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Why Individuals Should Hire a CPA to Prepare Their Taxes

February 2, 2023 by kris_admin

It’s tempting to rely on TurboTax or another tax software package when it comes time to file your taxes for the year. Doing it yourself seems more convenient and less expensive, but most filers will miss out on legitimate deductions unless they have a deep knowledge of tax law and its yearly changes. When deciding between hiring a professional CPA or using automated online software, your financial situation should be taken into consideration along with your level of knowledge of IRS guidelines.

If you are single, have a single employer and few or no investments, you may be a good candidate for using a low cost tax software. However, if you hold retirement accounts, are married, have a family, own a business, work freelance, receive an inheritance, bought or sold a home, or receive rental property income, you may want to hire an accountant for your peace of mind and to help you save money on taxes. Although TurboTax and other programs are user friendly, each has its own limitations. If your financial situation becomes complex, spending the additional money to hire a professional can save you a lot of money in the long run.

What is A CPA’s Duty?

CPAs assist in numerous accounting areas, including taxes, financial accounting and reporting, tax and accounting audits, and financial planning. Here are some of the most typical ways in which a CPA can assist you with your tax and financial needs:

They give guidance and help with tax forms and filings. When dealing with tax issues that are particularly difficult or time consuming, it is generally beneficial to hire an expert.
They notify you of your tax obligations and available tax deductions. Certified public accountants are experts at determining your taxable income, calculating deductions and credits, and reporting all of your income streams.
They can communicate with the IRS on your behalf, including managing audits. CPAs are familiar with the questions the IRS may pose and can supply the needed information.
They separate your personal taxes from your corporate taxes. Whether you want to organize a partnership, an LLC, or an S-corporation that will be taxed as a C-Corporation, a certified public accountant can help you structure it.

Benefits of Hiring a CPA for Tax Planning & Tax Preparation

Evaluating the Options For Your Retirement Account

When deciding how to save for retirement in a tax-efficient manner, it may be beneficial to consult with a CPA. This is particularly true when you consider the variety of investment options available for growing your retirement savings. You will want to utilize your retirement options to the fullest extent possible if you are self-employed and likely have even more choices than employees.

Adapting to a Tax Adjustment Caused by a Life Event

Life events like marriage and having children can have a major impact on your tax liability. You may need to modify your tax strategy when a major life event occurs. A CPA can also provide guidance during major personal transactions, such as the sale of your home or the purchase of a new home.

Helping Freelancers & Small Business Owners Make the Most of Tax Deductions

When you choose a CPA firm to prepare your taxes, they can work with you to optimize your tax deductions. If you freelance or are a small business owner, you are likely missing out on many tax deduction opportunities. A seasoned CPA possesses extensive tax knowledge. They will work with you to identify and optimize as many business deductions as allowed under the law. When you hire a professional accountant, they will actively look for ways to reduce your tax liability, allowing you to save money in the long run.

CPAs can also assist you in prioritizing your business objectives by performing administrative tasks such as budgeting, bookkeeping, financial accounting and reporting, tax planning, and tax preparation.

Dealing with Complicated Tax Matters More Efficiently

If you are a business owner, you may find yourself entangled in complex business and investment matters requiring a deep understanding of tax laws. A CPA is proficient in tax law and tax codes and will be able to advise you on even the most complex tax situations for your business. A CPA can quickly and easily complete tasks that would require an individual taxpayer hour of fruitless research in an attempt to find the correct information.

Should You Rely on Tax Software or a Tax Professional?

Online tax filing software like TurboTax can seem like a good option, but unless you have an extremely simple tax situation, the one-size-fits-all approach usually fails to maximize an individual’s potential return.

Need Professional Tax Preparation & Filing? Contact Us Today!

If you need an expert to help prepare and file your taxes, contact us at Steven Lissner & Company today. Our experienced tax professionals will handle your tax preparation and tax filing and assist with other tax-related matters. We’re proud to serve clients right here in our community of Mountain Lakes, as well as all across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Call us today to learn more about our tax preparation and tax planning services.

