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Need Tax Advice? Don't Wait until Last Minute

Writer's picture: Naila Sharifova, CPA, MSTNaila Sharifova, CPA, MST

Well, another tax season is done. At certain point, I stopped counting how many I have lived through. :) I still have the same trepidation of going into it and still experience excitement from reconnecting with clients and from finding tax solutions that can really make a difference to the bottom line. 


A few tips to share with those who are not part of tax professionals' world to make relationship more successful: 


 1. If you are ready to look for a tax professional, do so in summer or fall. You have much better chances finding a good one who can take you. The worst possible time to look for one is from mid February till April 15. 


 2. Take time to learn how your tax professional operates. You may end up not liking them just because they don't use some software or too paper oriented. Ask questions during initial call/meeting. 


 3. Know that during tax season it is not easy to respond to emails right away as everyone sends them at once, and there are only so many hours in a day to also work on tax returns. 


 4. Review completed returns and ask questions if something doesn't add up. For example, you may no longer have a parent dependent who passed away, but you forgot to inform your CPA about it. Or your income may look much bigger than you anticipated. 


 5. Don't tell your CPA that your return would be easy and straightforward. The chances that it is an accurate statement are slim (you would've done it yourself otherwise). :)


 6. Do read emails/letters containing instructions. There is a lot of time and effort going into them to make sure deadlines are met and planning opportunities are timely taken. 


 7. If you expect taxable transactions during the year that are outside of normal, consider reaching out to your tax advisor before to see if there are some ways to minimize tax impact. At a minimum, consider year-end planning to see where you stand tax wise and discuss what can be done before the year closes. You may have way more options to save than post factum. 


To all my CPA friends and colleagues, congratulations on finishing another tax season! Hope you all take a breather for a few days before diving back in a mount of administrative work that we tend to postpone during the last couple of weeks. :)

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