Questions to Ask a Tax Consultant

The questions

Open any question to see why it works.

1. 1

   What are your credentials, and what do they let you do on my behalf?

   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.

2. 2

   Who prepares my return, and who reviews 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.

3. 3

   Will you sign the return as the paid preparer?

   A preparer who wants to complete the return but leave the preparer section blank is worth taking seriously as a warning. It shifts responsibility entirely onto you and makes the work harder to trace later.

4. 4

   What kind of clients do you mostly work with?

   The useful answer is a category rather than a headcount: freelancers, landlords, small S corporations, people with equity compensation, expatriates, or households with straightforward wages. Fit with your situation matters more than the size of the firm.

5. 5

   Have you handled situations like mine before, and how often?

   Name yours out loud, whether that is rental property, income in several states, foreign accounts, stock options, or a first year of self-employment. Ask how many returns like that they did last year, since frequency is a better signal than familiarity.

6. 6

   How do you charge: hourly, per form, or a flat fee?

   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.

7. 7

   What is included in the fee, and what triggers extra billing?

   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.

8. 8

   What do you need from me, and by when?

   Ask for the document checklist and their internal deadline, which is always earlier than the statutory filing date. Firms stop accepting new documents at a point that is not published anywhere.

9. 9

   What happens if my documents arrive late?

   Ask how they handle extensions, whether the fee changes, and what an extension does and does not postpone. An extension to file is not always an extension to pay, and that distinction is where penalties come from.

10. 10

    How do we exchange documents securely?

    You are handing over identity-level information: identification numbers, bank details, and everything about your income. A secure portal is the ordinary answer, and email attachments as standard practice is a reasonable thing to push back on.

11. 11

    Can you estimate what I will owe or be refunded before we file?

    You want a number early enough to do something about it rather than on the day the return is submitted. Ask at what point in the process they can give you a rough figure.

12. 12

    What should I be doing differently during the year?

    This separates a preparer from an adviser. 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.

13. 13

    Should I be making estimated payments, and how do we set the amount?

    Underpayment charges are among the most common avoidable costs for self-employed people and anyone with significant income outside payroll. Ask how they set the figure and how it should be revised if the year goes differently.

14. 14

    Is my business structure still right for what I now earn?

    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.

15. 15

    What do people in my situation commonly miss, and what would you refuse to claim?

    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.

16. 16

    If my return is examined, what do you do, and is it included?

    Ask whether they handle correspondence with the authority, whether that is in the fee or billed separately, how many examinations they have been through, and who speaks on your behalf. Find this out before you need it.

17. 17

    What happens if there is an error and it was made here?

    Ask who pays for the amended return, who covers penalties and interest, whether they carry professional liability insurance, and what the engagement letter says about it. The engagement letter is the answer that counts.

18. 18

    How long do you keep my records, and can I get copies whenever I want?

    You will need prior returns for a mortgage application, a visa, a loan, or a new adviser. Ask how you get them after the relationship ends and whether there is a charge.

19. 19

    Can I reach you outside filing season, and how quickly do you reply?

    Many preparers effectively disappear once the deadline passes, which is exactly when planning questions and letters arrive. Ask what a normal response time looks like in July compared with March.

20. 20

    How long do you plan to keep practising, and what happens to my file if you retire?

    A sole practitioner near the end of a career should have a succession answer. Ask who takes over the client list and whether your history moves with it, because rebuilding years of context with a new adviser is slow and billable.