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Show Look for service that fits you Attorney. They may or may not have special tax training. An attorney may represent you before be-fore the IRS. Others. Anyone with or without special training can perform tax preparation services. Some firms train their preparers extensively, the FTC reports. When you are deciding on which service to use, you should ask the following questions: What qualifies you to do tax forms? What is your training? Experience? Will someone other than you double-check my return? Will he check merely for math errors or will he look for errors in applying the tax laws? What's it going to cost? What help will you provide if I am audited? What will it cost? There is a Catch-22 in tax preparation. prep-aration. No matter who prepares your forms, you are personally liable lia-ble for any additional tax, interest or penalty even if you have a written writ-ten guarantee that the preparer will pay any interest or penalty assessed as a result of the service. I ) ' - I r c i ; -v- ' ' " M 1 ;-' I " ' ' ,' I ? j $. , r I T ! v M ' ; -V" ' - , U u x - I I ,--- -' - m I j. - - . , -r " ; ' - A ' ' ' . f 1 f t" -?y A ' " m r V - V- 1 -- By Jimmy Thornton Copley News Service Tax forms may be simpler than ever, as claimed by Uncle Sam, but that doesn't mean you will enjoy filling in the blanks. You, like thousands of fellow Americans, Ameri-cans, may prefer to let somebody else do it. And that's why you see so many tax preparation services offering to help for a fee, of course. Before you select a commercial service, consider whether or not you need one. For example, community agencies agen-cies often help people like the elderly eld-erly complete their taxes. If you are using the 1040 short form, the Internal Revenue Service Ser-vice will complete most of it for you free. The IRS offers other assistance, as-sistance, but its phones often are so busy you must dial time after time to get through. Too, if you have a simple financial finan-cial setup you do a job, get paid and pay taxes filing your own forms is simple. The IRS will give you free instructions how to do it. However, many people find that the governments want not only the 1040 form and state form, but also a ream of schedules. If you itemize, item-ize, you need one schedule. If you have a business on the side, you need another. Just being married to a wage earner means you have to file the Schedule W or you can lose money. Consequently, many people look to tax preparation services. Following are the types of services ser-vices and how they differ as listed by the Federal Trade Commission: Com-mission: Enrolled agent. The individual individu-al is certified by the IRS after having worked five years as a government tax auditor or after having passed an exam. The certification is significant. It allows the agent to represent you before the IRS. That means the certified individual may appear ap-pear on your behalf before the IRS if your return is challenged by the government and that you don't have to be present. Certified Public Accountant. The CPA has had to pass a qualifying qualify-ing exam before being allowed to do business as a CPA. The CPA also may represent you before the IRS. Public accountant. An accountant ac-countant may specialize in taxes: however, he or she is not certified and may not represent you before the IRS. TAX PREPARATION - Frank Myler prepares tax returns working at his home or his clients' homes. CNS photo by Barry Fitzsimmons. |