* Have you checked
out the new “issue” of THE LAKE REGION SOMETHING? A new "issue" is coming soon!
* Megan Gorman asks “Do You Know Who Is Preparing Your Tax Return?” at FORBES.COM.
A good question in
general. But what she is talking about
is -
“Tax returns are being outsourced overseas.
Not overseas as in a tax firm’s office based in another
country. Rather, overseas as in your tax firm has contracted your tax return
out to a third-party firm in another country.”
Obviously, she is
referring to a common practice by CPA firms.
One more reason not to use a CPA firm to prepare your tax returns.
If you use a local
independent tax professional, an EA or an “unenrolled” preparer, your return
may be done by a lower-level preparer within the firm but most certainly not by someone contracted in a foreign
country. A local independent tax
professional will not “outsource”
your return overseas.
I admit that I have
said in the past, and still believe, that your return may indeed be prepared
more competently and correctly by the third-party preparer in India or wherever
than by an actual American-based CPA.
But you will most likely still pay the same fee.
And, to be fair, a
small independent CPA firm will usually prepare the return “in house” and not
“outsource”.
For more information
on the differences in tax preparers and how to select a preparer for your
return visit my website FIND A TAX PROFESSIONAL.
* An FYI - the most
recent NATP fee survey of members indicated that the “overall average charge
for an individual return” for 2018 was $216.31
(federal return only). The overall
average fee for a Form 1040 only,
with no other forms or schedules, was $116. Fees vary by region, and the average fee for
a Form 1040 only in the northeast was $119.
No surprise to me – the average
fee charged by a CPA for a Form 1040 only was $137 – the highest fee for
any “designation”. This is $20 more than
the average fee for a Form 1040 only charged by an EA. I have been saying for decades that you will always pay a CPA more for, in most
cases, less service and value.
I hope my clients are
reading this post.
* Kailey Fralick of
The Motley Fool explains “Inheriting an IRA? Here's What You Need to Know” at
YAHOO.COM.
* Kay Bell provides a
good reminder and dispels an apparent misconception, while at the same time
confirming that Donald T Rump will say any lie to get votes, in “Retirement accounts don't get the benefit of lower capital gains tax rates”.
* Speaking of Trump’s
ridiculous “pants on fire” pre-election lies, Howard Gleckman tells us “There Will Be No Middle-Class Tax Cut This Week. Or Next Month” at TAX VOX.
“Pundits are breathlessly speculating about what President Trump’s
promise to cut taxes for the middle class by 10 percent could possibly mean.
They are wasting their time. Instead of worrying about what details may emerge,
keep the following in mind:
· The Administration
has no plan.
· Until the president
spoke last week, apparently off the cuff, it was not working on such a plan.
Neither was anyone in Congress.
· There is no chance
Congress will cut anybody’s taxes next week since it is not even in session.
· There is no chance
Congress will cut middle income taxes by 10 percent once it returns for a
lame-duck session after the election.
· The president can’t
say who the middle class is.”
Republican lawmakers have
said they have no such tax-cut legislation in the works.
Howard is correct
when he observes -
“This episode is perfectly consistent with the president’s MO: Make
grandiose, attention-getting promises that never get fulfilled.”
As I have said before
– Streisand sings, DeNiro acts, and Trump lies. It is what they do.
* It is that time of
year again for year-end tax planning.
Check out my 2018 YEAR-END TAX PLANNING GUIDE.
* “Fix The Tax Code
Friday” is back at TAXGIRL.COM with “Repeal Of The Personal Exemption Amount”.
THE LAST WORD
History will record
the legacy of the Trump Presidency as the emboldening and empowerment of
racists and bigots to openly and aggressively act out their hatred, racism and
bigotry.
TTFN
No comments:
Post a Comment