Recently our firm landed several new clients. Thankfully this happens on a regular basis. When we land a new tax client one of the first things we want to do is to get a copy of the most recent return that was prepared. This is so we can analyze the degree of complexity of the return, provide an estimate of the costs as well as to identify any carryover items that may impact the current returns that we will be preparing. We also like to identify any tax-saving opportunities for the current year and help the new client avoid any unexpected surprises that could arise during the tax-filing process. As a natural part of this review and analysis we also are taking a look at the accuracy and completeness of the prior returns and identifying any missed tax-savings opportunities.  Recently we had a new client in who was using a paid preparer who was not a licensed CPA or Enrolled Agent to prepare their returns. One of the spouses owned their own business and therefore had self-employment income. In reviewing this return we discovered over $15,000 in tax savings per year of “mistakes” in their returns. Since the law only allows up to three years of returns to be amended, we can only amend back these three years. These mistakes in the taxpayer’s favor would not be pointed out and corrected by the taxing authorities as they only identify those situations where the tax has been shorted. The taxing agencies do not work on the taxpayer’s behalf to identify tax-savings opportunities. In addition to being able to amend these returns and getting approximately $50,000 in funds back for the client for the past three years there also were other tax-savings opportunities that can be implemented going forward that will result in an additional $15,000 in savings each year going forward. Unfortunately, we cannot go back and amend for this additional amount, but going forward this taxpayer will pay approximately $30,000 per year less in taxes.  Although this is a significant example of money being left on the table, this type of situation where a paid preparer is not identifying opportunities to save the taxpayer money happens all too often. Part of the explanation for this type of situation occurring is that there is no license or testing required to be a paid tax preparer. If you want to cut someone’s hair for money you need a license. If you want to practice law or medicine, you need a state-issued license. Unfortunately, and surprisingly, there is no license required to have access to taxpayers’ sensitive information and to prepare and submit a tax return to the respective taxing authorities for pay on behalf of other individuals. Over the years there have been movements to require tax preparers to be tested and certified, but this has not been carried through. Taxpayers would be well served by inquiring as to whether the paid preparer is an IRS Enrolled Agent or even better, a Certified Public Accountant. Ultimately, the preparation and submission of an accurate tax return as well as one that minimizes tax obligations is the responsibility of the taxpayer themselves. Enrolled Agents and Certified Public Accountants are required to obtain ongoing continuing education in order to maintain their license and certification. Tax laws are continuously changing and updating and without this ongoing continuing education the possibility of tax-savings opportunities being overlooked certainly increases. In the case of this new client, they had a gut feeling that they were paying too much in taxes. Their intuition was correct in this situation, and we will be remedying what we can correct from the past as well as making changes going forward. Over the years I have worked with numerous tax preparers as well as reviewed returns from dozens of preparers and firms.  Not all are paid preparers are equal and not all take the time to identify tax savings. Paul Pahoresky is the owner of PRP & Associates. He can be reached at 440-974-1040 extension 214 or at [email protected]. Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation for additional information and guidance on these topics.