Personal income tax season is approaching, and you are thinking about having your tax return done. If, in the past, you have experienced an “express” service in a Montreal office whose practice is volume-centric, you would probably now like to have your taxes done in a meticulous practice of chartered professional accountants in Montreal.
In fact, before choosing the accounting practice that will prepare your tax return, you need to know that the tax return industry has a huge “cancer” that will not be fixed any time soon. If you want to avoid being one of the victims of this “cancer,” I suggest that you read an absolutely extraordinary article by Yves Chartrand, a leading expert on the tax system. The article is called “The real cancer in tax returns.” By reading this article, you will become aware of the danger that might be waiting for you. This article has been reproduced on our website in the “personal” tab. You can also visit the excellent website of the Quebec Center for Tax Training (CQFF).
At Célestin Chartered Professional Accountants of Montreal, we do not offer express service. We accept, essentially, the personal income taxes of the office’s corporate clients. We also accept tax returns of self-employed people and real estate owners.
Why restrict? Simply to ensure that we never fall into express service. We try to produce high-quality tax returns all while maintaining reasonable fees. By taking care of clients that have corporate accounts, self-employed people, and real estate owners, we succeed in having a much better knowledge of each client. By reducing our volume, we can take the time to do things right and follow the quality control manual of the office, which is very demanding. To reassure you even more, we only hire highly qualified people to prepare and revise personal income tax returns, either chartered professional accountants (CPAs) masters of tax law, or people en route to obtaining their professional designation.
It may be that you believe, wrongly, that our Montreal chartered public accountant practice is just too expensive. In shopping around, you found an old civil servant, now self-employed, who spent 20 years in the tax department and only asks for $50.
Remember that the auditor general of Quebec has already declared that 36% of answers provided by telephone by the civil servants of the tax department in response to taxpayers’ questions have been false or mistaken. 36%! Draw your own conclusions.
Keeping fees at a reasonable level is always a challenge. CPAs, of whom some are, moreover, masters in tax law, cost a little more per hour. Then, the key to succeeding in producing quality personal income tax returns lies in excellent knowledge of the client. If you do not know the client well, there is more of a chance of passing by an important element. Taking the time to know the client well takes time, and this costs a little more. How can you know that a client has the right to a caregiver tax credit if you don’t know that he or she takes care of an elderly person? Only a good knowledge of the client can help us to discover what the client often forgets to tell his or her accountant, due to lack of relevant knowledge.
Perhaps you are one of those people who believe that it’s not worth it to have your taxes done by a chartered professional accountant, because it costs less to do them yourself. You may find that it is even easier when you do them with a software program.
Personal income taxes are much more complex than most people believe. Read our article online, called “16 common errors when preparing tax returns” and give me some news. We have had dozens of thank-yous and congratulations for this article, which was even reprinted in large part in the journal published by the property owners’ guild of Quebec. You will be astonished. Computers are very useful, but they do not replace the judgment of a well-informed professional.
Whether you are in Montreal, Longueuil, Laval, or elsewhere in the region, by coming to Celestin chartered professional accountants, you will be happy to have entrusted the preparation of your income taxes to a meticulous accounting firm, and you will appreciate our office’s reasonable fees. In any case, you will have done your part of the “job” by finding good CPAs in Montreal to handle your tax files. Now, you can sleep soundly knowing that everything has been implemented in order for the work to be well done and for there to be no errors.
I invite you to check out the text and videos on our website in order to have concrete examples of the expertise of our chartered public accountants and how our firm uses technology.
Don’t hesitate to call right now to discuss the particularities of your file with a partner and to set up a meeting at our Montreal office or at your home for a free consultation worth $375.
