A tax professional gives you more than a tax return

At this time of year, advertising for tax preparation software is everywhere.  You may be asking yourself, "Why do I need a tax professional when sophisticated tax software is readily available?  After all, tax software contains all the latest tax changes and automatically checks for arithmetic errors."

What tax software can do.  Here's why tax software may not maximize your tax-saving opportunities: A piece of software is only as good as the data it has to work with.  You can enter all your numbers for this year's finances.  The software will calculate your tax bill without error.  But it can't possibly understand your complete financial situation in the way that a tax professional can.  That's especially true if the advisor has worked with you for some years.

What a tax pro can do.  A tax professional can add that essential ingredient: long-term planning based on a knowledge of you and your goals.  Perhaps your daughter will be going to college in seven years and you need to start planning now.  Perhaps your elderly parent is becoming infirm and you may need to provide dependent care.  A skilled professional can factor all these things into a multi-year tax strategy that fits your specific circumstances.  He or she can provide the longer-term planning that is an essential part of good tax management.