This past year was the first year that I was fortunate enough to work from my home. Working from my home has been a wonderful change for both personal and professional reasons. The only thing that caused a slight issue was the tax filing changes that I had to endure. The office in my home was now considered a tax deduction. I had to get some help learning how to deduct the things that are allowed on my federal taxes. If you are new to working from home and have a home office, this blog can help you learn what you need to know before tax time rolls around.
One of the most important services that you can take advantage of when tax season rolls around is a tax-preparation service, mostly because of the many different ways in which they can help you. Listed below are just a few of the reasons to utilize a tax-preparation service.
Maximize Return
The most important reason to utilize a tax-preparation service is that it can help to greatly increase your tax return. The reason for this is that the preparation service will be more able to accurately determine if you are qualified for various tax breaks. This is a great option as there are so many different tax breaks out there that you may be unaware of that could potentially save you a lot of money or increase your return.
For example, if you work from home, a tax-preparation service may be able to have you claim a portion of your rent or mortgage payments as a home-office expense that you can then use to get a break on your taxes. In addition, the tax service will often be able to find more discounts than the tax-preparation software out there, as the tax preparer can sit down with you have an in-depth conversation about your finances that can help him or her discover other potential tax breaks.
Audit Representation
One of the most terrifying things that can happen when you file your taxes is to be notified that you are being audited, particularly if you prepared your taxes on your own. However, if you hire a tax-preparation service, they will often provide audit representation that will have a member of their service join you on your audit date. This will allow a professional to explain to the IRS representative why your taxes were prepared the way they were and to discuss how various numbers on your tax forms were calculated in order to protect you from potential penalties, fines, or jail time.
Determine If You Can Claim Dependents
Finally, a tax-preparation service can also help you determine if you have any individuals that you can claim as dependents in order to increase your tax return. While you can typically count children as dependents, there is also a chance that you can also claim other family members or acquaintances.
For example, the IRS is often willing to allow you to claim anyone that you are supporting financially as a dependent, and this is quite useful if you are supporting your elderly parents or grandparents. In most cases, you will have to prove that you are providing for at least half of the potential dependent's expenses.
Contact a tax-preparation service such as Hough & Co CPA today in order to discuss the many ways in which they may be able to assist you. These services can help you maximize your return, provide audit representation, and determine if you have any dependents that you can claim.
Share19 August 2016
