I recently had two people come to see me about tax problems. I did the taxes for one. Another tax preparer did them for the other. My client was able to meet with me regarding his issue. The other client cannot find her tax preparer, because he goes away after the tax season.
My client arrived in my office full of spit and vinegar because he received something from the IRS. My receptionist came into my office and told me that my client had walked-in and said that I had messed up, causing him to receive a notice from the IRS. I went out front and met with him in the conference room. I asked him for the notice from the IRS. It was a tax transcript, which is to say a summary of his tax return. The cover letter said that he had requested it. I explained to him what the letter said, and that it was just a computerized copy of his tax return. He told me that he did not request the transcript, and did not understand what it was. I reviewed it with him, and showed him that it said that he was to receive a very large refund, which he had already received. He said “so you are saying that I have no problem”. I told him that the transcript is not a problem. However, someone requested the transcript from the IRS, and that someone knows his social security number. I helped him to figure out who might have requested it, and advised him as to how to check his credit report to make sure that he is not a victim of identity theft. I also counseled him to file his taxes as soon as he gets his W-2 form, to prevent tax refund theft. Naturally, I did not charge him for this meeting.
The second client who came in had her taxes prepared by somebody else. In previous years, she had taken her grandchild as a dependent and received a pretty good tax refund. This year she claimed more dependents, and claimed a huge refund. However, the IRS has disallowed all of her dependents, including her grandchild, and withheld her refund. In fact, it is looking for her to pay taxes. She has been fighting the IRS for months, without success. Her tax preparer is not helping her, because he is not around. He will not be back until January. Fortunately, I am around year round, and she can hire me to fight with the IRS about the validity of these dependents. Had I have prepared her taxes in the first place, I think that this problem could have been avoided. At a minimum, we could have dealt with the issues more quickly, and she would be in possession of her refund by now. If I had prepared her taxes, and she received a notice from the IRS, I would have sent a reply and dealt with it quickly. I send these letters as a courtesy to my tax clients. When other people’s clients come to me, they are consulting a tax attorney for a tax problem. I charge accordingly.