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Ask questions and insist on things being done the right way.
• Try to find a preparer who will be around to answer questions after the return has been filed.
• Avoid preparers who base their fee on a percentage of the amount of the refund or who claim they can obtain larger refunds than other preparers without first reviewing your returns.
• Review and ask questions before signing a return.
• Ask others that you know who have used that preparer if they were satisfied with the services that they received.
• Ask any preparer that you are considering for references.
• Ask and verify if the preparer belongs to a professional organization that requires its members to pursue continuing education and also holds them accountable to a code of ethics.
• Always question entries on your return that you don’t understand.
• Never sign a blank return.
• Insist that the preparer sign as the paid preparer of the return and provide his/her appropriate information on the return.
• The preparer should meet with the taxpayer and go over the return before it is filed.
• Taxpayers should be provided a copy of their return before it is filed.
• Pay attention to media reports of persons who have been convicted of tax fraud.
• Taxpayers should be aware that the information that they provide to their preparer could be used to commit identity theft by an unscrupulous preparer.
REMINDER: January 27 is the first day returns will be accepted