Combating the April Blues.

• Author: Schnepper, Jeff A.
• Position: Brief Article

As April 15 approaches, so does the torment of another tax return to be prepared. As the 1040 blues overwhelm your consciousness, you seek out your tax professional to rescue you from drowning in the cesspool of arcane rules and new regulations that even the IRS doesn't understand. How can you best help your tax professional to aid you?

Any monkey can put numbers in a box. That's not why you're paying your tax preparer. Whether the preparer is an accountant, lawyer, or enrolled agent, the only reason for dollars to flow from your pockets to his or hers is because the preparer is supposed to have a degree of expertise you lack.

What you really should be paying for is advice, counseling, and direction. The actual preparation of your tax return is almost mechanical, once your preparer does the required homework. Computer programs such as Turbo Tax not only can compute and print your return, but, in some cases, even electronically file it.

The expression GIGO--garbage in, garbage out--is applicable here. Whether you're using a computer program, live preparer, or combination of both, you need to provide the required inputs. This column will show you how to communicate, accumulate, and deliver the data necessary to minimize your financial hit.

Remember, it's not what you pay in taxes, but what you keep that really counts. Take my word for it, the taxpayer who pays millions in taxes is substantially better off and financially happier than someone who pays nothing. If you are paying millions in taxes, you are keeping multi-millions. The key is not to pay one penny more than the law requires.

First, consider advisor/client communications. The best tax preparer is one who asks you questions. In most cases, the IRS already knows about your income. Wages, interest income, dividends, etc. are reported to the government. That's not your problem. Your real concern is making sure you get every deduction the law allows, and the only way your preparer is going to even get close is if you are flooded with questions. The more the preparer knows, the more deductions, credits, exemptions, etc. you are going to get.

If your tax advisor just sends you a form to complete and prepares your return simply on the basis of that information without any additional interaction, it's time to find someone new. As a tax attorney, I see too many returns that were computer-generated by a secretary inputting numbers from a standard form the "professional" tax preparer never even...