Q: A local bookkeeper prepared our taxes this year. She made mistakes and we want to know what legal actions we can take.
We are active duty military. We have already paid for her services. Instead of receiving a full refund, we only received partial amount.
A:
The costs of pursuing legal action for negligence, fraud, etc... are rarely worth the time and costs. You would have to file in the county where you signed the service agreement, or where the BK's place of business is. Filing fee will probably be more than you paid for the return.
If you paid by credit card you can request a chargeback.
I would move on and hire a competent preparer next year.
Let everyone know this person doesn't know how to do returns, just don't make any false statements.
With the new tax law coming out a lot of people will be jumping into return prep so look for a preparer with a lot of experience and a Tax LLM or Masters of Taxation. Accountants. bookkeepers, and CPA's are not taught tax in an educational environment it's all on the job and it's usually taught incorrectly/ Look for a preparer that can research IRS guidance, rules & regulations so you know that actually know what the rules are, not what Bob told them.
Hope that helps.
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