When you withdraw money from a Health Savings Account (HSA), you will receive a 1099 saying how much was disbursed. That 1099 does not necessarily say what you used it for. If you withdraw money from an HSA in order to pay any kind of health care expense, that would include eye glasses, prescription drugs, […]
Record Keeping And Health Savings Accounts Read More »
People have wondered why it is that lately I have been pounding my blog and pounding Facebook with various posts about tax preparation. People say to me ‘Louis, you are the accident lawyer, what is with all this tax preparation stuff?’. They are concerned that I am giving up my bread and butter practice in
The Plan Is Working Read More »
One thing that I notice that a lot of plain vanilla tax preparers do is promise “audit defense” or to “represent you” in a tax audit. However, they are not so clear on what that means, and do not tell you that their “guarantee” is limited to what they may legally do. The Internal Revenue
Audit Defense, Representation Rights, And Tax Preparers Read More »
I saw a disturbing commercial this evening. A bank was encouraging people to consolidate their student loans with them. The problem is that all student loans, both student loans made or backed by the Federal Government as well as student loans made by private banks are almost impossible to discharge in bankruptcy. However, private student
Student Loan Consolidation Danger Read More »
As I was driving to work this morning, I passed Liberty Tax Service. They are advertising “Get $50.00 now”. Last night when I was web surfing, I saw that Jackson Hewitt was offering a $50.00 Walmart gift card for filing with them. I do not do such things. If I charged $200.00 for a basic
Beware The Get $50 Tax Preparer Charade Read More »
I had a client of mine come in today, and after we talked about her case, I asked her about her taxes. She told me that she goes to Liberty Tax Service, but that she was thinking of changing because they are very expensive. I asked her how much they charged her last year, and
Liberty Tax Service And The Earned Income Credit Read More »
I received a notice recently from the National Society of Tax Professionals providing the average fee charged by tax preparers. My fees are much lower. The headline fee in this flyer, which I am linking to here, indicates that for a basic 1040 return with a Schedule A, the average tax preparer charges $243.00, including the
What Is A Fair Price To Pay A Tax Preparer Read More »
I had a fun day in the office doing taxes. I had a woman come in who has been a client of mine for years. After I finished her return, I went to tell my wife that she was here, so that she could say “hello” (part of the fun of tax season is that
A Fun Saturday In The Office Read More »
Recently, I had a client come in who received a notice from the Internal Revenue Service indicating that she had received a 1099-MISC from her employer that she claims never to have received, and that should not have been issued. When I opened up the tax return that I filed for her, it turned out
The Advantage Of Having A Tax Preparer Who Is Also A Lawyer Read More »