The Accounting Aisle, an online service that matches local accountants with consumers, asked some of its accountants for their biggest pet peeves and tips on how to save money on this annual ritual. Without exception, accountants and CPAs say that a little preparation will save you time and money on your tax bill.

1. Not Completing Your Tax Planner.
   Most accounting firms will send out an annual tax preparation booklet designed to answer all of the questions necessary to properly file your taxes. It’s frustrating when a customer sets up a 90 minute appointment and brings an empty planner to the meeting. It’s a waste of everyone’s time — and money. Often they have to reschedule the appointment and charge an extra fee.
2. Shoe Box Clients.
   Shoe-box clients are the bread and butter of the accounting industry, but accountants often have to take a deep breath when they walk in the door. “Sometimes I think our clients confuse us with a personal organizing service,” says one New York accountant. Most often these clients are referred to a bookkeeper (at an average of $65/hour) to sort and organize before the CPA can begin preparing the tax return. Before your tax appointment, take the time to sort the contents of your shoebox by category. If you have several income documents, paper clip them together.
3. Procrastinators.
   Inevitably, accounting firms will get calls in early April looking for a tax appointment before the April 15 deadline. Many accountants will turn you away because they are booked solid. Instead, Accounting Aisle recommend making tax preparation appointments in early February. It’ll save you stress, give the preparer ample time to carefully prepare the return, and you might even find a few extra deductions that you wouldn’t find if the accountant is rushed.
4. Bickering.
   Accountants say there’s nothing worse than a tax preparation appointment set up with a husband and wife who are fighting over finances instead of focusing on their tax issues. Air these grievances at home — not in front of your CPA.
5. Misspellings.
   Two or more misspellings on a tax document are a red flag to most accountants, and likely to the IRS. If you can’t get the words spelled right, why should they have any confidence in the numbers you are providing. Take the time to use a dictionary if you are a poor speller.
6. Incomplete Data.
   Accountants can not properly prepare your return without complete data. Delays are expensive, so bring everything with you the first time.
7. Failing to Bring a Check.
   Most people don’t want the IRS on their tail, so they remember to bring a check to pay for taxes due. However, that’s not always the case for their accountant. Payment for services is expected when the service is rendered
8. Wanting Them to Cheat.
   The goal of every accountant is to limit your tax burden. They will work to find all the deductions you are entitled. What they won’t do is intentionally lie or cheat. “Creative accounting” is a quick was to loose certification or end up in jail. No tax return is worth losing your certification.

It’s not surprising that the majority of taxpayers now filing their taxes on their own to the IRS using free e-file preparation software programs. Compare to paper filing taxes, preparing online income tax return is easy and convenient because you have to fill up the forms by using required information and tax data. Tax software programs will help you search through the possible income tax credits and deductions that can suit your situations. What you have to do is to claim for necessary deductions so that there’s no risk of unnecessary audits.

For the purpose of preparing taxes and electronically filing your return for free, there are IRS Free File websites you can use. The IRS has teamed up with many software companies with a view to make tax preparation free or low-cost. You can use Free File program provided by the IRS if your adjusted gross income, which is known as AGI, is less than $56,000 as recorded in 2008. If you explore the internet, you’ll come across tons of online tax preparation services offering tax preparation and e-filing services that you can benefit from.

Once you’ve prepared your income tax return online, you can submit e-file easily to the IRS. The benefit of e-filing tax return is that your information is instantly sent to the IRS in an electronic format. Moreover, the IRS service center does not have to re-type your file if it is in electronic format and this may increase the chances of processing your return file faster. You can get your refunds faster within as few as 10 days by getting your refund directly deposited into your bank account.

If you do decide to seek help with filing your returns, it’s important to choose your tax preparer carefully. First of all, you want someone who has a good understanding of taxes. How do you know that? You can ask friends, family, coworkers, or associates for referrals to tax preparers they think are knowledgeable and reputable. You can also consider how long a preparer has been in business. Look for a person or group who are associated with national professional associations. Choose someone with relevant expertise; if you have a small business, for example, hire a tax preparer with experience in preparing taxes for small businesses. If you want help filing online, find a professional with experience in that service. Participation in continuing professional education is a good sign that the tax preparer is keeping up to date on the latest tax issues.

Some tax preparers set up shop just for tax season, and then cannot be reached after April 15th. It’s best to choose a professional you can contact in the future if you need to. If your refund is delayed or the Internal Revenue Service questions your return, you will want to talk to the preparer. So look for a preparer whose office is open year round, not just during tax season.

