18 Reasons You Need a Tax Advisor All Year Long

18 Reasons You Need a Tax Advisor All Year Long

Thanks to Block Advisors for sponsoring this post (and for making taxes easy)!

We all hate taxes. I’m a total budget nerd at heart and even I hate taxes. The tax code changes every year and if we’re being totally honest here… is harder to read than Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

Seriously, who has time for that?

Not me! I’m over here trying to run two businesses, raise a family and support my husband in his career.

I can barely get dinner on the table, much less figure out the tax code changes.

Every year, I made an appointment with H&R Block, dumped my W-2’s and relevant paperwork on the table and sat back until they told me what to expect for a return.

Which is what I figured everyone did, right?

Wrong.

Sure, you can technically do that. H&R Block hires tax professionals that know what to ask you so that you don’t have to deal with tax code.

But if you do that, you could be walking away from a lot of money.

If you’re smart, you’re working with a tax advisor all year long in order to maximize your deductions at the end of the year. Taxes aren’t just a one day a year event, you can work on them all year long to save a lot of money!

It all boils down to tax strategy.

Tax strategy is a buzz word that makes most people think of billionaires, but tax strategy is just as important for you. Are you planning to renovate your home this year? A tax advisor can show you how those renovations can pay you back in tax deductions if you buy energy efficient appliances. Are you having a baby? A tax advisor can sit down and show you the benefits of using a flex spending account to reduce your medical expenses by about 30%.

These are just two tiny examples in a sea of deductions that a tax advisor would know about and that you would have no clue to even ask about.

Planning your taxes year round has several benefits, but the biggest one for me would be saving money. By working with a tax advisor all year long you can identify opportunities for tax deductions and make an informed decision. It also makes filing your taxes less stressful, since you’ve been working on them as you go along.

It makes a big difference at the end of the year!

There are 18 specific situations where a tax advisor can save you a lot of money.

• If you have retirement accounts.
• If you own real estate or plan to buy.
• If you have a trust fund.
• If you’re self employed or own your own business.
• If you rent out a house.
• If you have stock options.
• If you work and live in different states.
• If you invest heavily.
• If you are buying or selling a business (or plan to).
• If you are considering a short sale or a foreclosure.
• If you are getting married.
• If you are getting divorced.
• If you are having a child.
• If you are adopting a child.
• If you are caring for elderly parents.
• If you receive an inheritance
• If your spouse is deceased.
• If you lose your job or change jobs.

You really want to have a tax advisor that you can contact all year long as your life changes.

Block Advisors has a fantastic service for this! They have over 280 offices in the US, so they can be as local as you are.

You make an appointment to meet them, they’ll talk you through some of the things that they can help you with and how they can save you money. You can meet them in person when needed, on the phone, or just get reports via email.

Spending just a few extra minutes to make a call that can save you thousands in the upcoming year is an easy decision.

You can find out more about Block Advisors services here.

The best part of Block Advisors is that if you get audited… They’ll be right there with you for every step of the way. That’s a huge relief for anyone!

What’s your best tax strategy?

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