Publication
Article
Author(s):
Physician's Money Digest
The complexities of the tax codeare shrinking the number of Americansopting to fill out Form 1040 ontheir own, with more than half of alltaxpayers paying a tax preparer to dothe job for them. IRS figures showthat self-employed persons with morethan $200,000 in adjusted grossincome (a category that includesmany readers)spend an average of 62 hours ayear organizing taxes and pay $1315in fees to have their taxes done forthem. The total cost to all taxpayersfor tax compliance tops $16 billion.Be wary when picking out a tax preparer,since many are not certified byan accrediting organization. Andalthough many tax professionals willrepresent you if the IRS comes tocall, remember that you're still on thehook for any mistakes.