Brief PSA

I first and foremost want to clarify that PVA does NOT file income taxes. We are a property tax management company, not an income tax preparation company. If you hear about me preparing and filing for someone, most likely that person is a close family member or friend and I am performing the work for them pro-bono. The only fees the taxpayer will be remitting are the necessary filing fees and any liability.

However, I do want to say this: I see and hear about so many taxpayers with such simple income taxes (such as they make less than $40K, have no investments, interest income, distributions, etc.) but pay these accountants and tax professionals upwards of $100-$300 a return. I've even heard about some taxpayers being charged $1,000 to prepare and file returns. Yes, I'm dead serious.

I'm not trying to shark business from my colleagues in the tax field, but I do want to say that for all you taxpayers with simple taxes, please save your money. Find a tax professional who is willing to perform the work for you pro-bono. If your taxes are extremely simple, then there are filing services such as TurboTax (this is not a paid sponsorship). Deductions, exclusions and credits carry the same calculations no matter who computes them. Good tax planning is standard and as long as the tax preparer is familiar with the income tax formulas, policies and computations, you will still be remitting your information to its fullest extent and for most taxpayers, be receiving back the optimal amount of tax refunds. (I never recommend to anyone to look forward to and strive for extremely high tax refunds, but I'll discuss that in another post later on).

All I'm saying is, be wise about your money and where its going. Your prerogative as a taxpayer is to pay your liability owed and nothing more. You should not be overpaying someone to make sure of this either. Use wise judgement and remember that if it sounds like an inequitable deal, most likely it is. It doesn't matter how much you like the person or how long they've been serving you, your parents or your ancestors; I can guarantee you that if they do not respect you enough to charge you a fair and equitable price to your tax situation, then your relationship is one-sided.

That's all. Happy taxes and if you have any tax or accounting questions that I can answer in a casual sense, feel free to email me. Keep in mind though, that I am not your tax professional and therefore can only advise you in a very broad and general sense.