Questions to Ask a Tax Consultant
For anyone hiring a tax preparer for the first time, switching to a new one, or sitting down with the tax advisor they already use and wanting more out of the meeting. The 57 questions run in the order the decision does: credentials, who works on your file and what it costs before you sign anything, then your return, year-round planning, and what happens if a letter arrives, a mistake turns up or you move on. Tax consultant, tax preparer and tax advisor are loose titles in many places, and what each one is licensed to do depends on the country and sometimes the state, which is why the list opens by asking what theirs covers where you live.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Credentials
What are your credentials, and what do they let you do on my behalf?
Why ask it
In the United States the credentials that carry representation rights before the tax authority are certified public accountant, enrolled agent and tax attorney; other preparers can prepare a return with narrower standing. Rules and titles differ by country, so ask what theirs specifically allows rather than assuming.
Are you registered to prepare returns for pay, and where can I look that up?
Why ask it
In the United States anyone paid to prepare a federal return needs a Preparer Tax Identification Number, and the IRS runs a public directory of preparers who hold a credential. Elsewhere the register may belong to a tax agents board or a professional institute, so get the name of the body and the number to search under.
What kind of clients do you mostly work with, and how many have a situation like mine?
Why ask it
Name yours out loud, whether that is rental property, income in several states, foreign accounts, stock options, or a first year of self-employment. A count of the returns like it they finished last year tells you more than 'we see that all the time', and more than the size of the firm.
Could I do this return myself with software, and is any part of it beyond what you take on?
Why ask it
A preparer who sometimes says 'you could do this yourself' or 'this needs a tax attorney' is showing you where their competence starts and stops. Wages and a standard deduction sit at one end; an open dispute with the tax authority or a string of unfiled years sits at the other.
Can you file in every state or country where I have to report?
Why ask it
Moving mid-year, working remotely for an employer elsewhere, or holding an account abroad can each add a filing. Some preparers only handle their home state, and finding that out in the last week before the deadline is expensive.
How many returns do you prepare in a season, and how many people work on them?
Why ask it
Volume set against headcount is a rough guide to how long anyone spends on your file. Neither a big number nor a small one rules a preparer out; it tells you whether you are buying a production line or one person's attention, and each has its price.
Has a licensing body or tax authority ever disciplined you or your firm?
Why ask it
It is an awkward thing to say across a desk, which is why most people skip it. Licensing boards usually publish their actions, so a calm, direct reply that matches the public record is what you are looking for.
Work and privacy
Who prepares my return, and who reviews it?
Why ask it
In larger firms the preparation is often done by junior staff and the partner you met signs off. Ask whose name goes on the return, who you email during the year, and whether the person in front of you will read it line by line.
Will you sign the return as the paid preparer?
Why ask it
In the United States a paid preparer has to sign the return and enter their identification number, and one who will not is what the IRS calls a ghost preparer. Wherever you are, a preparer who wants the fee but not their name on the work is a warning worth acting on.
Is any of the preparation sent outside this office or abroad?
Why ask it
Outsourcing is common in busy seasons and is not a problem in itself. What matters is who stays answerable for the work, where your identification numbers travel, and whether the rules where you live require your written consent first.
Will I get the finished return with time to read it before it is filed?
Why ask it
Your signature says the figures are true as far as you know, so a return pushed across the counter with a pen is the wrong way round. Two or three days and a side-by-side with last year is a fair thing to request.
Can I reach you outside filing season, and how quickly do you reply?
Why ask it
Planning questions and official letters tend to turn up after the deadline, when a seasonal office may be shut or down to one person. Get the usual reply time for July as well as March, and whether the phone is answered at all between seasons.
How do we exchange documents securely?
Why ask it
You are sending identification numbers, bank details and a full picture of your income. A secure portal or encrypted upload is the ordinary answer, and an office that expects all of it as plain email attachments is one to push back on.
Who else sees my information, and is it used for anything besides my return?
Why ask it
Some offices pass client details to a partner that sells loans, insurance or investment products. Find out what the paperwork has you agreeing to, and say no to any consent form that is not needed to get the return done.
How is my file stored once the season ends, and would you tell me about a breach?
