Comments on Expat Tax Service, good, bad, and ugly?

[Rhys]

Greetings Gents,

 

Has any TV posters used one of these Expat Tax services that put your affairs in order?    Are they reliable, what specifically do you check on the company?   Generally, you see them on-line, with all the appropriate bells and whistles of credibility.

Comments, stories, warning, suggestion welcomed.

Edited June 23, 2017 by Rhys

[ballbreaker]

I looked at expat tax services but found I could download tax software and complete the return at a much lower cost.  They even have past year software you can download which is much cheaper than tax service would charge.

 

 

[Rhys]

scammers?

 

[craigt3365]

My aunt worked for these guys for years.  If I was to hire somebody, it might be them.  She was certified, etc.  And the prices seemed OK.

 

https://www.hrblock.com/#/en/

[gk10002000]

I think some are a bit hit and miss.  I went to HR Block once, and the agent knew far less than I did, was basically a high school graduate, wasn't great at navigating thought the software, being young had much less actual tax form experience than I had.  Now my taxes are not exotic by any means.  I don't even itemize.  But I do typically have a W-2 G for gambling winnings, sometimes two W2s for wage income as I sometimes have more than one employer in a year, I do have a schedule D and the new form 8949, that lays out the buys and sales and you in general transfer to lines on Schedule D, I do have dividend and interest, some of which is Tax free and goes on different lines on the 1040, and my taxable dividends are mostly qualified dividends which means you do the final tax computation using a separate worksheet.   Young people typically haven't done much investing and If one hasn't done any of those things, it can be challenging to use the software and put the right information in the right places.  The software is usually very good, but still, understanding and using it correctly can be trickier than you might think.  I try to keep things simple, which why I don't itemize.  The only things that take a bit of work are my dividends and interest from Stocks and bonds and bond funds.  I trade very little so I don't get a lot of buys and sells in a year that have to be accounted for.   I even live in Florida in an attempt to not have to do a State Income tax form, but sometimes I work out of state and I have to file a Non Resident form in that state.  Those can be a pain as you allocate wage monies between earned in this state or that state,  Investment things that don't apply to the work state, etc.  Now I am working in Florida and hopefully going forward I will never have another State income tax form to file.

[gk10002000]

A follow up to my post.  I didn't really mean to say that the tax companies are bad.  Sometimes, perhaps often they can give you information or insight or ideas you didn't even realize were out there.  But I do encourage you to use the internet, ask questions, and spend as much time as you can on your own money issues.  You worked hard to get the stuff, so try to spend some time handling it.   Delegate if  you must or if you trust, but do try to review, and be very careful about signing away power of attorney or handing over assets