Avoiding last minute tax preparer errors

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - Monday, April 18th, is this year's federal income tax filing deadline.

But if you're one of the many who have waited until the last minute to file, you could run the risk of working with unscrupulous preparers or even increasing your chances of mistakes.

Kenneth Brown says he trusted his tax preparer, only to learn a year later that errors will cost him dearly.

Last year, Brown expected a pretty good refund from 2009. The concrete finisher was banking on $2,000 or so. He got the check. But now, just two weeks ago, he received a letter from the IRS saying he owed them money.

Brown says his IRS issues all stem from a mistake made by his tax preparer at Reliable Tax off Victory Boulevard in Portsmouth.

Brown said the numbers were put in the wrong place, and the owner of Reliable Tax said a typo was made. The social security tax was entered in the space for income tax.

"If the money looks too good, chances are someone made a mistake. You should question before you leave out of the building," said Brown.

WAVY News 10 went to Reliable Tax and tried to speak with the manager. He declined comment.

Later the owner called and said, "someone made a typing error." Brown was paid interest in the amount of $54 which is required by law, but Brown wants a Reliable Tax refund.

"I gave you $400. You're only going to give me $54 back of the $400 I paid you all. I said that's not fair," Brown said.

The IRS doesn't want taxpayers to have a bad experience with tax preparers. This year it required paid tax preparers to apply for a tax identification number, take competency tests and have ongoing professional education before they can work on any tax returns.

By the way, if you can't make the April 18th filing deadline, you can always get Form 4868 to request an extension.

Click here for free tax help, links to IRS forms, and more at WAVY.com's Tax Time 2011 webpage.