I have used this service for income tax preparation two years in a row and have encountered 4 obvious and careless errors: 2 last year and 2 this year. That is not a very good average.
The first time I used them, I had already figured out my itemized deductions for medical and captial gains; I always do my homework. I had sold two mutual funds that year: a captial gain for one and a capital loss for the other, resulting in a net captial gain. When I received the copy of my tax return a couple weeks later, I noticed the amount recorded for medical was significantly less than the amount I had given. And ONLY the capital loss had been recorded. I called the office to report this discrepency, gave a message to the secretary explaining the problem, but no one ever returned my call. Several days later, I emailed Niurka Reynoso, the tax preparer and also the company owner, with specific details about the issue, but never received a reply. Then approximately one year later, when I went to have my tax return prepared for the following year, I asked Ms. Reynoso about this issue for the previous year and she said that she lowered one to offset the other. I didn't quite understand the logic, but i accepted it, assuming that she knew what she was doing since she was the professional. Coincidentally, several days later, I received a letter from the IRS telling me I owed them over $13,000 for that year! I knew why before i even read their report. Several phone calls eventually resolved the issue and Ms. Reynoso prepared an amended return.
When I had my taxes prepared for the following year, while in the office with Ms. Reynoso , I noticed the numbers not adding up quite right and questioned why. The tax preparer realized she had entered in a number incorrectly by exactly $1,000, a very careless and needless error. A couple weeks later, when i received the hard copy of the return in the mail, i noticed my medical deduction overstated by several thousand dollars from the amount I had given. I called the office to report this, and by now the office knew who I was and was obviously giving my calls more priority, and was told by Ms. Reynoso that the amount reported included my medical insurance premiums. I know for a fact that when I was in the office and provided the amount of my medical deductions, i stated that the amount I gave her for medical included EVERYTHING. An amended return had to be prepared.
When I pay someone to do my taxes, I don't expect that I have to be on my guard to every last detail. The above problems were very obvious to me; who knows what other items may have been misreported that I did not catch? I want to feel confident that my preparer is a expert professional and they are doing a much better job than I could do, looking out for any deductions I may not be aware of, but ensuring that my return is going to be correct and legal. I do not have that confidence in this company and do not recommend them. read more
