What Is My Recourse if a Tax Preparer Failed to File My Taxes?
- Beware of tax preparers who over-promise or base their fee schedule on your refund. Avoid tax preparers who do not request to see your receipts or other authenticating documents related to your income tax return. Investigate your tax preparer through the Better Business Bureau, the state board of accountability for CPAs, or the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) for enrolled agents. Also, determine if your preparer is a member of any professional organization which requires him to pursue continuing tax education.
- If your tax preparer is an enrolled agent, then you can report him to OPR. Include in your complaint the name, address and telephone number of your tax preparer as well as a detailed account of the misconduct. For example, if your preparer failed to file your taxes, provide details regarding when you paid the preparer to file the taxes, what you were told by your preparer, as well as any promises that were made. Also include any penalties or interest amounts you were charged as a result of the preparer's negligence.
- Penalties and interest are assessed on unpaid tax when a return is filed late or the tax owed is paid late. Thus, if your tax preparer fails to file your return and you end up filing late, you will be penalized. However, it may be possible to have your penalties removed from your tax bill if you can demonstrate that you took the necessary steps to file a timely return and that the return was late of no fault of your own. To do so, complete IRS form 843 and mail it to the IRS. In the explanations section, include a detailed explanation of the circumstances that caused your return to be late. It may be a good idea to just attach a copy of the letter you mailed to OPR to your form 843.
- If you have evidence that your tax preparer may have been involved in fraud, then you should complete IRS form 3949-A and mail it to the IRS. On the form, list as much information about your preparer as you know, such as the preparer's name, address and phone number. Also include a detailed account of the fraud you observed.