Tax season should not be a time of added stress for you. It also should not break your bank!
Do your taxes online for free
While many online sites advertise as FREE, what they fail to mention is that only the FEDERAL RETURN is free. After you've entered all your information and get to the end, that's when they rope you in by telling you that you have to pay to e-file your State taxes through their site. At this point most people are already sucked in and just pay the fee to file their state taxes because it is easier and they don't know of any other alternative. Their site turns out to not really be free at all.
When Upfront Pricing isn't really "Upfront"
Upfront pricing entails a visit to the tax office and a meeting with a tax professional in order to enable the tax professional to look over your documents. By the time you've booked an appointment and/or waited in the office to meet with the tax professional, you've already invested your time and effort in that office. At this point you just want to be done with it all, so you get your taxes done in the office, regardless of the price quoted. Also, while the Federal Return is priced reasonably, most times your State Return costs more to prepare and file than the Federal Return.
What about our pricing?
We have tried to make our pricing as straight forward as possible. All pricing starts with the "BASIC" return. If you only have to file one (1) state return, that state return is free. If you have two (2) or more state returns, the first one is free, the second one is $65. If you have more than two state returns I will pro-rate the rest at half off. From there all you have to do is match your documents up to any of the Additional Items listed and add the cost to the Basic Return Price. If you have any documents that are not listed, you can always take a picture and email it to us or upload it using our secure site to see if it would add to your cost. Looking at your prior years return to compare documents will help with this process.
Protection Plus
ALL returns prepared in this office come with Protection Plus. This is not an add on fee. While other offices and sites offer similar programs, it is as an added on fee, if you chose to use it, and usually costs as much if not more than what we charge for our Basic Return.
Lastly, "Why Should I Pay Someone to do My Taxes When I can do them Myself?"
While "Simple Returns" used to be "Simple", that is no longer the case. Due to changes in tax laws, Recovery Rebate Credits (Stimulus Payments) and increased instances of clients having received Unemployment, tax preparation is no longer "Simple". Reputable tax professionals take classes every year to learn about the new tax laws and how they apply to our clients. We also "dig a little deeper" and ask questions that the online programs don't in order to try to get you your maximum refund. Our certificates are available upon request.
EVEN IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE ANOTHER PROFESSIONAL TAX PREPARER BESIDES US, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND HAVING YOUR TAXES DONE BY A PROFESSIONAL PREPARER!
