Benefits of Having Your Tax Return Reviewed by a Professional


Magnifying glass over tax returnYour return has likely been filed for a couple of months now, and you haven’t seen any reason to give it a second thought. But a second look at a previously filed tax return can actually offer you many benefits that you might not know about. Here are just a few reasons that you should consider having your tax return reviewed by one of our experienced and knowledgeable CPAs—whether you completed your tax return yourself, or had it done by a different tax preparer.

Ensure You Got Every Deduction and Credit

There are countless different kinds of tax deductions and tax credits available, and each of them requires a very certain set of qualifications for you to receive them. Unfortunately, many tax payers aren’t even away when they qualify for a certain tax credit or deduction, and they end up paying far more in taxes than they need to.

Having a professional CPA look over your return ensures you received every credit and deduction you qualified for. If the CPA finds something you or your other tax preparer missed, you can file an amendment, and get a refund from the IRS for the difference in your taxes.

Correct Any Errors

Of course, a tax return review doesn’t always result in more money in your pocket. Sometimes, your CPA may notice something that was reported incorrectly. When you file an amendment to correct such an error, you may find yourself paying a little bit more in taxes for that return. However, you are ensuring that your reported income and expenses are filed accurately, so that you can avoid any potential audits, fees, and penalties.

If the IRS is the one to discover incorrect numbers on your return, you’ll be faced with a much more difficult situation than you would by catching the error yourself.

Know More for Next Year

Missed deductions and incorrectly reported numbers are often the result of a simple lack of knowledge on the part of the taxpayer. Getting your last return reviewed by a CPA is kind of like having your professor go over your last exam with you. You’ll learn where you made mistakes and what you missed, so that you’re better prepared the next time around.

Then, if you choose to file your return yourself next year, you’ll have more knowledge and will be less likely to make the same kinds of mistakes you did on the last return.

Get Audit Representation

One benefit of working with a CPA is that they can represent you if you end up being selected for an IRS audit. So, even if you didn’t use a CPA when you filed initially, if you have a CPA review and amend your return, you’ll now be eligible to have them working alongside you if you end up being audited in the future. Of course, that audit is going to be much less likely after having a CPA review and correct your self-filed return; however, it’s a little extra peace of mind that is great to have.

Review Multiple Returns

Did you know that you can actually amend tax returns for the last several years? That means that you can have a professional review and correct multiple tax returns for you at once, which can offer you all of the above-mentioned benefits for several years’ worth of tax filings. So, if you’ve been filing your own returns for several years, it may be worth having one of our CPAs review the last few returns you filed, so that you can ensure you were getting every possible deduction and correctly reporting all income, assets, and expenses on those old returns. You may be surprised by just how much we can find.

Professional Experience and Knowledge

If you had your last return (or last few returns) filed by a tax preparer, and not a certified public accountant, you may wonder if it’s worth having your return reviewed. The answer is yes. Many tax preparers go through a relatively short and simple tax preparation class before beginning to file returns. This simply doesn’t equate to the education, knowledge, and experience that a CPA has. And, a tax preparer can’t represent you in the case of an audit.

Contact us today to speak to a CPA about getting your tax return reviewed by a professional. We can help ensure every line is entered accurately, and file an amendment for you if we find any errors on those old returns.