DIYer is DOA

Seeing as we’re knee deep into filing season the chatter on many of the social media platforms naturally turns to tax matters. On Facebook I read where one poster who had “friended” me several years ago, complained that after 10 years with the same CPA, his accountant actually had the temerity to raise his fee.

The complainant groused about now having to pay $500 for his return and sent out a group question of whether or not he should use Turbo Tax to save money.

Since I’m the furthest thing from a DIYer, my immediate and very vocal response would be a decided “NO.”

My accountant Rocco, who keeps abreast of any and all changes to the IRC Code, said there were several hundred changes this year alone. That’s way too many for someone who is not an accountant to keep track of. On a personal level, during my editorial days at an accounting magazine, I would receive a daily bulletin of any and all alterations to the code and let me tell you the publication on a regular basis was thicker than any daily newspaper.

So I texted my Facebook friend and warned him of the dangers of self-preparation – especially since he had two children in college and he himself had several 1099 documents – and advised him to get thee to another professional.

He also complained that his soon-to-be-former CPA “didn’t give me a large enough refund last year.”

I was stunned.

I told him if the criteria you employ to determine competence in an accountant is the total of your refund, you’re in trouble from the start.  I told him if he could accurately judge whether his CPA was competent or not, he probably could do the work himself. The problem is most of us are not. And I could say without hesitation that he was not either.

He thanked me but said he was determined to give Turbo Tax a go. I wished him luck and told him to keep his fingers crossed he didn’t receive a letter from the IRS in the near future requesting that they’d like to have a word with him.

On another note entirely, this will be my last blog for a few weeks as yours truly has to clear up a minor health issue. But I’ll be back before you know it. Contrary to popular opinion, I’m not that easy to get rid of.