At the beginning of the year, many people get ramped up many different things – and the amount of commercials I’m seeing from Planet Fitness says it’s doing its best to take advantage of this.  For those of us in the tax industry, though, it means we are ramping up for our busy season.

And although I am sure that I will wish take this back come mid-April, I am only excited for this.

For yes, it is our busy season, but it is also our fulfilling season. This is when I get to do the most for the most people, saving money for clients and helping many get refund checks they may not have been expecting.

This means, however, that this time of year will also send us many commercials for both franchise tax preparers and do-it-yourself methods. I obviously have a stake in this game, but I think it is unfortunate how many taxpayers use those methods for filing.

There is a reason that I take pride in my job, and it is because it takes a lot of work and many years of experience to do it as well as I do. That franchise tax preparer, however, probably started taking some standardized courses just a few months ago and software does not have the power to understand your situation like another person who can ask personal questions.

If you are undergoing any medical procedure, you want it to be done by someone who possesses the highest level of knowledge, but so many put their taxes in the hands of those on the lower end of that spectrum. And yes, this is a little hyperbolic and taxes aren’t a life-or-death situation. I do believe, though, that it highlights how we should be trusting those who can do the best job.

It is true, after all, that taxes are complicated and can be treacherous. I wrote many times over the last year about tax scams, to the point where I occasionally feel like a broken record. This seems to have been justified, though, as the Better Business Bureau deemed tax scams the biggest scam going for the second year in a row.

Now if someone said you owed some tax money wouldn’t you want the confidence in knowing your return was handled by a professional? If you worried it was a scam, wouldn’t you want a trained practitioner on your side whom you could consult?

Beyond that, taxes are difficult. I mean if the only thing needed to handle them was to write a check to the IRS of some predetermined amount every year, we would all do it on our own.  Everyone enters a return not completely knowing how it will turn out, though. The reason for that is just what counts as a deduction or an expense and what counts as income do not come with easy definitions.

For a humorous example of that, I encourage you to look at this article from Wise Bread on things you could be taxed on.

So as we start this new year, I hope this finds you having enjoyed a wonderful holiday season.  I also hope this symbolizes the start of us being able to work together for a productive tax season and beyond.

Just maybe give me a break come late April.