or by an unlicensed tax preparation business.

Because United States income tax laws are considered to be complicated, many taxpayers seek outside assistance with taxes (53.5% of individual tax returns in 2016 were filed by paid preparers).

Some states have licensing requirements for anyone who prepares tax returns for a fee; and some for fee-based preparation of state tax returns only.

Commercial tax preparation software, such as TurboTax, is widely used by individuals preparing their own tax returns.

The Free File Alliance provides free tax preparation software for individuals with less than $72, 000 of adjusted gross income for tax year 2020.

People who make more than $72, 000 can use Free File Fillable Forms, electronic versions of U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) paper forms.

[josephinebardot]

Great video! Some key points were highlighted that I hadn't heard anyone else discuss. Thank you!

[greggh]

"Because I represented several clients in front of the IRS." 5:45 -- Were you a CPA or an Enrolled Agent? I ask, because you're giving the impression here, that the average tax preparer can represent you before the IRS. They can't.

[crayzskterkid]

Nice video, but this was not helpful at all. I still don’t know whether or not I should do my taxes myself because I don’t know if I’m considered simple or not.

[ronaldcamp]

I have never hired a tax preparer. We have a complex return but I am too cheap to pay someone to do my return. I will have to rely on my personal skills. Oh, did I mention that I have an accounting degree and my CPA plus 43 years of professional accounting experience? Also I print out the forms and fill them out by hand because I am not a tax professional I do not have or can buy software that will work for a reasonable price. I fill out and print the forms before mailing them.