Why ask it
A tax file holds everything a thief would need to file a false return in your name. Listen for specifics such as encryption, two-step sign-in and a written security plan, not a general assurance that everything is safe.
How long do you keep my records, and can I get copies whenever I want?
Why ask it
You will need prior returns for a mortgage application, a visa, a loan, or a new advisor. Find out how you get them once you are no longer a client, in what format, and whether there is a charge.
Fees
How do you charge: hourly, per form, or a flat fee?
Why ask it
Hourly billing quietly charges you for your own disorganisation, per form pricing is predictable but grows with complexity, and a flat fee needs a clear scope. Ask what a return resembling yours cost last year, in a real number.
What is included in the fee, and what triggers extra billing?
Why ask it
Get specifics on amended returns, replying to a letter from the tax authority, phone calls during the year, additional state filings and bookkeeping cleanup. These are the items that turn a quoted fee into a larger invoice.
Will you put the fee and the scope in writing before any work starts?
Why ask it
An engagement letter that names the returns, the tax year and the price settles most later arguments before they begin. A preparer who will only quote once the return is finished has left you no room to walk away.
Does any part of your fee depend on the size of my refund?
Why ask it
A fee that rises with the refund gives the preparer a stake in a bigger number, while the person answerable for the return is still you. Professional rules in some places restrict this kind of pricing, so it is fair to check how it works where you are.
Can your fee be taken out of my refund, and what does that add to the cost?
Why ask it
In the United States, paying from the refund generally runs through a bank product with its own charge, and a refund advance is a loan, whatever the poster in the window calls it. Wherever you are, get the total in money terms and compare it with simply paying the invoice.
Do you earn commission on anything you might recommend, such as investments or insurance?
Why ask it
Plenty of tax practices also sell financial products, and there is nothing hidden about that when they say so. You only need to know when a suggestion is tax advice and when it is a sale.
Is the first meeting charged, and what would I come away with?
Why ask it
Some preparers give a free half hour to size up the work; others bill from the first minute and take it off the final fee. Either is reasonable once you know which, and a read through last year's return is the most useful thing to get out of it.
What could I do on my side to bring the fee down?
Why ask it
The usual answers are dull and effective: one batch of documents instead of six, a spreadsheet of totals instead of a bag of receipts, and delivery in February instead of April. Those months assume a spring deadline, so translate them to your own tax calendar.
How do you price a late year, or fixing a return someone else prepared?
Why ask it
Catch-up work usually costs more than a current return because the documents are harder to find and the preparer inherits someone else's choices. A per-year figure, quoted before they open the box, stops it becoming open-ended.
Your return
What do you need from me, and by when?
Why ask it
Two things to take home: the document checklist and the office's own cut-off, which usually falls well before the legal filing date. Miss that cut-off and the likely result is an extension instead of a rushed return, so write the date down.
Once you have everything, how long until my return is ready?
Why ask it
Turnaround at the start of the season and in the last fortnight before the deadline are different promises. Get a date instead of 'a couple of weeks', and find out what on your side would hold it up, since one missing form can park the whole file.
What happens if my documents arrive late?
Why ask it
Find out whether they file an extension for you, whether the fee changes, and what an extension does and does not postpone. In the United States it moves the filing date but not the payment date, and that gap is where penalties come from; elsewhere, have the local rule spelled out.
Here is what changed in my life this year. How does each thing affect my return?
Why ask it
Marriage, divorce, a new child, a home purchase, a redundancy or an inheritance can each move the result, and which year they count in is not always the obvious one. Say every one, including those that seem to have nothing to do with tax, and let the preparer decide which matter.
Which records should I keep to back up what we claim, and for how long?
Why ask it
A deduction is only as good as the paper behind it: receipts, mileage logs, donation letters, statements. Retention periods differ by country and by type of record, and anything showing what you paid for property or investments tends to matter until well after you sell.
Can you estimate what I will owe or be refunded before we file?
Why ask it
A rough figure a few weeks ahead leaves time to move money, or to make a contribution that still counts for the year if your rules allow one. A figure delivered on filing day leaves time for nothing but paying it.
Why is this year's result different from last year's?
Why ask it
A good preparer can explain the swing in two or three causes, such as a pay rise, a credit that phased out, or less tax withheld. If the only explanation is 'that is what the software produced', nobody has really looked.
