Who can really help with my taxes

February 1, 2024 9:18 AM

I have been attempting to hire a CPA for my taxes for the past two years but have never been able to actually get one -- few of my friends have recommendations, and everyone I've tried has been booked up, not taking new clients. It seems my only options for this year are to go it alone or go to a physical HR Block/Jackson Hewitt type place with a "tax professional," whom I'm gathering will likely not be a CPA. Would that still be better than nothing?

For what it's worth the complications are:
-I bought a house for a parent; as it is a parent-child arrangement it is NOT an investment mortgage (apparently there is an exception for immediate family)
-Parent pays the mortgage though
-Both of us are on the title
-I do not own another residence so it's not a second/vacation home either? I don't think? But maybe for tax purposes it is?
-It's in another state from where I physically live.

Searching for answers to these questions has proven extremely difficult, given how trash Google is these days and also that it seems to be a fairly rare arrangement. (Most results lead me to inherited properties or parents selling a house for a dollar, etc., none of which is what's happening here.)

Can a preparer at a big-box type office do anything with this beyond what I could do with their software?

posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese to Work & Money (22 answers total)

I don’t think I can answer you question exactly but I have a complicated situation living abroad and had anxiety about it and it took me like 8 months to even get someone to talk to me, so if someone at HR block will at least alleviate your anxiety I would do that vs doing it yourself.
posted by catspajammies at 9:37 AM on February 1 [1 favorite]

My mom used to work at H&R Block and the knowledge and quality of associates varies. Some will have gone through a basic training course, and some will have been doing taxes for years and will know how everything works because they've seen it all before. If you can, look for an office that's in a permanent spot rather than just whatever place opens up in WalMart and go *before* normal tax season (it might be too late for that? I don't know American tax season), when the only people working in the permanent offices are likely to be managers and senior employees who work year-round and thus are used to dealing with more complicated situations and also fixing the fallout when the more junior preparers screw things up.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:42 AM on February 1 [3 favorites]

I had this same problem. I cast my net wider -- like, posting on FB and all my other social media. And the solution came when a friend referred me to his person, who worked at a big accounting firm with a big staff. Those types of places seem to always be accepting new clients and it worked for us.
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:43 AM on February 1

Can you make an appointment with a CPA during the off season? If they do find you need to claim this, they could amend your previous returns. I am not convinced that you do need to claim it, especially if you aren’t looking to deduct the interest.
posted by soelo at 9:45 AM on February 1 [2 favorites]

Two suggestions:

1. You could file for an extension now, and then look for a CPA who can help you in May or June. This is a busy time of year for them, and you will have an easier time getting someone's attention off-season.

2. If you are comfortable telling us where you live, someone might be able to suggest a local CPA who could help you.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 9:58 AM on February 1 [4 favorites]

If you can't get an appointment right now, it's super easy to get an extension to file your taxes. Like fill out one form for IRS and one for state. It's automatically granted, and you can talk to a CPA over the next six months (you do have to pay 'estimated taxes' but that's pretty simple, just figure it out according to a formula.
posted by mmf at 10:00 AM on February 1

H&R Block and such places do have CPAs working there, even if not everyone doing taxes there is a CPA. I'd honestly start there, and request the CPA. Like Jacqueline says, check at the permanent office locations.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:08 AM on February 1

Are you in the U.S.? If so, where? Maybe one of us could point you to a good CPA!
posted by saladin at 10:13 AM on February 1

There are lots of professional tax preparers who are not CPAs and do not work for HR Block or Jackson Hewitt. There are also volunteer tax preparers out there.
posted by adamrice at 10:31 AM on February 1

Response by poster: 2. If you are comfortable telling us where you live, someone might be able to suggest a local CPA who could help you.

I'm in Chicago! I'll definitely take any personal recs people have, though yeah it's almost certainly too late.

It's kind of nuts, because I started looking/trying to make appointments back in October of 2023, and already everyone was like NOPE. A lot of folks didn't even get back to me until mid-January.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 10:53 AM on February 1

Response by poster: (I unfortunately don't qualify for the local free tax preparation services -- ironically, because I own a property out of state, my whole reason for needing tax preparation services.)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 10:55 AM on February 1

I had a similar problem finding an accountant (and even posted about it on AskMe!) last year. After wasting literally hundreds of dollars chasing after various individuals/firms I ended up going to HR Block - they assigned me to the most senior guy in the office who walked me through everything and got it all done with minimal fuss.
posted by btfreek at 11:20 AM on February 1 [2 favorites]

Is the question here "how do I find a CPA/tax preparer?", "do you have a specific CPA you recommend?" or "is H&R Block sufficient for this situation?"

