What Should You Know Before Hiring a Tax Accountant?

When you are searching for a tax accountant to handle NYC tax planning, you want an experienced professional who can help you save the money and avoid potential trouble with IRS as well.  Here are a few things to consider which will help you figure out the best fit for your business:

Nature of Business

You will want to make sure that the accountant has a clear understanding of your business. A restaurant may have different requirements than a real estate business, and there may be a specific criterion about how the income is reported. You will want an accountant who has worked with companies like yours and also knows the ins and outs of the industry.

Availability

There are accounting firms which who do not for around the year as they work only in tax seasons. As a small business, you may need help round the clock as you may not want to wait until the next tax season if the issue is not addressed.

Experience

It is often said that you should hire a certified public accountant rather than an Enrolled agent as the CPA have complete certification requirements. The CPAs are certified by the state and are trained in areas like financial planning and book-keeping. But the enrolled agents are accredited by the federal government and are meant to handle the taxes. These may be former IRS agents who have extensive experience in dealing with audits. It is often said that they have more knowledge about how IRS works.  But a CPA will have more experience with financial planning issues. That’s why it is suggested that rather than focusing on the experience of the accountant you should prefer expertise that is relevant to your business.

Working Nature

Some accountants are aggressive and want to write off everything that they can. Then there are others which follow a more conservative approach. It is crucial to understand what your philosophy is and then find an accountant who agrees to your philosophy. If an accountant tells that they specialize in finding the red flags which can trigger audits, they may be reluctant to maximize the deductions.

Billing

Some accountants charge by the hour, and there are others who charge a flat rate. Although it depends on work if you don’t have a lot of continuous work for the accountant, then you should go for hourly rates. No matter what kind of billing you follow, you should get an estimate of the likely fee of the accountant. You should provide a copy of the previous year tax-returns so that the accountant that you hire can familiarize with your business before you give a quote.

Well-versed with handling many entities

If you have more than one entity in your name, you should hire an accountant who can manage them simultaneously.  It is an accountant which not all accountants possess.  You need an accountant who can is good at handling the finances of the various entities.

Finally

When you are going for NYC tax planning, you should hire a professional who is capable of delivering the results.

Author Bio:

Morgan Finn is a professional CPA rendering his service to leading companies across the country. He regularly writes for leading magazines and his articles are published in leading sites on the internet.