How did you decide my filing status and who counts as a dependant?
Why ask it
These choices rest almost entirely on what you tell the preparer about who lives with you and who pays for what. Where your tax system has them, have the test explained, particularly after a separation or when a relative moved in during the year.
Am I better off itemising or taking the standard deduction, and how close was it?
Why ask it
The choice is a United States one, though many systems have an equivalent between a flat allowance and claiming actual costs. The margin is the useful part: if the two were close, better records next year might tip it, and if they were far apart, find out which receipts are still worth keeping.
Which figures on my return are estimates, and what supports them?
Why ask it
Home office share, business use of a car and cash donations are often rounded guesses that somebody typed in. You should know which numbers those are, because you are the one who would have to defend them.
What do people in my situation commonly miss, and what would you refuse to claim?
Why ask it
The second half is the important half. A preparer with no line they will not cross is a liability, because you are the person who signs the return and carries the exposure.
How will the return be filed, and how will I know it was accepted?
Why ask it
Electronic filing produces an acceptance or a rejection from the tax authority. Have a copy of that confirmation kept with your return, since 'I sent it' is not the same as 'they have it'.
Which account does my refund go to, and can I check the details before you submit?
Why ask it
The refund belongs in an account in your own name, never the preparer's. Read the account and routing numbers on the final copy yourself, because one wrong digit can take months to untangle.
Will you look through my earlier returns for mistakes or missed claims?
Why ask it
A second pair of eyes on the last two or three years sometimes turns up a credit nobody claimed, and sometimes an error in your favour that needs correcting. The window for amending closes after a set period that depends on the country, so raise it early.
Planning
What should I be doing differently during the year?
Why ask it
This separates a preparer from an advisor. The answer might cover retirement contributions, timing of income or expenses, record keeping, or entity structure, and if there is nothing at all, you are buying data entry.
Should I be making estimated payments, and how do we set the amount?
Why ask it
Underpayment charges are an avoidable cost that falls mostly on self-employed people and anyone with significant income outside payroll. Have them show how the figure was reached, and agree what should prompt a recalculation, such as a strong quarter or a lost client.
Should I change the amount withheld from my pay?
Why ask it
A large refund and a large bill both mean the withholding was off for the whole year. Bring a recent payslip so the adjustment can be worked out on the spot, and revisit it after a raise, a second job or a new child.
Is my business structure still right for what I now earn?
Why ask it
Sole trader, limited company, LLC and S corporation choices that made sense at one income level often do not at another, and the switch has both tax effects and running costs. Ask what the annual cost of the recommended structure actually is, including their fee for it.
What should I call you about before I do it, not after?
Why ask it
Selling a property, exercising share options, taking money from a retirement account, starting a side business and moving abroad are all cheaper to plan than to repair. Get their list, because by filing time those decisions are already history.
Do you offer a mid-year or year-end review, and what does it cost?
Why ask it
This is the meeting that turns a tax preparer into your tax advisor. A projection in the autumn, built on real figures for the year so far, leaves time to act before the year closes.
Which retirement or savings accounts would lower my tax, and where does your advice stop?
Why ask it
Some accounts cut this year's bill and others cut a future one, and the menu is different in every country. The tax effect is a preparer's territory; choosing the investments inside the account normally calls for a different licence.
Which rule changes this year or next will touch my return?
Why ask it
Thresholds, credits and allowances move most years, and only a handful will matter to you. Two or three named changes with a rough money effect is a far better answer than a newsletter.
I am self-employed. How should I track income and expenses as the year goes?
Why ask it
A separate bank account and a monthly habit of categorising beat any software bought in a panic at year end. Have them show you the layout they would like to receive, since books in their preferred shape cost less to turn into a return.
Will you talk to my financial advisor, bookkeeper or lawyer when a decision crosses over?
Why ask it
Selling investments, setting up a trust or changing payroll all have a tax side that the other professional may not see. Find out whether those calls are billed, and whether they need your written permission to share anything.
If things go wrong
If my return is audited, will you represent me, and is that in the fee?
