Taxes: DIY or Hire a Professional?

Are you struggling with that ever-so-common question at this time of year: When will the sun come out again so I can play golf? Not that question. This one: Should I do my taxes myself or hire a professional? This is a very important question because the consequences of your choice can be significant.

DIY-ers are into everything. Of course, there is nothing wrong with trying to tackle things on your own, but when it comes to taxes, especially for high-net-worth individuals, it almost always pays to hire a professional. In fact, the majority of taxpayers do use some kind of professional tax assistance. Last year, 86 percent of all returns were filed with some kind of tax software, but most of those were actually filled out by tax professionals: 79 million returns.

If you’re still undecided, then here are some questions you can ask yourself to help clear the picture:

• How much would you spend on a tax professional?
• How much time do you have to spend on your taxes?
• How unique or complicated is your personal tax situation?
• Are you prepared to deal with the IRS should something go wrong?

Each of these questions is important to consider. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time on taxes, your situation is overly complicated, or you wouldn’t want to deal with the IRS, then paying to have a professional do your taxes is well worth the expense.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2017/02/06/should-you-do-your-taxes-yourself-hire-tax-preparer/97198816/

We hope you found this article about “Taxes: DIY or Hire a Professional?” helpful.  If you have questions or need expert tax or family office advice that’s refreshingly objective (we never sell investments), please contact us or visit our Family office page  or our website at www.GROCO.com.  Unfortunately, we no longer give advice to other tax professionals gratis.

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Alan Olsen, is the Host of the American Dreams Show and the Managing Partner of GROCO.com.  GROCO is a premier family office and tax advisory firm located in the San Francisco Bay area serving clients all over the world.

Alan L. Olsen, CPA, Wikipedia Bio

GROCO.com is a proud sponsor of The American Dreams Show.

The American Dreams show was the brainchild of Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA. It was originally created to fill a specific need; often inexperienced entrepreneurs lacked basic information about raising capital and how to successfully start a business.

Alan sincerely wanted to respond to the many requests from aspiring entrepreneurs asking for the information and introductions they needed. But he had to find a way to help in which his venture capital clients and friends would not mind.

The American Dreams show became the solution, first as a radio show and now with YouTube videos as well. Always respectful of interview guest’s time, he’s able to give access to individuals information and inspiration previously inaccessible to the first-time entrepreneurs who need it most.

They can listen to venture capitalists and successful business people explain first-hand, how they got to where they are, how to start a company, how to overcome challenges, how they see the future evolving, opportunities, work-life balance and so much more..

MyPaths.com (Also sponsored by GROCO) provides free access to content and world-class entrepreneurs, influencers and thought leaders’ personal success stories. To help you find your path in life to true, sustainable success & happiness.  It’s mission statement:

In an increasingly complex and difficult world, we hope to help you find your personal path in life and build a strong foundation by learning how others found success and happiness. True and sustainable success and happiness are different for each one of us but possible, often despite significant challenges.

Our mission at MyPaths.com is to provide resources and firsthand accounts of how others found their paths in life, so you can do the same.