Tax Planning for Small Businesses

November 7, 2022 by kris_admin

There never seems to be sufficient time for a small business owner. Because of this, tax planning often gets put off until later, if at all. However, investing time and energy into tax planning usually pays off in the long run. Once returns have finally been filed, most individuals don’t want to think about taxes again.

However, planning for tax season early on can have a significant impact on your financial standing. The great majority of company owners, however, are genuinely too preoccupied with running their businesses daily to think much about their taxes for the following year.

A common misconception is that only large corporations and super-wealthy persons can benefit from tax planning and the significant savings it provides. If you do your taxes right, you may be able to cut your tax bill by half or even greater, which means more money for where it really counts: expanding your business.

What is Tax Planning?

Tax planning involves more than just figuring out how much money you’ll need to set aside at the end of the year to cover your taxes. Ultimately, it’s making sure that your complete financial picture fits together so that you owe the least amount of money in taxes at tax time.

What’s more, numerous factors are taken into account during the planning stage, such as budgeting, the timing of purchases, tax breaks, and other credits and deductions. This procedure will also guide you toward the best investing and retirement plans for your specific needs and tax situation.

What are the Benefits of Tax Planning for Small Business?

Here are some benefits of small business tax planning:

1. Helps You Save Time and Make Fewer Errors

Having a solid tax plan in place from the start will save you a ton of time all through the year, especially during tax season. One of the most typical challenges for entrepreneurs is that they are too preoccupied with day-to-day operations to provide adequate attention to developing a sound financial plan for their company’s future.

Having a strategy in place could help you save time, whether you’re trying to decide whether to make a purchase or attempting to get your finances in order before tax season. You won’t just save time in the planning stages; you’ll also avoid wasting hours correcting filing mistakes that could have been avoided. Clients frequently make the following mistakes:

· spending more money than they would usually to get a bigger tax break;

· overspending at the wrong time; and

· having no idea of how their taxes work.

If you have a good plan in place, you’ll know exactly what your tax liability will be months before it’s really due. Ensuring that your deductions and tax returns are error-free greatly minimizes your likelihood of getting audited.

2. Cut Down On Your Total Tax Liabilities

Tax planning’s primary goal is to maximize your company’s deductibles to minimize the amount of tax you pay. In other words, you’ll pay exactly what you owe and no more. Whatever your personal opinions on taxes, all business owners can agree that having more money available to invest in the expansion of their companies is a good thing.

When company owners find out about the many tax breaks and credits they may be eligible for, they are often taken aback. When you take the time to prepare ahead for your taxes, you can make the most of every opportunity. In addition, since you planned and educated yourself, you won’t have to worry about breaking any tax rules and incurring any of the hefty penalties that come with doing so.

3. Make Room for Future Business Growth

In the long run, your company will benefit from having a good fundamental tax plan since it will allow you to make more educated decisions that will improve profitability. You’ll be in a far stronger position to plan for the future, invest strategically in your company, and handle other financial matters.

In addition, tax preparation will educate you on how changes to your company’s operations and strategy affect your tax liabilities. The fact that you can avoid paying more in taxes is the primary reason for tax planning. You can invest the money you saved on advertising, technology upgrades, staff expansion, product inventory, and more.

Do I Need A Tax Plan?

It’s more crucial than ever to have a strategy in place given the continuously evolving political landscape in which we presently find ourselves. Many company owners may find that they owe more in taxes in the coming years as a change in government can result in changes in tax laws.

A tax plan is just one aspect of a well-rounded financial plan. Still, most individuals fail to account for this crucial detail, which causes them to overpay substantially at year’s end. It’s never too early or too late to make a strategy for your business, whether you’re just getting started or have been in the game for years.

You need to give this some consideration and get started, whether you decide to develop a plan on your own or work with an expert. Having a strategy in place will put you ahead of the game, free up capital for investment in the company’s future, and lower your tax bill in the long run.