Why ask it
Representation means dealing with the authority in your place, and not every preparer is allowed to or wants to. Settle who would speak for you, how often they have done it and how it is billed, long before there is anything to defend. Outside the United States the word may be enquiry, review or compliance check, so use the local one.
A letter arrives from the tax authority. What do I do first, and who replies?
Why ask it
Most letters carry a response date, so the first job is getting a copy to the preparer the day it lands. Agree the routine now: they say whether you should answer it yourself, and you already know whether their reply sits inside the fee.
What happens if there is an error and it was made here?
Why ask it
The engagement letter is the answer that counts, so read what it says before you need it. A common arrangement has the firm amend the return for free and pay the penalties its mistake caused while the tax itself stays yours, but terms vary, so check theirs and whether they carry professional liability insurance.
If I owe more than I can pay at once, what are my choices?
Why ask it
People in this spot sometimes avoid filing at all, which tends to make things worse because late filing and late payment are often penalised separately. Have the preparer lay out the payment arrangements available where you live and what each costs in interest.
Do you sell audit protection, and what does it cover that your fee does not?
Why ask it
These add-ons range from a real promise to represent you to little more than a helpline. Read the terms for which years and which kinds of letter are covered, and whether any tax, penalty or interest is ever paid by the plan.
If we disagree about how to treat something on my return, how is it settled?
Why ask it
You might want a deduction they consider too aggressive, or they might propose a position that makes you uneasy. A preparer can decline to sign a return they do not believe, and you can decline to sign one you do not understand, so it helps to hear how they handle the standoff.
If I move to another preparer, will you pass on the working papers behind my return?
Why ask it
The filed return leaves out things the next person needs, such as depreciation schedules, carried-forward losses and the cost records for assets you still own. Without them a new preparer starts from guesses about figures that were settled years ago.
If you retire or sell the practice, what happens to my file?
Why ask it
A sole practitioner should have a succession answer, even one who is decades from needing it. Find out who would take over the client list and whether your history moves with it, because rebuilding years of context with a new advisor is slow and billable.
Choosing a tax preparer and working with your tax advisor
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you hire
Bring last year's return to the first meeting
It is the fastest way for anyone to price the work accurately and to tell you something useful in the first twenty minutes. An advisor who looks through it and finds nothing to comment on is telling you something too.
Decide whether you want filing or planning
Preparing a return is reporting a year that has already happened. Planning is about decisions still open to you. They are different services at different prices, and paying for one while expecting the other is an easy way to end up disappointed.
Check the credential yourself
Most professional designations can be verified through a public register held by the licensing body or professional institute. It takes a few minutes and it is worth doing before you hand over your identification numbers.
Comparing quotes
- Quotes are only comparable if they list which forms and schedules are included, so ask each one to itemise.
- Give every preparer the same extra to price, such as a second state or a small company: that is where flat fees quietly stop applying.
- Check whether replying to a routine letter from the tax authority is inside the fee, since it is an easy charge to overlook when comparing.
- A quote given before anyone has seen a document is an estimate, not a price. Ask what would change it.
- Read the engagement letter before you agree, particularly the parts on liability and on what is out of scope.
Warning signs
- A fee set as a percentage of your refund, which creates an interest in the size of the refund rather than the accuracy of the return.
- A promised refund figure before they have seen any of your documents.
- Any request to sign a blank or incomplete return, or to sign before you have read it.
- A refund routed to the preparer's own account rather than directly to yours.
- No engagement letter, no written fee, and no clarity about who signs the return.
- Encouragement to claim things you cannot describe or evidence, on the basis that nobody checks.
Getting more from the tax advisor you already have
Send your questions ahead
Pick five or six from Your return and Planning and email them a week before the appointment. A preparer in the middle of the season answers better with your file open than from memory across a desk.
Report the year, not only the forms
A new job, a move, a baby, a sale, a side income: the documents show some of these and hide others. A two-line list of what changed, placed on top of the paperwork, catches the things no form reports.
Ask for the comparison page
Professional tax software can generally print this year beside last year, line by line. It is the quickest way to see what moved, and it gives you something concrete to point at when a figure looks wrong.
Book the next conversation before you leave
Planning only happens if it has a date. Agree a month for a mid-year check, and what you will bring to it, while the return is still fresh for both of you.