Thursday, January 1, 2009

Benefits of Getting Tax Filing Help

By Mary Niles

There are many reasons to get tax filing help, especially if you are not knowledgeable about tax laws and filing tax returns. Most people think that tax laws are complicated and they do not want to prepare their tax returns themselves so they take their tax documents to tax preparation services each year.

Although it is perfectly acceptable to have someone else prepare your tax return and give you tax filing help, it is also good to know how to do it yourself. That way, a taxpayer can make sure that his or her tax return is prepared properly an nothing is left out that can reduce tax bills. The more tax credits and tax deductions you can claim from the IRS, the less taxes you have to pay.

Many people rely too much on the tax preparers or tax accountants that they miss out on some tax deductions or tax credits. The tax preparer or tax accountant does not know everything about you and unless you tell him or her, it will not be used in your tax return to your advantage. If you know how to claim tax deductions or tax credits, you can make sure that the tax preparer or accountant claims everything that you are entitled to claim accordingly.

Whenever a taxpayer prepares his or her own tax return, he or she is likely to need more tax filing help than if he or she were to go to a tax preparation service such as a H&R Block. If a taxpayer has any question about his or her tax return such as how to file a tax return or how to claim a tax deduction, he or she must get the question answered before filing to avoid problems further down the road.

Getting tax filing help, no matter from whom, can help a taxpayer avoid mistakes that he or she might make. If a taxpayer discovers later that he or she made a mistake in his or her tax return, he or she needs to file an amended tax return to avoid getting into more trouble with the IRS. Most of the problems can be prevented if the taxpayer is cautious when preparing his or her own tax return.

Yet another easy way to get tax filing help is to use a tax preparation software. There are many good and easy to use tax software such as Tax Cut or Turbo Tax that will help taxpayers prepare tax returns in a short amount of time. These software can cost very little but if a taxpayer wants a software that comes with lots of worksheets, then it is more expensive. However, the most expensive the tax software, the easier to use.

The benefits of getting tax filing help upfront far outweigh the trouble of having to correct a tax return if a mistake is made. There are many places that a taxpayer can get help, some places even offer help for free. Some places offer verbal help whereas others will actually prepare a tax return for you. - 16089

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