Need Professional Tax Planning? Contact Us Today!

If you need proper guidance with your small business tax planning, contact us at Steven Lissner & Company today. Our experts will handle your tax preparation and filing while you concentrate on other important aspects of your business. We’re proud to serve clients in our local area of Mountain Lakes as well as many clients across New Jersey. Call us today to learn more about our tax planning & preparation services.

How To Avoid Tax Season Stress

August 3, 2022 by kris_admin

Tax Preparation and Planning for Individuals, Families & Businesses

Our team of financial professionals can help guide you every step of the way with all of your tax preparation needs. We specialize in individual, family, and business tax preparation and planning services.

Trying to navigate taxes on your own can be complicated.

Whether it’s your personal or your business taxes, it’s easy to overlook important deductions and credits to which you may be entitled. With the explosion of DIY online tax prep software, it may feel like that option is the quick, logical choice. However, by using a top-rated accounting firm like Steven Lissner & Company, you receive incredibly important back-and-forth dialogue that can result in higher refunds, fewer mistakes, and exceptional customer service along the way.

That level of detail cannot be found through online applications. There really is no better choice than going through a certified professional. Get peace of mind knowing that our team will provide guidance to help receive deductions to limit your tax liability and maximize your returns.

Seventy-seven percent of 71 million taxpayers say they benefited from using a professional tax preparer, according to the U.S. Government’s General Accounting Office. Our team covers a wide range of services to help ease the burden of taxes and financial planning. Trust our 30+ years of experience to achieve and maintain your family’s financial success.

What You Can Expect With Our Tax Preparation Services

We ensure that there are zero discrepancies and errors while filing. Our professional accountants accurately go over each and every detail to avoid any issues and unnecessary future contact with the IRS. Your return will also be checked and rechecked by our computer software.
We file your return electronically so you get your refund back in a timely manner.
We will go over all possible deductions that tend to be overlooked.

Tax planning is a great way to reduce you and your family’s tax liability in an efficient and credible way. Our accountants are always looking to build their professional development by completing ongoing training and attending frequent tax seminars. Through logical tax strategies and accurate planning, our clients save big in the long run.

What You Can Expect With Our Tax Planning Service in NJ

We help to maximize your income, post-tax by implementing tax-saving strategies.
By deferring income, you can pay less in taxes in the future by keeping more of your money now.
We can walk you through how to keep more of what you make by reducing your taxes on your income.
By reducing taxes on investments, your family’s estate, retirement distributions, and gifts, we can help grow your wealth faster and let you retire in style.
With our experience, our team at Steven Lissner & Company will assess every detail of your current financial situation to manage risk and provide wealth prosperity down the line.

Tax Saving Strategies

Determine the best way to apply income and expenses from one year to another so it may be taxed at a lower rate.
Split income among your family to help get more income taxed in a lower bracket.
Use investments to strategically to produce income that is tax-exempt from federal or state.
Defer tax liabilities through investments such as pension plans and contributions.

Contact Steven Lissner & Company Today!

When you’re looking for “top accountants near me”, Steven Lissner & Co should be your first call! Our friendly accountaints can be reached at 973-917-4080 . With one call, you can find out how we can help you with your tax planning. Our knowledgeable accountants will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Small Businesses May Benefit from Hiring a Certified Professional Accountant

March 3, 2022 by slissner_admin

When you ask an entrepreneur what are the most challenging aspects of operating your own business, chances are the answer will relate to managing their finances.

It could be sourcing funds, preparing tax documents, running payroll, or getting lost in the minutiae of bookkeeping. Each of these tasks could make or break your business.

That’s why it’s important to look beyond simple bookkeeping and enlist the expertise of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who specializes in small business accounting, like the team at Steven Lissner & Company. From tax planning and regulatory compliance to comprehensive financial consultation, our experts explain why successful businesses rely on professional accounting services.

