Overwhelmed by Your Taxes? Need a Professional's Help?

Why California has more protection and less to worry about compared to other states SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Admit it. Most of us wouldrather visit the dentist than face our taxes. As a result, more than halfof Californians are estimated to hire a professional tax preparer. Itsounds like an easy out, but it can be stressful. What about tax scams?What if the tax preparer makes a mistake or turns out to be dishonest? Unlike most states, California has a unique law to protect consumers byrequiring that all tax preparers must be educated on tax laws before theycan prepare tax returns for a fee. In California, tax preparers notlicensed or enrolled to professionally prepare tax returns are required toregister with the California Tax Education Council (CTEC). Each CTEC Registered Tax Preparer (CRTP) must complete annual taxeducation courses and purchase a bond to protect you against fraud. Noother state besides California and Oregon has set requirements for paid taxpreparers. Unfortunately, despite this law thousands of illegal tax preparers arestill doing business statewide. Many of them prey on the uninformed orstressed out taxpayer. Below are the top five tips to know if you don't have time to knowanything else:
1. In California, only a CTEC Registered Tax Preparer (CRTP), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Enrolled Agent (EA) or attorney can prepare your return for a fee. 2. No preparer, no matter his/her credentials, can guarantee you a refund. 3. The fee should not be based on the percentage of your refund amount. 4. Tax preparers are required by law to provide a copy of their privacy policy and cannot share your information unless given written permission beforehand. 5. A lawful tax preparer will review the return with you and sign it! By reviewing your return (don't forget to get a copy) you can check for any errors. Working with an unqualified tax preparer may prevent you from havinglegal recourse against fraud, as well as increase your chances foradditional taxes, interest and fines. If your tax preparer is not one of the above professionals, you canfill out a noncompliant complaint form on CTEC's websitehttp://www.ctec.org. Anyone caught preparing tax returns illegally may faceup to a $5,000 penalty from the Franchise Tax Board (FTB). CTEC was established in 1997 by the California Legislature to protectthe public and promote competent tax preparation. Last year CTEC registeredmore than 40,000 CRTPs. To verify a CRTP, call 877-850-CTEC or visithttp://www.ctec.org.