The Tax Preparation Blog

Posts Tagged ‘tax preparer liability’

Question: What liability do tax preparers have?

My tax preparer made a mistake when entering information on my tax forms from last year. This mistake may cost me $10,000 in back taxes from last year and thousands less on my return this year. Are tax professionals typically held liable for these mistakes or does the fault most often fall back on the tax payer themselves?

Answer: What is the real problem? Did the preparer make a mistake that will cost you $10,000 extra or did the preparer make a mistake by overlooking a $10,000 liability that you had anyway? It is unlikely that a preparer will make a mistake that can’t be fixed that generates additional tax and if you owed it in the first place, you haven’t been harmed. To the extent that you have to pay extra you may have some private claim against the preparer.

Expiring Bush Tax Cuts Present Dilemma for Preparers

The Senate Finance Committee held hearings last week to consider the effects of the soon-to-expire Bush tax cuts, and those problems could be magnified for tax practitioners and their clients.

How to Pick the Right Tax Preparer