Tax Preparation No-Nos And Okays: What You Should Know
Posted on: 15 July 2019
Tax preparation should never be a complicated process. However, you might be surprised about some of the things people do while not realizing that they should not have done that. There are also some things you can do that most people do not realize are perfectly okay to do. Here are some no-no and okay situations that you should be aware of in regards to your tax preparation services.
No Processing of Taxes Without Full Information
There are programs that allow you to borrow against an estimated tax refund. These situations are risky from the standpoint that your estimate is just that — an estimate. Your refund may be intercepted by government agencies, or it may be far less than the estimated amount. Processing your taxes through prep and filing without all of the appropriate documents and information is a big no-no because you are signing your name to a document that attests that the information therein "is true and complete to the best of [your] knowledge." The government can prosecute you for tax fraud if you file without all of the correct information.
No Leaving Documents With Anyone Who Is NOT Your Tax Preparer
You might have started a business relationship with a tax preparer previously. You needed to collect some other documents and turn those into your tax preparer. Do not give or leave those documents with anyone in the office that is not your tax preparer! If your preparer is in the office, you can leave all of your documents with him/her without having to make an appointment or stay until the tax preparer has finished with the documents. You may only leave the documents with the administrative assistant at the front desk if the documents are in a sealed envelope or if the admin gets up and walks the documents over to your tax preparer's desk and you see him/her do it.
File Quarterly Taxes
If you know that you are going to owe a lot in taxes next tax season, you can offset that amount by filing your taxes quarterly. Your tax prep expert will help you figure out what you need to do this, as well as how much in payments you will need to pay each quarter. It is a lot easier to manage this than filing at the end of the business year and realizing that you owe several thousands of dollars.
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