06 Oct 5 Reasons You Need an Accountant Outside of Tax Season
Many people don’t begin looking around for an accountant until January rolls around and it’s time to file taxes. While you definitely need an accountant on your side for this time of year, accountants come in handy at other times of the year as well—not just between January 1st and April 15th. Here are just 5 examples of why you might need an experienced accountant in Provo, even when it’s not tax season.
Audit Assistance
Receiving a notice from the IRS that you are going to be audited can cause anyone to break out into a cold sweat. It’s no small matter to have a government agency combing through your financial records. But this nerve-racking matter can be made a lot less stressful if you have an experienced professional representing you. When your tax return is filed by a Provo CPA, that CPA is able to represent you and guide you through the audit process. Just as you would want a lawyer guiding you through a court case, the experience that a CPA brings to an audit is invaluable, and can help things go much more smoothly.
Setting Up Installments
It’s not unusual for people to owe money on their taxes, and often, the taxes you owe may be too much for you to pay in one lump sum. When this happens, the IRS is often willing to set you up on an installment program. However, they’re not going to offer this to you upfront; you need to take the initiative in setting up the payment schedule, which is a much easier process when you go through a CPA.
Reviewing Your Returns
If you’ve been filing your own taxes for the past few years, it may be a good idea to have one of our tax experts review those returns during the off season. We can go through your tax filings in great detail, and determine whether or not there are any deductions or withholdings you might have missed, or any other errors. Catching these small errors can add up to some major refunds on your past tax returns.
Understanding Tax Law Changes
Tax laws can change from one year to the next, and 2018 has brought on some major changes to deductions and other facets that relate to filing your tax return. Understanding how these changes impact you directly can make a big difference in how you handle your finances at the end of the year. Having a CPA on your side gives you someone who can provide you with valuable information regarding the changes to tax laws, and how you can expect those changes to impact your return.
Tax Planning
Finally—and perhaps most importantly—a CPA can assist you with invaluable tax planning services. Too few people take the opportunity to plan for filing their taxes before the beginning of the year. Appropriate tax planning can allow you to make year-end contributions to retirement accounts, make donations to charities, and make other financial decisions that could change your tax bracket and impact your return. Tax planning in Provo can end up saving you a significant amount of money in taxes, and now is the ideal time to prepare for filing your 2018 tax return.
If you need assistance with tax planning or any other tax-related services, please feel free to reach out to us at The Accounting Guys to speak to an experienced accountant in Provo.
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