CPAs Understand the Complete Business Growth Cycle

A CPA is a master of financial planning, equipped to steward your business through each milestone in its growth cycle. For example, consider how an experienced CPA can guide you through the following important moments:

The Launch Stage: A CPA can help determine the best business structure — LLC, Sole Proprietorship, S-Corp, and many more. They can also assist with setting up accounting software and instructing you on best bookkeeping practices.
The Growth Stage: CPAs are familiar with maximizing deductions, avoiding audits, and minimizing tax liability.
The Maturity Stage: CPAs monitor and comply with changes in tax law, navigate external audits, prevent internal fraud, and manage interactions with the IRS.
The Transformation Stage: When your business is ready for franchising, merging with a competitor, or if you want to divest yourself from the company, it’s important an experienced CPA oversees these types of complex financial changes to ensure your finances and taxes are managed properly.

Launch your Small Business with Accounting Services

Launching a new business requires a lot of paperwork for the state and federal governments.

The fiscal decisions you make when launching your business carry long-term consequences, starting with the business structure.

The structure you choose affects how you pay your taxes as well as your liability, filing obligations, and a cascading slew of state and federal regulations you must follow. To make matters worse, it’s not an easy thing to change.

That’s why it’s important to get the advice of a CPA right from the start of your business.

CPAs will review your fiscal goals to identify the business structure and financial opportunities that best suit your business’s needs. A CPA will also assist you in applying for state licenses and establishing your EIN, among other business-specific filings.

Creating a Reliable Recordkeeping System

Many companies utilize QuickBooks, which is the industry standard for delivering customized accounting solutions to simplify your day-to-day financial ops.

Leverage QuickBooks to monitor invoices, track payroll and other business expenses, digitize receipts, build custom reports, and more. Set up sophisticated interactions with third-party apps like Salesforce, Microsoft Excel, Shopify, and PayPal. Or take things a step further and request that your accountant provide actionable insights based on monthly, quarterly, or annual data. The possibilities are seemingly endless.

Moreover, we’ll let you in on a well-kept industry secret: Successful integration with QuickBooks can mark the end of the launch phase grind and signal the beginning of your company’s growth stage. Here’s why:

With a QuickBooks pro in your corner, you’ll be able to automate repetitive processes that would otherwise occupy your time and lower your productivity. Save yourself the frustration of trial and error that happens when you try to set up accounting software on your own. A CPA has the experience to set up and show you an efficient process.

Tax Planning Happens Year-Round for Business Owners

The tiny financial decisions you make throughout the year have BIG consequences when tax time rolls around. That’s why it’s important to plan year-round for tax season.

Enlisting a CPA is important because they will be aware of the complicated and changing tax codes that could impact your tax filings. A CPA can help you maximize your business deductions, minimize your payouts to the IRS, avoid costly filing errors, and prevent audits.

Examples of Tax Savings

After reviewing your business setup and financial records, your account makes the following recommendations:

By opening an HSA account for your employees and making regular contributions, you can lower your payroll tax liability and push your business into a lower tax bracket. Not to mention, overall employee satisfaction and productivity rise as a result.
The CPA notices your business uses accrual accounting and you’ve been overlooking the opportunity to write off “bad” debts from delinquent customer accounts. In addition to identifying these deductions, your CPA generates an automated report that fires any time a future account meets this criterion.

With the suggested tweaks in place, you easily save thousands of hard-earned tax dollars when filing your tax returns, paying for the cost of the CPA services, and then some.

Introducing Our Small Business Accounting Specialists

At Steven Lissner & Company, our team of CPAs has 30+ years of experience in navigating small companies through the complete business growth cycle. Whether you’re launching a new business enterprise, devising a tax plan that maximizes your deductions, or designing streamlined processes that simplify day-to-day accounting tasks, our friendly CPAs understand how to meet your company’s unique needs while keeping an eye on the prize: profitability.

