The average fee for hiring a tax professional to prepare one’s taxes can range being fairly inexpensive to quite costly and time consuming depending upon the taxpayer’s tax situation. If a person’s tax situation involves no complications, it may not be necessary to consult a tax professional. However, trying to save a few dollars by avoiding professional help could result in severe future expenses in the form of penalties and interest if a reassessment or an audit takes place.
Every individual has his/her own reason for consulting a tax professional. For some people, hiring a tax professional assures them that their tax filings are fully tax-compliant and have been accurately filed. For others, it may be about saving time since preparing tax returns is time consuming and requires knowledge to be able to properly fill out forms while maintaining valid backup for the CRA’s verification. AG Tax associates have prepared a few points on why it is a wise decision to consider hiring a professional:
Reasons To Consider A Professional Accountant
They are experts in the field of tax-filing and highly informed: A tax professional is trained to prepare tax returns. She/He has spent hours mastering the art of tax filing, and has acquired large amounts of information related to taxes, credits, deductions, various taxable incomes, and more. They are up-to-date with tax laws and could help you with claiming the deductions and credits you are eligible for, and/or prevent you from mistakenly claiming deductions and credits and facing an unfavorable situation.
They can ensure accuracy & compliance on filing tax returns: Simply put, if a person wants a table he/she would buy it from a furniture shop rather than build one on his/her own. Doing so would guarantee a good, long-lasting product if one is not trained in carpentry. Likewise, it is a tax professional’s job to be up-to-date with tax laws, changes to filing, and everything associated with taxes. Thus, getting your tax returns prepared by a professional ensures that the tax return has been filed in an accurate and compliant manner.
They can plan your tax strategy with credits & deductions: A professional could help you minimize your liability where possible by claiming deductions that you qualify for but are not aware of, or possibly suggest changes in your spending and saving habits which could impact your taxes in a significantly positive way.
They can guide with business structuring & tax planning: Accountants can help in deciding the right form of business (i.e. whether to establish a partnership, joint venture, or corporation to carry out business) based on the advantages and disadvantages of the different business structures from a tax perspective. Throughout the life of the business, they can create tax plans specifically based on your business situation. They can guide you in times of any mergers, acquisitions, sale of non-profitable units, and other pivotal points. Additionally, as businesses grow, the requirements change, and during those times your accountant can offer strategies that help minimize the federal, provincial, and municipal burden.
They can assist with taxation of home-based businesses: Home-based businesses face complex tax situations as they need to have proper documentation for apportionment of the expenses between the personal and professional uses of the home. A professional is used to handling such situations and knows exactly how to proceed. A home-based business owner could also benefit from professional advice regarding claim of capital allowances on home, automobile, renovation expenses, and other incurred costs.
They can help with income & taxation planning for self-employed taxpayers: Self-Employed Canadian taxpayers operating through corporations have the choice to decide their compensation method between dividends and salary. Also, if married and with children, the person could take advantage of various credits, income splitting, and endless tax saving opportunities. However, these tax saving methods are complex in nature, and only a professional can execute these strategies in a way acceptable to the CRA.
They can assist with international tax filing requirements: International taxes are exceedingly complex, and if taxpayers wish to do business, purchase/sell/rent property, work, or hold financial assets in another country (or participate in any other foreign activities that would trigger tax obligations), they should contact an international tax expert before any such activities have been initiated.
With the ever-changing economic world, new tax laws are continuously introduced and existing tax laws are constantly updated. It is difficult for taxpayers stay synchronized with these international tax laws and standards, and to keep up-to-date with the changing norms.
On the other hand, it is a tax professional’s job to stay updated with these changing tax laws. Furthermore, a tax professional will exercise great caution while preparing the returns for other people as he/she would be held liable if any tax situations were to arise due to improper filing, or inaccurate representation.
That being said, tax professionals can offer strategic tax and financial planning advice and services which can be tailored as per one’s needs.
AG Tax LLP Can Help
If you have any tax-related queries or need assistance with tax planning or filing please contact AG Tax. Our tax professionals are highly-experienced with U.S. and Canadian tax laws and can provide you the right guidance to handle your tax situation.
Aylett Grant Tax LLP is a full service accounting firm with a dedicated team of experts, who are highly-qualified and experienced in handling situations related to U.S., Canadian, and other international tax laws.
We can assist with:
- Canadian Personal and Corporate tax returns
- Cross Border Taxation and Business Planning
- U.S. Personal and Corporate Taxation
- Disclosure of Foreign Assets and other information filings
- Retirement planning
- Estate Planning, Inheritance tax advice
To obtain a quote or to arrange for a consultation to discuss your tax related queries, please contact us at:
- 416-238-5920 (Greater Toronto Area, ON)
- 604-538-8735 (Greater Vancouver Area, BC)
- 780-702-2732 (Greater Edmonton Area, AB)
Disclaimer: The information in this publication is accurate as of the time of its publication. AG Tax assumes no responsibility for changes to tax legislation subsequent to the publication of this document. The information provided is for general information purposes only and should not be acted upon without seeking professional advice. If you would like to engage our services, please contact our staff and obtain authorization to send our firm confidential information. A client relationship is not created by the transmission of information. A client relationship is only formed with our firm when a scope and engagement letter signed by the firm and the potential client detailing the terms of engagement is present.
