Tax preparation is just like paying for finanical planning or other professional services. If you do it yourself you need to invest time in understanding laws and processes to be sure to take advantage of all the tax deductions available to you. If you are busy with your own career or other obligations your time may be very valuable to you and the money spent to have your taxes prepared is money well spent. Of course the answer to this question depends on the level of complexity involved in preparing your tax return.

Last edited 7 months ago by Jane M. Young, CFP, EA

Hey EzraK,

I was surprised to see your question because I remembered seeing a number of articles about taxprep services on FiLife. Sure enough, here is the definitive collection of taxprep-service articles:
http://www.filife.com/guides/should-you-use-a-taxprep-service

Be sure to check out the 'Want to know more?' section beneath the article for more info. I hope it's worth it for you. : )

One other aspect of this to consider is whether you think you might ever be audited. If your deductions are unusually high or for some other reason, you might be audited. In such situations it's nice to have an experienced professional who has done your returns to deal with the IRS for you.

It depends! If one is reasonably good at following instructions, likes to work with financial numbers, and i s at least someone analytically inclined, there is little reason to unless for example; your time is more valuable per hour than what the tax preparer is going to charge for his/her services per hour.
As long as your tax, financial and legal situation is not very complicated, relatively simple and straight forward. Even if you wish to do your own tax and save money with DIY because the forms for the most part tell you in detail what they need. You key ingredient here will be significant investment of your time and mental energy.

If you do NOT like tax forms, are averse to handling financial numbers ie. doing routine math, and have a dislike for the analytical and you're already very busy. If you simply don't have the patience, confidence or you just don't want to do it, and you want to find what you feel is a better way to you to spend YOUR time and YOUR money then by all means it's worth. Even painters hire painters to paint their properties, and even financial professional hire other financial professionals to provide them with services that they provide them selves to others, but they and the painters just as a couple of examples value their time and/or it is often too easy and convenient for a professional in any field to neglect that area in their own life, while providing excellent service to their customers / clients each day on demand. It's your plan, your time, your money, it's entirely your call and there's no absolute right or wrong answer. If it's right for your needs, then you should do it, if not you should pass. Only you can make that call and I want you to and hope you can make it with confidence either way.

Best Regards!
Douglas Uhlenhake