Can I cancel my tax preparation with accountant?
Accountant at H&R did my taxes today but she doesn't seem knowledgeble and I just found a big error in my tax ppwk she did for me. She added 10k from house sale to my income resulting in $1300 owing to Fed. I paid her $500 for the work and now I don't even trust her tax preparation Can I cencel the whole thing after it's already finished? I am going to go to her tomorrow to fix the error I just found but I wish I could cancel the whole thing and money back. Possible?
Public Comments
- They have a guarantee where they will correct there errors with extra cost, I believe. No refunds though. Is she really an accountant or a paid tax preparer?
- Another victim of H&R Block's uneducated tax preparers - Some of those people may know what they are doing - but some of them had two weeks of training and were then put it front of a computer screen... On the other hand, there are times that the sale of a house results in an increased tax bill... You probably can not cancel at this point. Ask to talk to her supervisor. The tax preparer at H&R Block is probably not an accountant. Next year, look for an accountant who is also an Enrolled Agent. They have passed a test given by the IRS.
- You can try, but I have to wonder if you sold your house for more than its base value, namely what you paid into it and if so then you had income, possibly capital gains income. That is the problem with asking for tax advice on the internet, you have to include the numbers to get a fair answer and that is risky at best. If you paid her 500 dollars and the return is no good then you ask for your money back but they do not have to give it back to you, especially if the return has not been filed yet and the mistake is correctable. They may give you a partial refund based on the principle of substantial compliance, but; fixing it is also considered paying you. So, I would be calm when discussing this. You may end up in court to get what you want otherwise. Meanwhile, "$500!" That is saying it took 3 hours to do your return. That is a lot of time for only one return. I am assuming she is a CPA. You have to find out. Someone in that office has to be a CPA. It may not be her and she may not even be the person you need to talk to. Don't be surprised if they set you up with an appointment with someone else. Most H&R Block people are not CPAs but some have to be to avoid being sued. You will end up talking to one of them. Before you bring this up, however, check what the higher of cost or market value was on your house when you sold it and deduct that from your sales price. If you get a profit then that is income and they are right. Good luck.
- The work has already been done, so I doubt you'll get a full refund no matter what you do. It's my experience that if you know enough about the tax laws to find errors you shouldn't be paying someone 500 dollars to do it. Block preparers have to get the information from you to enter it... and if you are providing it then you obviously know what is relevant and whats not when It comes to your taxes. Buy Turbo tax. It's much easier and like 80 bucks.
