Forum Index
»
Off-Topic
Tax advisor did my taxes and I changed my mind about filing through him, am I obligate to pay??
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| So back in 2008 I used this guy -- went to his office (might have signed few things, can't really remember) and filed my taxes with him. I did the return with his this year, everything through email. It took him a long time (after sending multiple emails) to do my return. He's very short with emails and does not explain things well. I really don't know why I went back to him ... I was getting ready to send him an email this morning asking him to cancel my return filing and did it through Turbo Tax ... of course as I was typing my email he sent me a draft of my return. I'm getting much better results through Turbo Tax, so it makes more sense for me to use them and pay $200 less for the service. Am I obligated to pay this guy now? He does not have a website so I'm not sure if "satisfaction guarantee" would apply here. |
Anonymous
| You asked him to do it and he did it. I don't understand why you're confused as to whether you should pay him or not. The time to try turbo tax would be before you sent him all your info for this year. Then, if you decided not o use Turbo Tax you should've went with a professional. Not the other way around. |
Anonymous
| OP here. I did not think that it would take this long -- over 3 weeks. I did it on Turbo tax just out of curiosity and frustration. |
Anonymous
| 3 weeks is not out of the ordinary during tax season. If he prepared your taxes, you should pay him. Whether you choose to file that return is up to you. |
Anonymous
| I'd say you are obligated - he did what you asked him to do. It's not as if you complained to him that it was taking to long and that you might need to file on your own. (Also, April 15 is a long way away - I don't think 3 weeks is a long time at this point in the year.) |
Anonymous
| PP here -- I would also ask him about the discrepency between TT and his results. It could be that TT is not calculating something the right way or it could be that he is wrong but you should find out before you choose one over the other. |
hedgehog
Member Offline
Member Offline
Three weeks is nothing for taxes. You are the one who decided to buy Turbotax. Yes, you are obligated to pay him. |
Anonymous
| OP again. Thanks for the response. I guess I'm just bitter knowing that I could get a better return with Turbo and pay a lot less for the service and do it in 20 minutes. Lesson learned. I was afraid/did not want to bother doing it myself before. It was much easier than I thought. I don't want to screw the guy over, but I feel that for $200 bucks he could be a better communicator -- reply to my emails, answer my questions and actually explain things. |
Anonymous
| of course you're obligated to pay him! the work is done. |
Anonymous
I did not pay for Turbo Tax ... it's free. You pay if you file. |
Anonymous
The return is not accurate. He forgot to include my daughter and other important information -- that's why I'm getting less through him. Of course I will tell him all these things, but isn't that what I pay him for? Accuracy so I don't mess things up myself? |
hedgehog
Member Offline
Member Offline
You are still obligated to review your return before signing it. Mistakes are made all of the time, by everyone. You need to let him know and he will fix. You have plenty of time to get the mistakes fixed. |
Anonymous
A three week turnaround is not bad this time of year--you have no room for complaint there. If he's forgotten relevant info, remind him. Did you provide him with all of the relevant information so that he could include it? In any case, pay him for his services, and next year use turbo tax. You sound angry mostly with yourself because as you said, you don't even know why you went back to him after less than stellar service in the past. Chalk it up to lesson learned and next year do it yourself. |
Anonymous
|
OP - I think what you may be missing is that if you came up with different numbers on Turbo Tax you need to tell the Tax guy this and ask him to review the turbo tax return vs. what he prepared and filed. If he agrees with the turbo tax he should correct it and file an amendment to your return. Or he may tell you his reasoning for not doing them that way and if you agree you can be done with it.
If the reason for the descrepancy is that you failed to provide him with relevant information than I think he is within his right to charge you for the work he will do on the amended return. If it's a mistake then he should correct it without charging you anything. You can always file an amendment yourself as well if you'd like to be done with this tax preparer. By the way, 3 weeks is a great turn around for taxes during tax season. These guys and gals have a million of returns to do and ususally work long hours and weekends through 4/15. |
Anonymous
|
I didn't know people sent tax/personal information via e-mail for these things.
|