If you've got an IRS letter on your desk right now, you have a decision to make, and the clock matters. I'm Darrin Mish. I've spent 32 years helping people with exactly this kind of situation. Here's what you should do.<\/p>\n
Most of us find filling up tax forms and submitting our tax returns a real chore.\u00a0 It gets worse when you have complicated tax returns that require a thorough knowledge of tax law and a good mathematical brain to make sure you do not make mistakes that could cost you a lot of money in extra taxes or worse still, a hefty fine.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, the IRS themselves confirm that the average time it takes for a taxpayer to complete his taxes is 16 hours.\u00a0 For this reason, many of us taxpayers would rather pay money to hire an accountant to provide tax help to plan our taxes. \u00a0This ensures we submit accurate tax returns that are not any more than what we should be paying.<\/p>\n
But if you are living in Florida, you may be interested to know that the Sunshine State ranks a lowly 45th among the 50 states and D.C. when it comes to ease of getting good tax<\/a> help.\u00a0 Florida is tied with Indiana in this respect which makes us the seventh worst state in the country for tax<\/a> help.\u00a0 This result is by the WalletHub financial website that used the following key metrics to come up with their finding:<\/p>\n Needless to say, Florida was not among the top states<\/a> in any of the above categories.<\/p>\n When it comes to affordability in hiring tax help, the most affordable is Washington D.C., followed by North Dakota, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Washington State.<\/p>\n And the worst five states (i.e. where tax help costs the most) are Georgia (the last at no. 51), followed by Arkansas, Texas, Florida and Idaho.<\/p>\n The alternative to hiring tax help is going it alone.\u00a0 One thing you can do is opt for e-filing if you choose to submit your own taxes without professional help.\u00a0 That should not be too difficult if your taxes are straightforward.\u00a0 The IRS website will walk you through the process.<\/p>\n E-filing is generally safe also.\u00a0 However, there is a risk of identity theft.<\/a>\u00a0 But you can minimize that risk by not using a public computer, and if you have to use one, you should use a secure encryption. \u00a0The best way to avoid identity theft is to file your tax<\/a> returns early.\u00a0 If you are the first to submit your returns, the impersonator trying to use your identity will raise a red flag with the IRS when he or she submits a return using your name after you have done so.<\/p>\n\n