From the Mailbag: Having Someone Else Do Your Taxes

We have been so lucky to have always had a great accountant. There have been a few years when I had sweated our taxes, but it has been sometime since we have actually owed. I had taken several different accounting classes while working towards my finance degree, but I really don't know anything about the latest tax laws and tax deductions.

It's always best to deal with a certified public accountant when it comes to your taxes. You would go to the dentist if you had a toothache or a hair stylist if you needed haircut, right? Well maybe some of you would pull your own tooth or cut your own hair. Hey, the economy is tough, right? Wrong! When it comes to your income tax, an accountant is always the best person to help you out.

Since it's tax season this question comes in at the right time.

What are the pluses and minuses of having someone else prepare my tax return? Paula D.

Doing your own taxes is almost as bad as getting a tooth pulled or worse. You can spend hours digging through possible tax deductible receipts, filling out a bunch of tax forms, and when you are finally done, you will still be asking yourself: Could I still pay less? Could I get more back? Did I know to take every possible deduction that I am allowed to take?

A certified tax accountant can save you a lot of grief and, in most cases, can point out deductions that you had no idea you could take. Like I was getting at earlier, you need an expert in this area. It's what they do best and they know the tax laws much better than we do. They prepare tax returns for a living, while the best the rest of us can do is maybe fill out a 1040EZ. Even so, the type of accountant you need can depend on the complexity of your return and how much you are willing to pay, but in the end it is all worth it.

Did you enjoy reading this article? You can receive free full-text articles from Financial Elite by RSS in your email inbox daily by entering your email HERE. Your  email will only be used for this daily subscription, and each email will include a link you may use to unsubscribe at any time. Also follow us on Twitter.