I'm going to answer the first one. Let us know if you want specific referrals.

Last time I changed CPA, I found mine on Yelp. I contacted the ten or so with the best reviews. Five got back to me. An active Yelp profile appears to select for CPAs who are actively looking for more clients. Prior CPAs were personal referrals from colleagues at work.

Response by poster: 2. If you are comfortable telling us where you live, someone might be able to suggest a local CPA who could help you.

I have never met any of my CPAs in person, and I have never had a CPA who lives in the same state as me until this year. There is no need for them to be local unless your state situation is very complicated and your state is very small. Most any CPA can file an Illinois return. (Look in Chicago first, sure, but if that draws a blank just search Yelp in big cities.)
posted by caek at 11:33 AM on February 1 [1 favorite]

My mom's used H&R Block for years -- for a long time she worked in a different state than where she lives, and when my dad passed away she inherited two properties that she rents out, including homes and farmland, with the investments and depreciation that goes along with that. She's also got the whole senior suite of income (pension, paycheck, Social Security). She lives in the Chicago area and I believe the H&R Block office she uses is near Kankakee, so I'm sure there's one in Chicago proper that could help you with your situation.
posted by jabes at 11:48 AM on February 1 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Is the question here "how do I find a CPA/tax preparer?", "do you have a specific CPA you recommend?" or "is H&R Block sufficient for this situation?"

Chief question is: "is H&R Block sufficient for this situation?"

with a corrollary of: "is H&R block going to be a substantial improvement on me just muddling through tax software on my own?"
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 12:41 PM on February 1

with a corrollary of: "is H&R block going to be a substantial improvement on me just muddling through tax software on my own?"

I do most things DIY, but I do my taxes via H&R Block. I think they charge based on the number of special tax forms, like 1099s, so the price is variable, but mine is like $215, and it's pretty easy to find coupons that take off small amounts from that. You kind of have to decide if your time plus some convenience tax is worth that much.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:10 PM on February 1

So I don't know if this is any more or less helpful than H&R Block, BUT you mentioned you were considering a free tax prep service. This is a free tax prep thing without an income limit.

It's out in the burbs and it's done by students, but they're supervised! They (or their professors) might be able to give you some insight anyway.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 1:32 PM on February 1

I'm really not sure what your question is. If you want accounting help (rather than guesses from us about your own tax situation, or about the capabilities of the multitude of different H&R Block offices across the nation) ... how hard can it be to find an Illinois accountant? I just googled and got a whole heap of referral services.

Anyway, I have many relatives in the Chicago area and if you want a referral, just let me know by MeMail.
posted by JimN2TAW at 1:39 PM on February 1

I live in the far north suburbs of Chicago and have a great CPA (with a master's degree in taxation) who I'd be happy to recommend. I generally do our own taxes on TurboTax, but she has helped us through the sale of my business, settling my parents' estate, and structuring our retirement plan.
posted by DrGail at 2:11 PM on February 1

Response by poster: how hard can it be to find an Illinois accountant?

Look I'm sure I'm just profoundly stupid but it has actually proven really difficult for me, hence asking the question.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:47 PM on February 1 [4 favorites]

1. Part of the issue here could be the amount of the fee you are willing to pay. I.e., if you are looking for someone inexpensive (let's say a few hundred dollars), I can see how their books might be full. But, there are definitely higher-end tax practices in Chicago that are accepting new clients - but the fee is going to be ~$2k, though.

2. Your tax situation doesn't sound very complicated to me (not a CPA)! Buying a house, on its own, doesn't really do anything to your tax return for that year. Some expenses associated with a house are tax deductible (most notably the mortgage interest expense), but if you are not paying those expenses then this does not matter for you. Selling the house might impact your taxes (capital gain, maybe), but that's not now. If the house is the only complication you have, I would give TurboTax or similar a try.
posted by Mid at 3:21 PM on February 1

check your memail
posted by sarajane at 8:37 AM on February 2