You’re not alone if you have ever miscalculated tax returns, been sentenced for late filings, or been flagged for delinquency in Atlanta. Approximately 29.5 million taxpayers in Atlanta are annually punished for late payments and filings. Likewise, a whopping sum of 20.1 million people owe taxes! Tax preparation, solving tax issues, and filing returns are significant issues that only some taxpayers pay attention to. Therefore, handling business and individual tax questions is perplexing and complicated, and expats have it even more difficult. Who should you contact to resolve your tax issues? Is it a CPA in Atlanta, GA, or a tax expert? Let’s discuss everything in detail!
Tax Professionals: Overview
They are proficient at solving tax issues. Tax professionals might have a different extensive educational background regardless of the accountants. This is how their work quality might differ significantly! Before settling for one tax professional, you need to assess various types of tax preparers.
Enrolled agents can represent taxpayers before the IRS, and they must either pass a three-part SEE covering company and individual tax forms or have previous experience working for the IRS. The IRS also identifies participants in the IRS’s annual filing season program as neither accountants nor lawyers or enrolled agents. However, they have spent some time preparing for the subsequent tax season. Some of the leading examples of tax professionals are the following:
- Tax Attorney
- Unenrolled preparers
- Non-credentialed tax preparers
- Enrolled agents
Certified Public Accountants: Overview
Such professionals must complete various accounting tests to obtain a CPA title. Auditing, understanding corporate governance structures, making monetary documents, and going through different company standards, such as licenses and taxes, are some of the leading obligations of a CPA.
Once you pass the CPA exam in 18 months, an examinee will be officially accredited by the AICPA. Nevertheless, examinees should finish 150 hours of credit on business, accounting, and general education before taking the board exam. Having a bachelor’s degree is a must!
Tax specialist CPAs have a more profound understanding of tax issues than the average tax practitioner. However, they can also be professionals in fields other than taxation. Some of the leading examples of accountants in distinct areas are the following:
- Compliance accountant
- Forensic accountant
- Cost accountant
- Managerial accountant
- Investment accountant
What to Consider Between a Tax Professional and a CPA?
- Accreditations and Certifications
Every tax professional in Atlanta should have a PTIN from the IRS. Enrolled agents are the aristocracy of tax professionals regarding IRS certifications. They have been verified from severe background verifications and IRS tests. Those sanctioned without taking a test had most likely worked with the IRS. However, CPAs deal with distinct verification processes, which differ from one state to another. The common factor is every CPA should go through an exam from the AICPA.
- Track record in the tax business
An enrolled agent might be ideal if you need guidance regarding IRS issues, such as piling concerns or an assessment. While those enrolled agents can generate assessed, gathered, or audited financial documents, such as the other CPAs, they can embark on accounting jobs to convert an organization’s documents into tax-oriented documents. You might then leverage this to file a tax return.
On the other hand, EAs can assemble relevant financial details, decide on deductions with tax norms, enter pertinent tax data, file paperwork with the IRS, and guide clients about the tax process. Simply put, hiring a tax professional is a cost-efficient method that ensures the timely submission of your tax returns.
Conclusion
Tax season spells several frightening calculations and heavy paperwork for every Atlanta-based expat. Nevertheless, this might be different for you! With a CPA at your disposal, filing your income tax returns would be a piece of cake!
