What should I do regarding my Tax Preparer?

Question

I found out last Friday that the e-return my tax preparer filed on April 11 was rejected by the IRS on April 13. The IRS said they informed my tax preparer at the time of the rejection. My tax preparer never informed me of the rejection. I hoped to go away on vacation in August with my step-daughter, using the money from my tax refund. I am furious that now I cannot go on vacation. My tax preparer promised to get back to me in a couple of days, but now a week has passed. She made several mistakes. She filed me as "Single" when I specifically requested in writing that she file a "Married Filing Separately" since I explained my wife and I had separated. Second, she claimed a child tax credit on my return, even though she had just completed my wife's return and claimed the child tax credit on hers! This caused the IRS to reject the return. What do I do now? BBB? Small Claims? Board of Regents? She's done our returns for 3 years. Can I demand she loan me my refund? What should be my next step?

Answer 1

I would give the preparer a deadline to get your taxes done correctly and that if the deadline comes without your taxes being done that you might look for another tax preparer and have the bill sent to your former preparer.

Answer 2

First off, did you sign the return? If you did, then did you review it? Did the preparer go over it with you?

You are ultimately responsible for what is on your tax return. If the preparer made mistakes on your return, you only recourse will be to have him pay any penalties and interest on the late filing of the return and refund your preparation fee.

Married filing Separate returns CAN be filed electronically.

Usually, the preparer will know if the return was accepted within a few days after filing. Did your preparer tell you when to expect your refund? If you got direct deposit of your refund, you would have received it within 8 - 15 days of acceptance of the return.

Obviously, your return needs to be corrected. changing of the filing status and removal of the Child Tax Credit will reduce the amount of your refund.

Unfortunately, tax preparers are not regulated by the IRS yet (Unless the preparer is an Attorney, CPA or Enrolled Agent) and only a few states regulate tax preparers (California being one)

I would contact the BBB. You could go to small claims court also.

Answer 3

If she signed your return as you "tax preparer" then she should fix the mistakes on her own time and on her own dime.. Is there a guarantee for her work... ? We had a similar, although not as mistake ridden return and the place of business paid our fines/penalties..It was a private tax preparer not like an HR Block or commercial company. If she's reputable she should make it right.. I would show her the problems and DEMAND she make amends to your return and it wouldn't hurt to ask for a "loan" for your vacation. The worst that can happen is she can't do it. We stopped using a tax preparer, it was a waste of time/money. We use TURBOTAX for the last 3 yrs. and it's been nice to get a return back in around 2 weeks.. If there's a problem with the taxes the program alerts you, if it's not accepted. It's very easy to use.. Good luck

Answer 4

You need to file a return. Go to another tax preparer. Some H & R Block offices are open all year.

Fire your current tax preparer and ask for a refund for fees paid. If you're due a refund, there won't be a penalty to pay for late filing.

See the link below for the IRS's advice for late filers.

Answer 5

When a person's tax situation changes, written notes to his regular preparer may not be sufficient to produce an accurate return. You needed to sit down with that preparer rather than giving instructions which could not be carried out.

If you file as "Married Filing Separately" then your return had to be mailed in if you live in a community property state. You cannot request your preparer to electronically file such a return. This may be why your preparer attempted to file you as single.

Loans are not given on MFS returns when they have to be mailed in and it is not possible to predict when the refund will be forthcoming.

If you instructed your preparer to claim a dependent child, the preparer cannot tell you how your spouse filed. It is against the law. Since you claimed a child that had already been claimed, your return was rejected. This is not the preparer's fault.

The preparer is in a difficult situation preparing both your and your spouse's returns. She cannot call you up and tell you how your spouse filed, and that you have to remove that child on the return because your spouse claimed the child.

What you need to do is meet with the preparer, have her get your paper MFS return together, then you sign the return and mail it in. Your refund is going to be at least $1,000 less than you had anticipated, and could be closer to $2,000 less.

Since your preparer has a conflict of interest doing both your and your spouse's returns, it may be better for you to find another preparer for next year.