Last updated: Feb. 1, 2017
There are a lot of great reasons to hire an income tax consulting firm if you’re a small business owner or farmer.
Tax experts can help with everything from financial planning to business consultation, a loan application, government audit, bookkeeping, financial planning, and preparing and filing your taxes.
Finding the right tax consultant can be difficult.
To maximize your assets, minimize your income taxes, and ensure you get every benefit to which you are entitled, it’s imperative that you find a tax consultant this tax season that suits your unique tax service needs.
Below is a list of questions to ask when hiring a professional tax preparation service.
How Much Experience Do You Have?
Your business is your lifeline. So it’s imperative that you hire a tax preparation service with years of experience.
Make sure they are experienced in handling all tax matters and are enrolled in continuing education programs to ensure they are up to date on Canada’s ever-changing tax laws.
Do You Have Any Specialties?
While every tax services can process basic T4 tax forms, not every tax expert understands the nuances of every kind of small business.
There are a lot of different tax deductions and grants available to small businesses, and especially to farmers, that many tax preparers are unfamiliar with.
Do You Have an Office All Year Round?
Tax preparation services seem to pop up everywhere in the lead up to tax season.
This might seem like a convenient option, but what happens 3 months down the road when the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) calls for clarification and the pop-up office has closed?
Make sure the tax preparation service you hire has offices that are open all year round.
What if CRA Calls Me with a Question?
The majority of Canadians hire someone else to do their taxes.
In fact, 56% of the 28.9 million tax returns filed in 2016 were filed using EFILE, the tax system tax preparers use to file taxes electronically on behalf of clients.
But not all tax preparation services are created equal. If the CRA calls with a question or is looking for supporting documentation, it’s helpful to know that you can ask the tax preparer who filed it for help.
Do You Do Any Tax Planning?
When you sit down to do your taxes this year, it will be too late to really ask any proactive questions about your tax bill.
But, if they are a full-service tax consultant, they should be able to discuss future tax planning and help reduce your tax bill come this time next year.
Do You Have Any Service Fees?
Tax preparation companies tend to have set fees that will vary depending on what services you need and the complexity of the return.
What happens if something unexpected happens and you need help with a tax issue that falls outside of your initial fee structure? You end up paying a lot more.
Find out what the service fees are and what they include. Ideally, you want to use a tax preparation service that gives you access to all their services for a fixed fee.
FBC, Helping Agribusiness and Small Business Owners Prepare their Taxes
If you are a small business owner or farmer and are looking for a tax preparation service that understands your unique circumstances, the tax experts at FBC can help.
As Canada’s largest and most experienced rural income tax consulting firm, FBC has worked exclusively with Canadian farmers and small business owners since 1952.
Because of our thorough understanding of Canadian small business and agribusiness tax law and the new 2017 tax changes, we can help you maximize all of your available tax credits.
We also understand life can be busy. That’s why our tax specialist will come to your office or home.
For more information on how an FBC tax consultant can help your farm or small business prepare and file your annual income taxes, call us today at 1-800-265-1002 or submit an online form and an FBC tax specialist will contact you at your earliest convenience.
Connect with your Local Tax Consultant to learn more
