Looking on the bright side, at least you could get a super cheap hair-cut while getting your taxes done, then you can take your refund next door to exchange it for some lottery tickets? PLEASE, beware of shady tax preparation services! I've seen first hand the chaos they can create.
Anyone can prepare a tax return and anyone can charge you money to do it. This is a major problem with our tax system. People get ripped off, confused and taken advantage of. Plus, a lot of these places pop up in really sketchy parts of town that you would not want to be caught dead in, let a lone be caught with all of your vital, financial and personal data!
I live in California, where the state requires tax preparers to complete a 60 hour course and pass a test to prove they know what they are doing. That's a nice extra step, but I was stunned with a number of things when I went through the process last fall....
Many of the "schools" sanctioned by the state to offer the educational programs were unsavory to say the least. Basically, anyone can pay the fee for the course, get the certificate, then pay the fee to the state and bam! they are a tax preparer! Considering how complex and how important tax returns are, this was troubling to me on many levels.
I am a student of accounting. I plan to be a CPA. I have over 8 years of experience actually preparing returns. I have been trained by the IRS, I have managed IRS sponsored programs (VITA and LITC). I am by nature an honest, trustworthy person. I like to do things well. I like to do things right.
More then anything, I want you to find a tax preparer that you can trust completely. If that's me, that's wonderful, and I am going to work really hard to earn your trust. I would like to be your tax preparer for years to come, and I want you to want to tell your friends about my excellent service and reasonable prices.
Thanks for reading.
Jen Solis
Common Sense Tax Preparation
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