Screwed by a CPA-Any advice?

[knowitall]

I always filed my taxes myself online. This year, because I moved, and got married I figured I would just pay a CPA to take care of it. I did some homework and heard good things about a certain CPA in Lakewood. I didn't know all the details but I heard by making an IRA I could take advantage of the Savers Credit and hopefully knock $2,000 of my tax bill. In the beginning on March I went into their office and they said they are too busy to file now but they can file an extension and take care of it after tax day. I said "Sure, no problem, just promise me I won't lose anything by doing it this way. They said "Yes." They gave me a short paper to fill out and one of the questions was "Would you like to discuss contributing to an IRA to lower your taxes? I checked off YES.  Afterwards they estimated my taxes, and instructed me to make my payments. Fast forward to May, when they called me to finish up my taxes. I asked about the IRA, and they said "That had to be done by april 15th.  It's not our problem to tell you that". I tried to argue that I knew about this deduction and I wanted to discuss the IRA with them back in March, and they had pushed me away until the summer, saying I wouldn't lose anything by filing an extension and taking care of my taxes after. 

The short story is they screwed me. I believe, as people rely on their advice and pay them nicely for it, they should be held accountable when they screw up like this. Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed? Do you believe the CPA should accept responsibility?

[aj26]

Are you sure your even eligible for the credit.
Most cpas miss on a lot of tax planning ideas and tricks. No one cares about your money more than you do

[farmbochur]

I wouldn't call failing to meet a (readily googalable) deadline getting "screwed by an accountant"

[ludmila]

Are you sure your even eligible for the credit.
Most cpas miss on a lot of tax planning ideas and tricks. No one cares about your money more than you do

+1 I lost a lot from different CPA's during the years running an S corp.

[sky121]

I wouldn't call failing to meet a (readily googalable) deadline getting "screwed by an accountant"

+1

They sound like they just may be bad accountants but not that they intentionally tried to harm/cheat/steal/mess with you.

[ExGingi]

+1 I lost a lot from different CPA's during the years running an S corp.

I've been telling my CPA for the past few months that I want to make a subchapter S election for one of my corporations. For whatever reason he kept on pushing it off, and a deadline was missed to make the election prior to a significant deposit made. Now we need to spend more time down the road to juggle things.

[henche]

I sympathize with OP. The whole point of hiring professionals is that you don't need to be figuring out things yourself.

If they're gong to be doing extensions without a consultation first, they should have a little checklist of things that may still need to be done by April 15.

[churnbabychurn]

Fire them.

[12HRS]

Not saying you were not screwed but just to be clear the savers credit does not apply if you are a student and to get the full $ amount your income levels need to be pretty darn low.

Were you really eligible for the full credit?

[puddles]

I wouldn't call failing to meet a (readily googalable) deadline getting "screwed by an accountant"

This. Also, there are 1000000 accountants in the Frum world. Next time, find someone who can file for you on time instead of delaying

[whYME]

I wouldn't call failing to meet a (readily googalable) deadline getting "screwed by an accountant"

-1/2

The whole point of hiring professionals is that you don't need to be figuring out things yourself.

[ExGingi]

I sympathize with OP. The whole point of hiring professionals is that you don't need to be figuring out things yourself.

If they're gong to be doing extensions without a consultation first, they should have a little checklist of things that may still need to be done by April 15.

Unfortunately, my experience with many (if not most) CPAs is that they just do things the same as they've always done it, and will rarely expand their knowledge or horizons. This brings to memory a very dear friend who's Yahrzeit was just a couple of weeks ago R' Yankel Ziskind ע"ה. He was an actuary, a genius, and one of the kindest (and nicest) people I've met. He also had a great Rolodex, and if I ever needed a professional that really knew his stuff, Yankel was my referral service for this (besides for him being my trusted advisor for all Pension related questions that were beyond my basic knowledge).

The old saying goes, that when paying a professional for their services, you are paying for their E&O insurance. That being said, unless there are big sums involved, we all mostly suffer and swallow the losses ourselves.

[knowitall]

I sympathize with OP. The whole point of hiring professionals is that you don't need to be figuring out things yourself.

If they're gong to be doing extensions without a consultation first, they should have a little checklist of things that may still need to be done by April 15.

Exactly. Well said. The same way they made sure to tell me I need to make my payments by April 15th, they should've mentioned I need to make IRA contributions by then.

[mgarfin]

Some of it comes down to what ppl are willing to pay. We can't always expect to pay cheap and still get hours of professionals time.

[knowitall]

Not saying you were not screwed but just to be clear the savers credit does not apply if you are a student and to get the full $ amount your income levels need to be pretty darn low.

Were you really eligible for the full credit?

Yes I'm not a student and my AGI was under $38,000. (Married filing jointly)

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Exactly. Well said. The same way they made sure to tell me I need to make my payments by April 15th, they should've mentioned I need to make IRA contributions by then.

IMHO this should be SOP but not sure if you have any recourse.

[mercaz1]

Some of it comes down to what ppl are willing to pay. We can't always expect to pay cheap and still get hours of professionals time.

definitely get what you pay for. in this case your probably just better walking away and finding a new cap for next year

[knowitall]

Some of it comes down to what ppl are willing to pay. We can't always expect to pay cheap and still get hours of professionals time.

-100
They charge $150 for a simple return with the standard deduction.
Every additional form or complication adds to the bill.
If it takes hours, you pay for those hours.

[Menachem613]

Sounds like an unprofessional accountant. I would fire them and move on.  Missing deadlines is a huge deal. Not as bad as missing a criminal trial deadline, but being a professional carries with it a certain level of expected guidance. They clearly missed that mark.

[knowitall]

Sounds like an unprofessional accountant. I would fire them and move on.  Missing deadlines is a huge deal. Not as bad as missing a criminal trial deadline, but being a professional carries with it a certain level of expected guidance. They clearly missed that mark.

Like other have said "Fire them".
Of course I won't ever be using them again.
If I ever need a CPA again, there are plenty of other options.
My question to Y'-all is: Do I have any options besides crying over spilled milk?