a better way to do your taxes
Why Class 5?
Class 5 Tax approaches tax preparation in a very unique way. We want to help you get your taxes done in the way that's focused on you. If you want somebody to handle everything from start to finish, we'll do it! And we'll handle your complete tax preparation at a very reasonable rate. But are you looking to save money by doing your own taxes for free? We'll help you with that, too. Our Free Resources page offers free information and planning tools, as well as links to sites that will allow your to e-file your return for free. (We recommend TurboTax Freedom Edition, for reasons we explain below.)
But if you do go the self-prepared route, we have one suggestion: Let us review your work. For as little as $90, we can review your work, give you the piece of mind that you haven't made any costly mistakes, plus we'll sign and file your return as the paid preparer. In fact, we've specifically adopted tax software that will allow us to easily import a return you've already started in TurboTax. This allows us to help you complete your return in a very efficient way that saves money without compromising your piece of mind that comes from knowing everything is accurate. Class 5 calls this approach Professionally Guided Tax Preparation.
The traditional approaches (do-it-yourself or pay a professional start-to-finish) each have their own advantages and disadvantages. But when we combine the best of both approaches, we get Professionally Guided Tax Preparation, a solution that offers the following advantages over each of the traditional methods:
- Professional Guidance vs. do-it-yourself
- Class 5 will catch your mistakes. One national tax preparation firm has found that 2/3 of the self-prepared returns they review contain errors. Class 5, from a much smaller sample size, has certainly seen that the majority of self-prepared returns contain errors.
- Class 5 gives you peace of mind. If you're in the majority that has made an error, how much will it cost you? Hundreds of dollars? Probably. Thousands of dollars? It's common. We give you confidence so you don't have to worry about how mistakes will affect you.
- Class 5 will sign as the paid preparer*. The IRS knows that most self-prepared returns contain mistakes. What returns do you think are more likely to be scrutinized by the IRS? Self-prepared returns, or returns signed by a professional? Plus, if you need to submit your tax return when applying for a loan, many loan officers advise that professionally prepared returns carry more weight in the decision-making process.
- Class 5 can give you personalized advice going forward, and answer questions specific to your situation. Tax software can provide general information. Class 5 provides personal answers via live, human interaction.
- Professional Guidance vs. paying a professional start-to-finish
- You handle all the routine data entry and answering the simple questions that software can easily handle. By handling the routine stuff yourself, you'll probably cut your tax preparation bill by more than half.
- (Shhh...this one's kind of a secret) Software is often better at asking the simple questions to find routine deductions. Tax preparers are extremely busy during the tax season. This can lead to short-cuts based on assumptions that are usually right, but not always. Software is in no hurry. It will patiently guide you through every part of the tax return to find what areas apply to you. Software may not always be clear about how the questions are relevant, and software may not always find the best way to apply various deductions and credits, but it does ask everything so you can talk to your Class 5 professional about parts that weren't clear.
- Class 5 gives you flexibility. Most preparers aren't going to help you fire them. If you've been using a preparer and decide to try doing it yourself, you're probably not going to receive a lot of assistance making the switch. Class 5 encourages you to do your own return, and with our model you can easily have us do your entire return one year if you want, then switch to do-it-yourself the next year, and then back again. We don't just give you a print-out of your return, we provide you with digital files that are easy to work with in common tax software programs
* Class 5 will only sign as the paid preparer if you agree with our recommendations. In certain cases, you may choose not to make changes we recommend. We will not be able to sign those returns
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Class 5 Tax
1300 Clay St, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94612
What our clients say...
"You are very clear, knowledgeable and competent... AND very kind and patient when I obviously have little or absolutely no clue sometimes with the simplest of things involving numbers and finances. Thank you..."
-Sonja
"That advice [resulted in] an $8K swing to a refund from a tax debt. After reading your detailed rationale, I felt even more confident that the service that I was getting was the service that I needed."
-Anthony
Over $75,000 in Savings Found in 2011 for Registered Domestic Partners and Same-Sex Spouses!