Tax Services in Miami preparing individual and corporate taxes. Tax preparation is done by a licensed professional accountant. Accountants in Miami preparing individual and corporate taxes. Tax preparation is done by a licensed professional accountant or CPA

Tax preparation is the process of preparing tax returns, often income tax returns, often for a person other than the taxpayer, and generally for compensation. Tax preparation may be done by the taxpayer with or without the help of tax preparation software and online services. Tax Services in Miami may also be done by a licensed professional such as an attorney, certified public accountant, or enrolled agent, or by an unlicensed tax preparation business. Because United States income tax laws are considered to be complicated, many taxpayers seek outside assistance with taxes (53.5% of individual tax returns in 2016 were filed by paid preparers). The remainder of this article describes tax preparation by someone other than the taxpayer.

Some states have licensing requirements for anyone who prepares tax returns for a fee and some for fee-based preparation of state tax returns only. The Free File Alliance provides free tax preparation software for individuals with less than $58,000 of adjusted gross income for the tax year 2010. People who make more than $58,000 can use Free File Fillable Forms, electronic versions of U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) paper forms.

The cost of Tax Services in Miami and filing all business and personal tax returns are estimated to be $100 to $150 billion each year. According to a 2005 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the efficiency cost of the tax system—the output that is lost over and above the tax itself—is between $240 billion and $600 billion per year. For tax return preparation, Americans spent roughly 20% of the amount collected in taxes (estimating the compliance costs and efficiency costs is difficult because neither the government nor taxpayers maintain regular accounts of these costs). Tax preparation businesses have been plagued with controversies over Refund anticipation loans.

Understanding Tax Advisors

A taxpaying entity, such as an individual, partnership, corporation, trust, etc. that has a complex financial situation (e.g., complex investments and deductions) can seek out the expertise of a tax advisor to help minimize the amount of taxes to be paid to the taxing authorities.

Depending on the taxpayer’s situation, the advice and tax services a tax advisor renders will differ. Individual planning for retirement will get different advice from an entrepreneur looking to set up shop. Likewise, a real estate investor will probably have a different tax need from a commodity trader.

A tax advisor’s dealings with a company looking to merge with or acquire another company may vary from his or her professional relationship with an estate executor seeking to minimize estate taxes.

Because tax service advisors are well versed in tax laws and IRS guidelines, businesses may retain their services to represent the businesses before tax authorities and courts in order to resolve issues relating to tax. Tax advisors understand the laws regulating individual and business taxes and are, therefore, instrumental in guiding taxpayers on how to comply with federal, state, and local tax rules. Advisors are required to stay up-to-date on the latest federal and state tax requirements so as to be effective when providing advice on current tax topics.