By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
If you are preparing to use a tax preparer this tax season officials with the IRS encourage you to do your homework and protect yourself.
IRS spokesman Michael Devine says the great majority of tax professionals are just that, tax professionals, but then there are criminals.
"There are people who pretend to be, you know, tax preparers, we call them sometimes ghost preparers," Devine tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "These are people who will say I'll do your tax return, I'll print it out, I'll give it to you, you pay me, you sign the return, and then you mail it in, their fingerprints on at that return, probably literally."
Devine says to remember that when you sign your tax return that no matter who prepared your forms, you are responsible for all the information that you file.
Devine warns everyone that fraudulent tax preparers, in searching for more money, could sign you up for things you don't qualify for. He says when the IRS sees those problems, they won't come for the tax preparer
"We're going to come to you," Devine says. "So, you just need to be very careful with these tax people, do they know what they're doing, have they been in business a long time, are they a CPA or enrolled agent, do they have special credentials?"
Devine says in researching tax preparers you should talk to friends and not go to the first person you see to be careful with your information
In fact, Devine says when researching tax preparers choose one like you would your dentist or your car mechanic.
"You want them to be qualified to do what you're paying them to do, have they been in business a long time, are they current on tax law, are they going to be open all year in case you have a question in August when you get a notice from the IRS can you go back and talk to them about it?" Devine questions. "So, there's lots of things you can do."
Devine said when you should also ask how much a tax preparer might charge you, and if they say their fee is based on the size of your return, to turn and walk away.