While it is not essential, it is helpful if your tax preparer provides you with resources and information to help you understand and learn more about income taxes. The more you know, the better choices you can make.

If a tax professional guarantees you will get a refund without asking you questions or examining your financial situation, walk away. A tax preparer who claims to have a special relationship with the Internal Revenue Service that can save you money is making a false claim. Look for someone who charges a flat fee rather than a percentage of your return. Never sign a blank return, and don’t trust someone who asks you to.

Even if you hire someone for mail-in or online income tax preparation services, you are still responsible for the accuracy of your return. If you don’t understand something, ask questions until it makes sense to you. By signing your return you are confirming that everything on it is accurate to the best of your knowledge, so review everything very carefully before you sign. Make sure the tax preparer has filled in and signed the section of the form specifically for preparers. And be very sure to keep a copy of the return for yourself. Even if you do online tax filing, print out a copy of your return just to be extra sure you have it on hand.

The IRS provides “Free File” programs using which you can do federal tax preparation for free and e-file your return. If your adjusted gross income does not exceed $57,000, then you’re eligible for using this free file program which is available in both Spanish and English. If you do not qualify for Free File tax program, you can prefer online income tax preparation and e-filing services approved by the IRS. Prepare Income Tax is one of the best tax preparation services offering you easy, safe and quick way to prepare your taxes online.

Doing taxes with online free tax software is easy and fast. You have to go step-by-step while preparing taxes. By answering the questions asked by the tax software and putting your information into the forms, your task gets completed easily. The software also lets you choose tax credits and deductions most suited to your situation. The inbuilt error check feature makes your return more accurate and error-free. You can go back to make some changes whenever it’s required before submitting your Income Tax Filing to the IRS. Because of all these facilities and convenience, doing taxes online is much better than paper filing.

You should send your return file electronically to the IRS. There are obvious benefits of submitting e-files. With online file submission, you get confirmation note form the IRS within 48 hours that your file is received. This confirmation gives you confidence that your file is going to be processed soon. You should also prefer direct deposit option for receiving your refund. You can get your refund faster within 10 days by getting it deposited into your bank account.

The best thing is to e-file your tax return before the deadline so that you get your return getting processed earlier and your chance of getting your refund quicker increases.

Most accounting software programs are very much the same when it comes to running reports so you’ll find the steps below similar for other programs too. The Secret to getting this done is in setting aside a half day to do it in. If you wait you pay extra for a “Rush” job, also known as a PIA fee by all bookkeepers and accountants alike. Yes, if you procrastinate then you are an entertaining and anonymous topic of conversation at lunch meetings!

End of Year Information To Prepare For Your Accountant:

1 – All 1099/1096, W-2, W-3 Information on you and your business

2 – December Previous year and January current year Bank Statements and reconciliation reports

3 – Petty Cash reconciliations

4 – Credit Card charges and End of Year Finance Charges

5 – List of Inventory and Assets

6 – Mileage

7 – Home business Use breakouts

8 – Payroll Reports from payroll company

9 – Quarterly reporting tax forms

10 – Draw and investment or payroll information on partners or shareholders

11 – End of Year Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Statement and Trial Balance

To Retrieve These Reports From Your Accounting Software:

1 – Open company

2 – On menu across top

Click on: REPORTS

3 – On the reports menu

Click on: Company and Financial

PROFIT AND LOSS STANDARD

4 – Pick the date range of “last fiscal year”

5 – On the reports menu

Click on: Company and Financial

BALANCE SHEET STANDARD

6 – Pick the date range of “last fiscal year”

7 – On the reports menu

Click on: Company and Financial

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

8 – Pick the date range of “last fiscal year”

9 – On the reports menu

Click on: Accountant and taxes

TRIAL BALANCE

10 – Pick the date range of “last fiscal year”

11 – On the reports menu

Click on: Employees and Payroll

PAYROLL SUMMARY

12 – Pick the date range of “last fiscal year”

13 – “Run” and “Print” all these reports and make a copy for your file and your CPA

(This menu example was taken from the reports section of an accounting software program that is considered the ‘industry standard” to most CPA professionals and bookkeepers).

Now you can make that appointment with your tax person and sit back and enjoy the stories you are about to hear from those people who will wait until the last minute to get their paperwork ready and who are slamming their heads against a wall trying to get their reports done. If you took my advice then about now, you may be asking yourself… where is that wine opener anyway!?