Hiring a business tax preparer requires a different vetting process than hiring a tax preparer for your personal taxes. Here’s a few questions to ask before hiring a business tax preparer.
Businesses, regardless of size, benefit from a tax advisor, a qualified practitioner that understand their business strategy, the complex tax issues they face, and how emerging laws and regulations impact their tax profile.
But not all tax advisors are alike. Who does the work, depth of experience, breadth of recommendations, pricing and many other factors separate tax advisors. The right tax advisor for any business is the one that helps you meet your obligations (i.e. pay just the right amount due), without overpaying. A qualified practitioner should be able to answer each of these questions fully.
- How long have you been in practice?
- What are your specialties?
- What formal tax training do you have?
- What professional licenses or designations do you have (CPA, EA, RAP, ATA, ATP, other)?
- What experience do you have in working with businesses similar to ours?
- What references can you provide from companies you’ve worked with like ours?
- Can I contact you all year long, or just during filing season?
- Have you ever been disciplined by any regulatory organization or governmental oversight authority for your tax preparation practices?
- Will you represent our business under audit and before the IRS and state taxing authorities?
- How do you set your fees? What extras should we know about?
- Do you know the requirements of the states and localities where our business is required to file?
- Will you provide recommendations on tax savings options we should consider to improve our tax position going forward?
- How will you keep my in-house team current during the year on changes in tax law and regulations that might impact our business tax strategy?
- How often will we meet or discuss strategy and long-range planning for taxes into the future?
- What level of review should I expect for each return, and from how experienced an individual?
- What contingencies do you have in place for team continuity?
- What’s the timeline and document requirements for getting your team up to speed on our business activities and tax needs?
- Will I get charged for asking tax-related questions during the engagement?
- How often do you file extensions for businesses?
Get in Touch with Judy Vorndran at jvorndran@taxops.com or your Tax Advisor to discuss how digital service taxation impacts your business.
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