From: Joel Lang, DPM
I hope no one is taking the recurring tax advice to heart and doing their taxes themselves. I think you would mostly all agree that foot problems should be left to the experts; namely DPMs. You similarly should leave tax filings to the experts as well; namely CPAs.
Even after I completed my (CFP) financial planning course, which included an entire section on taxes, I knew that I would never do taxes either for myself or any clients. The system is too complex and the rules change all the time with changing deductibles, new tables, different minimums and maximums, etc. Being in practice makes your tax return infinitely more complicated than the simple 1040 form. So do family issues such as divorce, child support, alimony and financial issues such as long and short term capital gains and losses, depreciation tables, purchases and sales of property, etc.
I personally have never done my own taxes, even though I was "theoretically" trained. Only persons who do taxes full-time should be entrusted with your return. Then, if there is a subsequent question or problem, you have someone to rely upon. The cost of having someone else do taxes is about what you might charge for one or two office visits. Why would you spend hours doing your own taxes when you would not spend hours with a patient for that same amount of money? Better to let an accountant do it and spend that time with your family.
Joel Lang, DPM, Retired, Cheverly, MD
