Individual income-tax preparation currently starts at $490 for a federal Form 1040 and one state return. The final fee depends on the forms, schedules, business activities, and other work the return requires. Our pricing page provides additional details.
Who prepares your tax return at BestTaxPro™?
I do.
I’m Joshua A. Webskowski, EA, CFP®, NTPI Fellow, USTCP, and I’ve worked in taxation since 2003.
At BestTaxPro™, tax preparation isn’t separated from the rest of my tax practice. The same person preparing the return also works with taxpayers in IRS examinations, collection matters, Appeals, and other tax disputes.
That experience changes how I look at a return. I’m not only interested in getting numbers into the right boxes. I want the return to accurately reflect what happened during the year, make appropriate use of the tax rules that apply, and have support for the positions being reported.
What kinds of tax returns do we prepare?
We prepare federal and state tax returns for individuals and businesses, including returns involving:
- Individual income tax
- Self-employment and small-business income
- Rental property
- Investment and capital-gain transactions
- S corporations
- Partnerships
- Prior tax years
- Amended returns
- Minnesota and other state income tax returns
Some returns are straightforward. Others involve several businesses, rental properties, investments, multiple states, old tax years, missing records, or tax issues that need to be understood before the return is filed.
That’s where experience becomes especially useful.
What does tax preparation cost?
Individual income-tax preparation currently starts at $490 for a federal Form 1040 and one state return.
Additional schedules, forms, business returns, and prior-year returns can affect the fee. Our pricing page provides more detail.
If the information you provide shows that the return requires work beyond the starting scope, we’ll discuss that before the additional work is performed.
View Tax Preparation Pricing
What if you’re behind on several years?
Prior-year returns are a significant part of the work we do.
Before preparing several old returns, I generally want to determine which returns actually need to be filed and what information is available.
If W-2s, 1099s, or other records are missing, some information may be available through IRS wage and income records. Other information may be reconstructed from bank records, accounting records, brokerage information, and other reliable sources.
If the unfiled returns are part of a larger IRS collection problem, we look at the filing issue and the resulting tax balance together. That prevents tax preparation from becoming disconnected from the problem you’re ultimately trying to resolve.
Why have an Enrolled Agent prepare your return?
An Enrolled Agent is federally authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS.
That doesn’t automatically make every EA a better return preparer.
What it means in my practice is that I prepare returns with the benefit of also having represented taxpayers when the IRS later examines a return or questions the tax that was reported.
I’ve seen what happens after filing. I know why documentation matters. I know why the wording of a transaction, the treatment of an expense, or the support behind a deduction can matter later.
And if the return uncovers something beyond preparation, like old IRS notices, a balance you can’t pay, missing tax years, or another IRS issue, you don’t have to start over explaining the situation to someone else.
How tax preparation works at BestTaxPro™
- Secure document exchange. Tax documents and other sensitive information are exchanged through our secure client systems rather than ordinary email.
- Review of your tax information. I look at the income, deductions, business activity, investments, and other events that affect the return.
- Preparation. The federal and applicable state returns are prepared based on the information and documentation provided.
- Review before filing. You’ll have an opportunity to review the return and ask questions before it is filed.
- Electronic filing. We electronically file eligible federal and state returns after authorization.
- Year-round availability. BestTaxPro™ operates throughout the year, not only during tax-filing season.
Do you need a professional tax preparer?
Not necessarily.
Someone with a straightforward W-2 return, standard deduction, and no unusual tax issues may be perfectly comfortable using reputable tax software.
Professional preparation becomes more useful as the return becomes more complicated. That may include self-employment, business ownership, rental property, investment or cryptocurrency transactions, multiple states, significant life or financial changes, amended returns, or several prior years that need to be prepared.
The question isn’t whether every taxpayer needs a professional preparer. It’s whether your return involves issues where professional judgment and experience add value.
My Tax Preparation Work and My IRS Representation Work Are Connected
I didn’t write my books as tax-preparation manuals. I think that distinction is important.
IRS Secrets Revealed: How to Survive IRS Audit, Collections & Appeals grew out of experience I had already accumulated representing taxpayers when the IRS examined returns, pursued collection, or when a disagreement moved into Appeals.
My later book, How to Get Out of IRS Problems, addresses IRS notices, back taxes, penalties, liens and levies, collection alternatives, and other problems taxpayers can encounter after a tax issue develops.
Those books give me a different perspective when I’m preparing a return. I’ve spent years working on both sides of the filing date: preparing tax returns before they’re filed and representing taxpayers when the IRS later has questions.
My professional experience has continued to develop since the books were written, including becoming admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court as a non-attorney practitioner.
The books aren’t proof that a return will never be questioned. No preparer can promise that. They’re evidence that my understanding of tax preparation doesn’t end when the electronic filing confirmation arrives.
Complimentary PDF copies of both books are available through BestTaxPro™.
Get Josh’s complimentary eBooks
Why work with BestTaxPro™?
You’ll work directly with Joshua A. Webskowski, EA, CFP®, NTPI Fellow, USTCP.
Josh has worked in taxation since 2003.
He is an Enrolled Agent, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, a Fellow of the National Tax Practice Institute, an author on IRS representation and resolution issues, and is admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court as a non-attorney practitioner.
His CFP® certification provides a broader financial perspective when tax decisions intersect with business activity, investments, retirement accounts, cash flow, or other financial considerations. His authority to represent taxpayers before the IRS and U.S. Tax Court comes from his EA and USTCP credentials.
Tax preparation and tax representation are different services, but the experience from each informs the other.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. We work with taxpayers outside Minnesota as well. Documents can be exchanged securely and meetings can be handled remotely. Whether we can prepare a particular state return depends on the facts involved, so we’ll confirm that as part of the engagement.
Start with your income documents, the prior year’s return if available, and information about anything significant that changed during the year. Depending on the return, we may request additional records. If older income documents are missing, some information may be available from IRS records.
Yes. Before preparing an amended return, I want to understand what was reported originally, what has changed, and whether an amendment is appropriate.
Tax preparation and audit representation are separate services. If the IRS later examines the return, however, you’re already working with a firm that handles IRS examinations. We can review the notice, determine what the IRS is questioning, and discuss representation if it’s needed.
Call 763-477-4205 or schedule a 15-minute consultation.
Ready to have your return prepared?
Send us your prior-year return and current tax documents, and tell us what changed. We’ll determine what the return requires and explain the preparation process and fee.
Call BestTaxPro™ at 763-477-4205 or schedule a 15-minute consultation at book.besttaxpro.com Based in Minnesota, helping taxpayers nationwide. In-person and Zoom meetings are available.