Can a CPA, who's not your accountant, look up tax info to see how much a certain family made a year?

Question

It's a long story, just wanted to know what kind of access CPA's have

Ok, long story short, I wanted to know if my future father in law looked up to see how much my parents bring in and that is why they are giving us money, out of pity.

Answer 1

No. There is no central database of income except at the IRS and they won't release info without a Power of Attorney.

Answer 2

A CPA only has access to his own records plus what he can find out by doing a credit check, etc. Only the IRS knows what a person has filed and that's confidential.

There are so many privacy laws now days that any professional giving out private information would be endangering their license/certification.

Public records would give you a pretty good idea of a persons financial status. Property records are public info and would show how much was paid for a house and it's current value. A credit check would require a little bit of personal info, like ss#, but would be relatively easy to get.

Maybe your father-in-law is just a kind person :-)

Answer 3

compared to mind surgical treatment, your tax go back is a crew attempt. You assemble the files, the preparer quizzes you, you answer surely, they fill contained in the tax go back, you evaluation it, it get's filed. blunders can and do happen at each and every step. for most blunders, the IRS expenses the tax and pastime and failure to pay. The accuracy penalty is charged if there's a significant, blatantly obvious situation. Fraud consequences easily pass as a lot as seventy 5%. you have not been via the audit, all you comprehend at this factor is the IRS is questioning products that could want to upload as a lot as $10K. they could allow you to comprehend what aspects of the tax go back they are questioning and also then you shield them. because you do not let us know if it become agenda A, agenda C or, say, agenda D, we are able to not provide you with any information. As Cathi noted, CPAs get little or no tax education. I took ONE route in taxation before sitting for and passing the CPA exam. 25 years in the past, you'll not have wanted me doing all of your own taxes. A CPA takes persevering with education classes, yet they are not required to take them in basic terms on tax subject matters. An Enrolled Agent, on the different hand, has to take in basic terms tax classes. for this reason, for most taxpayers, the conventional EA is a more cost-effective and, frankly, more suitable, selection to the conventional CPA.

Answer 4

No, that's not possible. Tax returns are considered Confidential between the taxpayer and the IRS. Anyone wishing to gain access to your tax information MUST have a Power of Attorney signed by YOU.

Answer 5

The above answerers are right. But let's face it, it's usually fairly easy to determine the approximate income level of anyone, especially if you are in close contact with them. Factors such as their home, their car, their clothes and their spending habits are all good indicators of income. Why, as they say, look a gift horse in the mouth, though? His father, whatever his motivation, did a nice thing for you. Be grateful.

Answer 6

I'm a CPA... And I don't have any special access to non client records.

Answer 7

Your tax account information is private and cannot be release to anybody without your consent. You could be a drug dealer and IRS would not inform the police.

Answer 8

Absolutely not.

Answer 9

No, they can't.