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by bob1029 1805 days ago
I file my taxes as if all of this is true.

For me, cost/time savings of paying a few hundred in fees is cheaper than a CPA (or spending an entire weekend doing it myself).

I never protest what they send back - either some check or a bill. I just take care of it and don't ask any questions.

If the IRS doesnt think I am paying them enough money, they can feel free to send me a bigger bill or assess greater fines.

I may get audited but I just don't give a shit about this broken mess anymore. I don't have anything to hide, and I would happily pay whatever shortfall is calculated just to get them out of my life again.

I am fairly confident that as long as you are paying your taxes and not giving the IRS a hard time (i.e. WRT overseas tax haven shenanigans and insane corporate structures), they will not fuck with your life.

1 comments

A quality tax preparer is no more than "a few hundred bucks". It is a more direct and quicker route than this faintly dramatic treatment, TBH.

You're right in that the IRS will treat people operating in good faith just fine, but a decent preparer makes it so much easier. My guy just asks me for my stuff in January and does his thing.

> A quality tax preparer is no more than "a few hundred bucks".

I do not want to continue to contribute to the tax preparation ecosystem any more than absolutely necessary. Paying a CPA to file my taxes is no different than paying intuit for a new copy of turbotax every year. I don't see a distinction in principle. They probably use the same software internally.

My tax preparer is also my accountant and one of my financial advisors. Tax preparation is a service he offers. And I have access to all of the spreadsheets he uses to calculate them, so I'm fairly certain it's not "the same software internally".

If you don't see a distinction here, I suspect it's because you don't want to.

Where do you find good people for this?
I asked friends and got recommendations from solid people I trust, like I do most things.