How to Know If You Should Hire Someone to Do Your Taxes

"Tax season" is perhaps one of the most nerve-wracking combinations of words in the English language. These days, though, we have some helpful tools available to us (like filing software) that help simplify the tax-prep process for those of us who get sweaty palms just opening our W-2s.

But what if you're really anxious about doing your taxes on your own? When is it worthwhile to spend the cash on a tax professional? The short answer: if you have the money and you're very uncertain about preparing your own taxes, the peace of mind you'll gain by hiring someone to help is more than worth it. Keep scrolling for more tips on how to know when you should hire someone and when to save your hard-earned cash by braving the tax-prep alone.

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You should do your own taxes if . . .

. . . you have a fairly simple return (for example, you have one W-2 from your job, maybe some student loan interest, and you paid a childcare provider to watch your child while you worked).

. . . you use some user-friendly software that will guide you through the return (TurboTax, TaxSlayer, H&R Block), if you're comfortable using that software (and what is comfortable for some people may be completely anxiety ridden for others). Some software, like TurboTax, can make difficult items like rental property or freelance expenses pretty easy if you just follow their guidelines.

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You should hire someone to do your taxes if . . .

. . . you can afford it.

. . . your return is more complicated (multiple rental income, complex business expenses, etc.). If you have lots of questions about what items you should include or cannot include on your return, it may be helpful to pay someone to help. Also, professional preparers can sometimes find tax credits or deductions that you wouldn't even be aware of.

. . . taxes totally squick you out and you're not sure if you would do it correctly. If paying a professional will give you peace of mind (and you can afford it), it may be worth it.