When it comes to tax planning services in New Jersey, our accountants work year-round to secure your largest refund possible. Using sophisticated tools and continually reviewing tax law changes ensures that you never miss a profit-saving deduction.

Our small business accounting solutions free up your busy schedule. Instead of spending hours pouring over payroll or googling how-to instructions for excel, your repetitive processes will operate smoothly in the background.

When you’re looking for “top accountants near me“, Steven Lissner & Company should be your first call! Learn how you can jumpstart your productivity today while saving thousands on your end-of-year taxes. Contact one of our devoted tax specialists to schedule a consultation!

The No-Sweat, CPA-Approved Guide to Overcoming an IRS Tax Audit

February 3, 2022 by slissner_admin

Did you make a simple mistake on last year’s tax return only to find yourself in hot water with Uncle Sam? Unless you’ve consciously attempted to defraud the federal government, you can relax—at least, partially. Your chances of suffering legal consequences for committing an honest error are next to nil.

However, when it comes to financial consequences, you’re still not in the clear. The IRS views careless mistakes as negligence, which can result in expensive fines. We’re talking about an additional 20% of the under-reported amount, to be specific.

To minimize your risk of making costly errors during the audit process, you need to enlist the guidance of a certified public accountant. With a licensed tax professional in your corner, you’ll be able to navigate the audit process seamlessly—substantiating your claims with evidentiary support and advocating for your rights.

In any audit, half the battle is understanding how to make the tax code work for you. Accordingly, CPAs are masters of harnessing the data to their client’s advantage. But, before we discuss how to ensure a no-sweat tax audit, let’s take a closer peek into the audit process itself.

What are the Odds?!?!

Nothing strikes more terror into the hearts of tax-paying citizens everywhere than a nondescript envelope postmarked from the IRS. Fortunately for most taxpayers, IRS tax audits are relatively rare.

In 2019, for instance, the IRS selected only 0.4% of all individual tax returns to undergo further inspection. Furthermore, most of these tax returns pinged the IRS’s built-in error-detection meter—a sophisticated algorithm that compares individual tax returns to expected results. (But, more on how that works later.)

Unfortunately, however, there’s some bad news embedded in all that good news. Although your risk of being audited is rare—especially if you play carefully by the IRS’s rulebook—it’s impossible to dodge a tax audit altogether. That’s because the IRS selects a predetermined portion of all tax returns to investigate entirely at random. So, although honesty is indisputably the best policy, some honest taxpayers will still find themselves among the unlucky few—to be quite candid.

Simple Mistakes That Trigger IRS Tax Audits

Remember that sophisticated algorithm that we discussed previously? It serves as a filter, separating suspicious transactions and mismatched calculations from predictable behaviors.

Because your employer and various institutions reported your annual income, the IRS knows roughly how much money you pocketed last year. It then compares that value to the amount you reported, as well as the deductions and credits you claimed. For each income level, the dollar amount of deductions that taxpayers claim follows a bell curve distribution. Any deduction value several deviations above the mean throws up an automatic red flag.

Although misrepresenting your finances to the IRS is a big no-no, the following accidental behaviors can also trigger an audit:

You under-reported your income: Believe it or not, under-reporting your income is a simple mistake to make. Although it’s easy to remember to report the revenue from your W2, it’s a lot easier to forget that stack of 1099’s you received along with that Form W-2G from a lucky night at the casino.

You made a math error: You may think using a computer to file your taxes means automatically avoiding this sort of error—but think again. Automated tax preparation services are only as good as the humans inputting the data. A careless keystroke can mean adding an extra zero to a column you never intended to misreport.

Using rounded numbers didn’t work out in your favor: The IRS expects us to calculate our deductions down to the penny. So if you attempted to “guestimate” your expenses by rounding up or down to the nearest dollar value, the system might label your return as inaccurate.

