Is it better to use an Accountant or a tax service like Jackson Hewitt? Why?

Answer 1

well i would say theat it is better to use a accountant because well you are more safer with your money that you have saved and so yeah.

Answer 2

It probably depends on what your tax return looks like. If it's extremely simple (w-2, maybe a bit of interest income, some mortgage interest and real estate taxes), Jackson Hewitt could probably handle that, but then again, so could you. You could buy TurboTax for $40 and do it yourself instead of paying Jackson Hewitt.

If your return involves a business, rental real estate, early distributions of a pension, sale of securities (mutual funds, stocks, bonds, options, etc.) unreimbursed employee expenses, that sort of thing, go to an accountant. The other poster was correct in saying that many of the people who work for Jackson Hewitt and H & R Block have a 3 month training that is pretty lame in comparison to an accounting firm with highly trained professional year round staff.

BTW, those chains aren't all that cheap. When I was working for a CPA firm, many of our returns came in cheaper than Jackson Hewitt and H & R Block, and you had a CPA with 20 years of experience reviewing the return-now that's a deal!

Answer 3

Depending upon your needs: If you are a small business concern and need a K-1, then an accountant. Having worked "store front" tax places many years, I can tell you that if you want good tax service then demand an experienced preparer. JH hires about 300 new people per district per year, but there are experienced ones who come back year after year. Ask for someone "good". Another good indicator is if the preparer has any PE points from the IRS, and/or is a member of a professional organization, IE; National Association of Tax Professionals.

good luck & blessings

Answer 4

It all depends on the type of return that you have. Do you have a company or self business? Do you feel comfortable with a CPA that has many clients to worry about but can give lots of advice or would like someone to become more personal with you can can help guide you through you taxes and future planning. going to a CPA means that you know exactly who is going to go with you if you get audited and need to go to the IRS. When you use H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt you will get an enrolled agent. All by preference on how you want to be handle and how much you want to pay out of pocket.

Answer 5

I am a retired CPA and continue to prepare tax returns for individuals and businesses. For an individual return, a tax service is okay but you can get stuck with a rookie preparer which is not good. For a business then I would recommend an accountant with tax experience. The best of both worlds is an independent service (not necessarily a CPA because of the cost of the return) where they have experienced tax preparers that can handle all types of returns.
Ask around to see who other people use and get their opinion. Word-of-mouth with a good recommendation is a good way to go. However, be cautious of a preparer that always gets clients substantial refunds. This is especially important at the moment because IRS is gearing up to increase their audits of individual tax returns.

Answer 6

This is probably just a personal bias, but I don't these services. Jackson Hewitt, H&R Block, and the like are franchise operations, and often, their hiring practices may be pretty questionable.

If your tax situation is complex enough to use a CPA, do so. If not, get a good off-the-shelf tax program such as TaxCut or TurboTax. I'm a sole proprietor with no employees. TaxCut has been more than adaquate for me.

Answer 7

Depends! If you have a simple return, use software like Turbo Tax. If it is complicated, use a tax preparer.

I don't know about Jackson Hewitt. However, NEVER use H&R Block. I have heard horror stories from former clients. In addition I know first hand that they don't teach tax law in theri intro course. Lots of important things are "beyond the scope of this course." In addition, they hire people that flunked the final. We knew more than the teacher and had to keep correcting him on things. (We HAD to take the class to be incompliance.)

Answer 8

Accountant, because they go to years of schooling to handle all types of monies. They are also usually less expensive than a tax place. The people at the tax places get trained 3 months before on tax laws. I don't trust that. An Accountant will find you a lot more deductions and credits.

Answer 9

If you are just filing taxes as an individual then a tax service is fine. If you have a business you should use an accountant.

Answer 10

A tax advisor is probably fine if you don't itemize and have few deductions.