Why You Should Choose a Tax Professional (EA or CPA):

One of the best ways to find deductions is to make an appointment with a tax professional. A tax practitioner enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is referred to as an Enrolled Agent (EA). Enrolled Agents and Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) have had to take extensive training and have had to under go strenuous testing to obtain their certifications. These professionals must complete up to 40-hours per year of continuing professional education just to maintain their licenses—many do more.

A good number of these professionals have the latest and most sophisticated tax preparation software, as well as, tax-research software tools and publications. The combination of professional level software, experience and training help to insure that you find the deductions you are entitled to. No single software application designed for home use can equal the power of an EA or CPA equipped with professional tax preparation software. The tax professional knows the right questions to ask and has the tools to find the answers.

If you consider the current tax situation complex and confusing keep in mind that the IRS has thousands of pages of tax code, and are even now busy adding more regulations. Most of the new regulations are distributed by the IRS to tax professionals in the form of a bulletin. Professional tax publications and journals publish information about how the new and existing rules should be applied in example situations and if there have been court rulings, those too are often published. Throughout the year many tax professionals are busy studying and preparing. They are trained to research tax questions quickly. No one person knows everything, but understanding tax law and having professional level tax research tools give a decided advantage in ensuring that you pay the minimum tax required by law.