You claimed too many (or the wrong) tax deductions and credits: The IRS has strict guidelines about the tax deductions and credits that individual filers can claim. For example, tax filers can claim either the Lifetime Learning Credit OR the American Opportunity Tax Credit in a given tax year—but never both at the same time. This bylaw may be confusing to some as both credits aim to help taxpayers defray the costs related to educational expenses. However, unless you’re a certified tax expert, you might not realize the either/or nature of these credits and double-dip on your deductions.

The Long, Arduous Audit Process in a Nutshell

If you’re selected to undergo an audit, the IRS will typically initiate audit proceedings within a year of accepting your return. However, bear in mind that the IRS can examine up to six years of your financial data. This unsettling reality underscores why the federal government (and your CPA) often recommends holding on to any important receipts for up to three years.

Furthermore, the type of audit you’ll undergo can take three forms:

Correspondence Audit: By far and away, the most common type of investigation, correspondence audits, occur via mail. During a correspondence audit, the IRS will ask you to respond in writing and furnish proof by providing receipts, affidavits, and documents to support your financial activities.
Desk Audit: During a desk audit, you meet face-to-face with an IRS agent in an office setting for an official interview, lasting from one to five hours in duration.

Field Audit: During a field audit, an IRS agent visits your place of business to conduct an official interview and review financial records on-site.

Think you can knock out an IRS audit in an afternoon? Think again.

The typical audit process takes an entire year to conduct, translating to multiple correspondences with the IRS, repeat in-person interviews, and numerous deep dives to procure adequate documentation of your financial activities.

Sound intimidating enough? It doesn’t have to be. Once your initial panic subsides, contact Steven Lissner & Company to request audit representation and secure a no-sweat, minimum hassle audit.

Why You Need to Secure Audit Representation Pronto

If you’ve been audited by the IRS, drop everything and enlist the expert guidance of a certified public accountant. Similar to lawyers, CPAs can serve as your proxy. During audit proceedings, for example, your CPA functions as your official representative—meaning, you may not even be required to attend.

Being able to sit back and relax while your CPA performs all the heavy lifting is ideal for a number of obvious reasons. Consider, for example, the following analogy:

When you were younger, did you ever receive a speeding ticket? Instead of throwing yourself at the mercy of the court system, your friends and family probably advised you to hire a lawyer. The rationale for doing so subsequently become rather apparent:

Your lawyer knew precisely how to finesse the law to your advantage and had developed career-long professional relationships with the very individuals handling your case.
Hiring a lawyer demonstrated to the court that you took your case seriously and resulted in a lower penalty for the charge. For example, if you were speeding 20 mph over the speed limit, perhaps your lawyer was able to reduce your clocked speed by 10 mph, a significantly lesser offense. In addition, the reduced charges meant fewer points on your license as well as hundreds of dollars in savings on your annual insurance premiums.

Similarly, hiring a CPA to navigate your audit proceedings ensures that you furnish the detailed documentation that your IRS agent needs to resolve your case. Instead of fumbling around with the system, you rely on a tax professional who knows the tax code inside and out. Tax documents, checkbook registers, receipts, and more—your CPA knows how to help you build an air-tight case to support your financial activities and minimize your risk of paying hefty fines.

Steven Lissner & Company: Audit Protection You Can Count On

Steven Lissner & Company has earned over 30 years of industry-leading experience in delivering no-sweat audit representation. As a result, our clients feel empowered knowing that, if audited, our CPAs will work tirelessly to ensure a seamless audit process, free of headaches and hefty fines.

In addition, our CPAs interact directly with the IRS on your behalf to eliminate all the back-and-forth, tax jargon, and piles of paperwork. With a tax expert in your corner, you’ll be able to furnish the evidentiary support you need to justify your finances exactly when you need it the most.

Furthermore, our tax experts will work to tidy up your finances beyond the immediate audit process. Enlist the guidance of our CPAs throughout the year and discover how you can save thousands of dollars on your end-of-year taxes, retirement savings, investments, and more. Or utilize our services to identify workable solutions to level up your small business.

