Searching online for a tax preparation company can swiftly become a daunting task. The firms are so numerous that making your decision can become harder in the face of information overload.
How can you work out which one is right for you? Swanky websites and promises to deliver superb results at reasonable prices are all very well, but you need to peel back the layers to identify the best tax partner for you.
As a non-accountant, you may not know which factors are important and which are just window-dressing (we face the same set of problems when picking doctors, lawyers or other professionals in the fields where we are not experts).
To help you decide, we have compiled a series of questions that you should ask of firms who are potential candidates, together with our answers.
you should ask the firms you are considering - and our answers to them.
Taxes for Expats (TFX) has been preparing American expatriate taxes for 25 years.
At TFX we have over 1300 testimonials with an independent review site TrustPilot:
www.trustpilot.com/review/www.taxesforexpats.com
Beware of companies that only list reviews on their own site - as you have no way of knowing if they are legitimate or were written by the company itself.
Every return prepared by TFX is checked by two pairs of eyes - the CPA or IRS Enrolled Agent who works with you on the case and a senior supervisor who double-checks their work.
TFX offers 100% upfront pricing.
All our fees are listed on our website - and you don’t have to talk to anybody before seeing how much we charge. The prices do not fluctuate depending on the client’s personal circumstances.
Certainly. We offer a free intro consultation with a tax advisor for all new clients.
If you have more complex queries, Ines Zemelman offers consultations as well.
TFX represents many clients who come to us with difficult cases.
Only certain practitioners are allowed to represent clients in front of the IRS - we are among this group. Thus we have a CAF number.
We handled 71 such cases last year.
We do not collect VAT or sales tax.
All our prices are charged in US Dollars.
Yes, we attend the IRS forum annually. This IRS event allows us to stay abreast of the latest changes in tax laws and directly interact with the IRS representatives.
We always use this opportunity to bring the most difficult cases to the Case Resolution session for immediate resolution by senior IRS staff.
We work all year round.
No, we developed a web-based interactive questionnaire.
It can be completed by any client with access to the internet, regardless of the platform and software installed on their computers.
Anyone who prepares federal tax returns for compensation must have a valid PTIN number. Every TFX staff member has their individual PTIN with which they sign client returns.
The IRS assigns an EFIN to identify the firm as an Authorized IRS e-file Provider . We have an EFIN number that allows us to file federal and state returns electronically on behalf our clients.
We store client documents in our system until they inform us that they would like them erased (or do so themselves in our system)
This provides our clients with a backup of all their tax-related documents prepared by us or uploaded by the client.
No - at TFX we don’t rely on third-party file-sharing systems that store information in unknown countries.
