Question: At what point do you think it's fiscally responsible to hire a professional tax preparer and and/or financial advisor? Do you think it's when someone meets a certain income threshold? Or is it more about the types of transactions they might be making (i.e. buying and selling property, short term stock trades, multiple sources of income, etc.)? Personally, I've always believed in the investment of a tax professional as well as financial advisers (I can trust).
Transacting or investing in real estate is definitely a good reason to work with a professional. So are other complexities like receiving stock-based compensation or being a dual citizen, business owner, or recently divorced. High income doesn't inherently increase complexity, until you have to calculate alternative minimum tax (which is mainly for people who make several hundred thousand dollars). Having a lot of investment income requires knowing how different dividends are taxed, which is straightforward in most cases.
I think most people should occasionally meet with a fee-only financial advisor as a checkup, and find out where they could improve their financial plan. Even once every five years with someone who's billing hourly would be great. Full-service wealth management is appropriate for some people. It's expensive, but if they have a complex situation or they wouldn't be properly managing their finances otherwise, it can be much better than DIY.
Holy smokers! That was a lot of information that you made relatively easy to understand, especially for people like me that typically find this stuff really confusing! Good post!
Question: At what point do you think it's fiscally responsible to hire a professional tax preparer and and/or financial advisor? Do you think it's when someone meets a certain income threshold? Or is it more about the types of transactions they might be making (i.e. buying and selling property, short term stock trades, multiple sources of income, etc.)? Personally, I've always believed in the investment of a tax professional as well as financial advisers (I can trust).
Transacting or investing in real estate is definitely a good reason to work with a professional. So are other complexities like receiving stock-based compensation or being a dual citizen, business owner, or recently divorced. High income doesn't inherently increase complexity, until you have to calculate alternative minimum tax (which is mainly for people who make several hundred thousand dollars). Having a lot of investment income requires knowing how different dividends are taxed, which is straightforward in most cases.
I think most people should occasionally meet with a fee-only financial advisor as a checkup, and find out where they could improve their financial plan. Even once every five years with someone who's billing hourly would be great. Full-service wealth management is appropriate for some people. It's expensive, but if they have a complex situation or they wouldn't be properly managing their finances otherwise, it can be much better than DIY.
Holy smokers! That was a lot of information that you made relatively easy to understand, especially for people like me that typically find this stuff really confusing! Good post!
Does doing my own taxes get me a cap?
You already earned it, congrats graduate