You’ll be shocked at all the ways (big and small) that you can save thousands by consulting the expert wisdom of a financial advisor. Contact our office today to schedule a consultation to learn more about how our tax specialists can help you.

Remember, the best defense against an audit is an excellent offense. Avoid making costly mistakes on your taxes that can lead to future audits and secure your most significant refund to date!

The No Contest Advantage of Using a CPA to File Your Taxes

January 3, 2022 by slissner_admin

No matter your industry, automation has become the buzzword of the moment. And, that’s especially true when it comes to processing your tax returns. However, as we’ll discuss shortly, the advantages of using a CPA to file your taxes still crush relying on automation every time. Here’s what the kings of tax automation aren’t telling you.

The Deceptive Nature of “Bargain” Tax Filing

Plug and chug tax preparation programs like TurboTax have been on the rise since the IRS introduced e-filing in the 1990s. The surface-level convenience of inputting a few lines of data into an automated system and filing the returned results online appeals to many consumers. But, adopting a do-it-yourself approach to filing your taxes comes with some apparent risks and concealed costs.

Or, as the saying goes, “all that glitters isn’t gold.”

Programs like H&R Block boast deluxe online self-prep services for as little as $49.99 per state tax return filed. If you’re a new grad with relatively few assets to your name, this price might actually confer savings.

But, life is often messy, and a one-size-fits-all approach to tax preparation usually fails to capture the uniqueness of most tax situations.

Consider some of the following—extremely common—situations in which it’s best to enlist the guidance of a trusted tax expert:

You’re self-employed, whether as the owner of a small business or as a subcontractor.
You’ve experienced a significant life event or sticky situation. These events include marriages, divorces, births, deaths, mergers, moves, buying or selling a home, retirement, etc.
You receive income from rental properties, foreign investments, cryptocurrency, stock trading, etc., or a bevy of less common income sources.

Is your head spinning yet?

Automated tax prep programs deliver precisely what they sell: tax preparation. But, unfortunately, when it comes to tax planning for the future, you’ll find yourself locked out in the cold.

In contrast, a CPA helps you identify tax savings and investment opportunities that will compound your capital across the span of many years. Simply put, this obvious advantage can translate into tens of thousands of dollars in lifetime savings. It can make the competition look pretty shabby in comparison.

Tax Planning, Planning, Planning…

Effective tax planning begins in the off-season.

You might be familiar with the obnoxious phrase, “Summer bodies are made in the winter.”

Similarly, effective tax planning for spring filing begins in the summer of the previous year. So if you genuinely wish to maximize your annual savings for next year, you need to consult with a CPA now.

Want to ensure that your hard-earned savings remain in your bank account instead of the government’s vaults? A skilled CPA will equip you with the investment strategies you need to outfox the IRS while staying on the up and up. From HSAs and FSAs to IRAs, your accountant knows the right combination of alphabet soup to craft a winning tax strategy that saves you money for years to come.

As your tax situation becomes more complex as the years tick by, you’ll learn that tiny financial decisions made in your youth carry BIG consequences. For example, sound financial decisions tend to dilate your long-term savings, whereas a lack of strategy can contribute to stagnant growth.

Here’s the bottom line: Automated tax prep programs help you evaluate situations that have already occurred. But, unfortunately, they’re inherently myopic as they focus only on the current tax year. As a result, they don’t provide you with recommendations for the future, and they can’t help you identify missed opportunities for savings.

Because these mistakes don’t often have immediate consequences, it will be years before you realize your error. But, in the meantime, that blunder translates to losing out on numerous avenues to save for your financial future. Simply put, unless you’re already a tax expert, these programs are a dead end.

You Deserve the Best of Both Worlds

Although we’ve been denouncing the pitfalls of online tax preparation, we’ll let you in on a little secret: Not all automation is bad.

In fact, most CPAs use automated tax preparation software to assist in calculating your returns. But, there are some notable differences here of which you should be made aware.

