I thought of documenting some of the issues I faced with the CPAs so others can take an informed decision. Earlier I didn’t provide the name of the company, but I think it helps others to mention their names.
[gren](http://greenbacktaxservices.com/) Is the most incompetent company to do the work. Not only I had to correct them twice, but they didn’t know that there are tax implications after selecting QEF
- Mentioning to use QEF
- Incorrect total value of the fund
I was contacted to pay the invoice and I explained that their drafts are incorrect. This is the response I got.
“Hi Ravi, I’m not sure what you are referring to. However, once the draft is provided the invoice needs to be settled. I have a lot of experience filing these Forms and have not had any issues with them. Let me know if you have any questions.”
I won’t be paying for incorrect forms.
http://form8621.com/ had the same issues. I was only given the option of MTM and no election at all. I reminded them of QEF, then they corrected the form. But this time told me that I have to pay additional tax due to “deemed sale election”. Again I explained that this is the first time I’m filing, then they corrected it. But finally provided the form without my social on the form. But at least they got the taxes right and explained where it had to be mentioned in 1040.
The biggest takeaway to me was that you have to know what exactly that needs to go into the forms and understand about the nuances of pedigreed and non pedigreed investment at least in the basic. Else, you are definitely getting wrong forms given to you. @jb4422 is having his taxes done by a CPA through an employer and because of this, he might be able to do a hands off approach. The CPAs have some incentive to do correct work because they are associated with his employer. But for the rest of us, I think you have to skeptical of what these CPAs filling in your forms. Unless we have someone who went through with a CPA and had a good experience and shared that contact, you cannot rely on them.
My guess is that they have no skin in the game for filing incorrectly. I disagree with @jb4422 when he says that we can just use the argument that it was filed by a “CPA”. IRS may not charge you criminally, but they might make you pay for the mistakes made by the CPA.