When it comes time to sort out your taxes, you need to make sure that you’re ready to take care of the situation quickly and correctly. Keeping track of every related expense and receipt can feel like a full-time job all on its own. But, that’s only half the battle! You’ll also need to ensure that you file for all the available deductibles. That’s a lot to juggle – which is why it’s often the best idea to find a professional tax advisor. They can help you with your tax filing while providing you with all the key information you need to avoid any unnecessary fees and complications.
It’s important that you learn how to find the most suitable tax advisor for you. This will help you to ensure that you make the most of your money. With that said, here are our tips on how to find the best tax advisor:
Look for Enrolled Tax Agents Certification
You need to make sure that the tax advisor you’re working with is an expert at what they do, so look into each candidate’s professional credentials and portfolio to see their work experience. Enrolled tax agents are licensed by the federal government and approved by the CRA to represent the best interest of their clients. They offer their services to both general consumers and business tax services alike.
Certified Public Accounts (CPA)
While a certified public accountant (CPA) may not be as specialized when it comes to taxes as an enrolled agent, they are proficient enough when it comes to taxes to give you guidance and advice on tax issues. Becoming a CPA is no easy feat! A CPA has to complete a 150-hour course on top of being graduated from an accounting school or any related field to ensure their expertise on the domain of accounting. Having a CPA license suggests to an employer that the accountant has passed rigorous training and years of studying to become a professional in the field of finances.
The majority of tax advisors are either enrolled agents or CPAs, so these are the best credentials you can hope for when you’re assessing the capability of a tax advisor.
Finding a Tax Advisor
So, now that you know what credentials you’re looking for – let’s chat about where you can find an accountant that checks off all your boxes. You can find information on every government-licensed agent, like CPAs and enrolled agents, on official websites. So, that’s a great place to start! you can find an enrolled agent on the National Association of Enrolled Agent database and CPAs can be found on the Boards of Accountancy CPA database. In the accountant’s profile, you can see their work experience and the additional services they offer. If you’re looking for a tax advisor, consider starting your research with the help of these sites.
Why You Need a Tax Advisor
The CRA is one of the strictest federal organizations in Canada and you do not want to get on their bad side. They will make sure that they get their dues one way or the other. Your tax advisor can direct you around the tax issues and review the terms, conditions, and owed taxes to ensure that they are accurate. They can also summarize confusing tax code and help you gather evidence and documents for your tax returns. This is crucial for when you have one more source of income and own a business or property, as you can lose track of this information, which may result in late fees and other legal complications.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Tax Advisor
So, you’ve found the one! Now what? When you’re looking to get started with a tax advisor it’s important to have a clear idea of your goals as well as any tax issues that you need to address. This will be a huge time saver which is key for you as these professionals typically charge by the hour.
You will need to bring all of your financial statements and evidence of your tax payments so that the advisor will know precisely what they need to focus on. Make sure you learn as much as you can about the basics of deductibles and tax returns so that the tax advisor doesn’t have to waste their time explaining the definition of terms and giving other unnecessary information to you.
If you’re looking for a professional tax advisor, Taxvisors is your best option. Get in touch with us today and see how we can help.