Firstly, your accountant’s tax preparation software is significantly more sophisticated than TurboTax. For example, your accountant pays somewhere between $1,000 and $6,000 per year to access these programs. Compared to the $50-$100 per year you pay to file via TurboTax or H&R block, the difference in expected outcomes is now becoming even more apparent.

Secondly, your CPA knows how to work an automated system to your advantage. Remember, the secret sauce of financial success lies in planning.

For example, did you start a small business last year or purchase an energy-efficient home? Did you acquire any foreign assets or find yourself the recipient of an unexpected inheritance? If so, then TurboTax can only provide you with a rudimentary snapshot of your financial situation.

Consider the following example:

2021 proves to be a particularly challenging year. By the end of the year, you suspect that you’ve spent more than 9% of your annual income on medical bills. TurboTax informs you that you should consider itemizing your medical expenses, which become deductible once your yearly healthcare costs exceed 7.5% of your annual income. TurboTax then rattles off a list of “stock” deductions—obvious items that you can deduct like doctor’s bills and surgeries.

But, after crunching the numbers, you’re coming up short. Without a CPA to guide your itemization, you overlook several qualifying expenses, including transportation costs related to accessing your appointments, fees to participate in a physician-prescribed weight-loss program, and periodic charges for your monthly acupuncture treatments.

Your tax automation program of choice didn’t alert you to these eligible deductions. So instead, you end up taking the standard deduction and miss out on subtracting $3,500 from your annual income. As a result, you pay taxes on this amount, significantly reducing your tax refund and compounding your financial burden.

You thought you were saving money by relying on automation, but instead, you’ve already lost out on more money than you intended to save.

This example illustrates why banking on automation to generate error-free tax returns can be so deceptive. A tax machine is only as skilled as its operator. Unless you’re a tax expert with years of specialized training under your belt, slipups are easy to make.

Although your mistake won’t lead to an audit, you will end up shelling out more money to Uncle Sam than you owe. And, you can believe that the IRS surely won’t alert you to your error.

CPAs Deliver Financial Know-How With a Human Touch

Becoming a CPA in New Jersey isn’t easy. First, you must obtain your bachelor’s degree (plus an additional 30 semester hours) from an accredited institution. Moreover, 24 of these 150 semester hours must include accounting credits. Additionally, to round out your financial education, you must devote another 24 semester hours to earning business credits.

As if that’s not daunting enough, you’ll also need to pass a 16-hour exam and complete 1,750 hours of supervised work under a licensed CPA.

Needless to say, you can’t blunder your way through these qualifications. A highly advanced level of financial aptitude and stick-to-itiveness is a prerequisite.

But, the advantages of using a CPA to file your taxes include more than just technical skills and business acumen.

A good CPA also provides a human touch. Unless you need technical support to access your account, the support team behind an automated tax preparation service typically can’t answer your question. Sure, they can reset your password and help you regain access to last year’s tax return. But, what about the things that matter? For example, if you’re going through a recent divorce, who will field your tax questions regarding the division of your financial assets? And, who will be available in the off-season and have the chops to advise you about acquiring rental properties?

When your circumstances change, you need prompt answers to your burning questions. CPAs are available year-round to answer your questions and guide your financial decisions. Whether you’re setting up a college fund or moving across state lines, CPAs deliver the superior customer service that you’ll come to rely on for all your financial needs.

The Tax Preparation & Planning Advantage You Deserve

At Steven Lissner & Co., our accountants deliver customized tax planning and preparation solutions for individuals, couples, and small businesses. With over 30 years of industry-leading experience, our CPAs know how to harness the power of tax automation without losing their human touch.

We excel where big-name automated services fall short because we believe a solid financial blueprint involves careful planning. Whereas programs like TurboTax provide only a snapshot of the last tax year, we help you craft a winning financial strategy that will ensure your fiscal success for years to come.

To experience the Steven Lissner difference, contact our team of tax preparation advocates today! Your biggest tax refund yet awaits you!