Doing your taxes can be very complicated, especially if you are a high-income earner. Taxes are also complicated if you have multiple income sources or financial complications. If you are in such a situation, it will make a lot of sense to hire a tax expert.
However, some retirees and entrepreneurs prefer filing taxes on their own and facing the tax season alone despite having multiple income streams and significant investments.
Millions of Americans fall behind on paying their taxes every year. So, when can you justify hiring a tax expert? Check out the below scenarios:
You Own a Small Business, or You’re Self-Employed
The new tax reforms led to significant changes in the tax code. This is especially true for people who own businesses or are self-employed. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act introduced the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction.
The QBI allows eligible small business owners and self-employed individuals to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income from their taxes. This is one of the numerous self-employed tax deductions that are pretty difficult to calculate if you are not a tax expert. That’s because there are numerous expenses that you need to track when filing your taxes.
However, hiring a tax expert doesn’t mean that you will be handing over your responsibilities. This can seem like a tempting idea because of the amount of paperwork involved. Hiring a tax expert will not reduce the amount of work you will do on your part, especially with documentation requirements.
You are required to organize all your files, proofs of income, and receipts before meeting your tax expert. You will also need other supporting evidence for the deductions you claim on your return.
When You Sell a Business Just Before Retirement
If you decide to retire and sell your business, it is wise to hire a tax expert to help you avoid any retirement mistakes. Selling a business so close to retirement is quite hectic, and you can make numerous mistakes.
Filing taxes and preparing the forms on your own is difficult but possible. However, the DIY software options may not support the preparation of Form 8594: Asset Acquisition Statement. Therefore, you will need to go through the process of setting up a price for the business, correctly classifying your assets, and ensuring that all the forms match the sellers’ and buyers’ tax returns for that year.
To Save You Time and Energy
Some freelancers and business owners think that it’s quite expensive to hire a tax expert. However, when you look at the time and effort you spend trying to manage your finances, the benefits of hiring an expert outweigh the cost. Handling your own taxes opens you up to errors and financial losses resulting from poor decisions.
As a self-employed individual, your focus should be handling your clients and running your business. Ensure you invest in a professional accountant for advice and to help you keep your focus on your long-term personal financial goals.
Helps You Plan for the Future
One of the most significant benefits of hiring an expert is to get advice on how to plan your finances for future long-term goals. You and the accountant can pull your financial reports and examine the seasonality. This will help you know where to invest your money and the right time to do so.
The tax expert will objectively take a step and look at the bigger picture to find the best ways to manage your finances.
If You Don’t Know How to Handle Your Own Taxes
The law doesn’t require individuals to keep a record of their finances like businesses. However, not doing this can be an expensive mistake from a tax and financial perspective. Your credit card and bank account statements may have errors that you may not discover until it’s too late.
If you don’t know how to file your taxes, you can hire an expert to handle them for you. You can overlook paying a bill that may hurt your overall credit score. You may also not know anything about investing right or allocating income to savings.
Most times, people overlook expenditures that may provide tax benefits or deductions. Thus, having an expert by your side will help you understand different aspects of filing your taxes and help you track your finances for your next tax year.
To Help You Get All Your Deductions
During tax season, most people are always busy looking for ways to maximize their tax deductions. However, it’s often too late to make an impact on deductions by the end of the year.
A tax expert can help you identify all the potential deductions throughout the year. The expert will also advise you on how to make strategic financial decisions for the tax year deductions.
Most people make the mistake of forgetting to track and account for certain expenses, such as out-of-pocket business expenses. Do not leave any money on the table. Below are the credit deductions you should consider when filing your taxes:
Student Loan Interests
You can deduct student loan interest from your taxes. The IRS permits up to $2,500 in interest payments. However, the amount you pay will depend on your adjusted gross income.
Freelance Expenses
If you are a self-employed person, you can claim deductions for any expenses you use that are work-related. Such expenses include office supplies and industry subscriptions.
Charitable Deduction
If you donate your money to your favorite charity organization or your Alma mater, you can get a charitable deduction. However, remember to itemize your taxes.
Do You Need a Tax Expert?
Filing taxes is a highly complex process, especially if you don’t have the knowledge and experience needed. The process is even more complicated for individuals with businesses, homeowners, and numerous investments. Thus, you may need a tax expert to help you through the process.
Did you like this article? Check out other posts here on our site for more finance tips.
