# What kind of tax professional do I need? (as a sole proprietor who bills clients directly) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 9, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tax-professional-do-i-need-as-a-sole-proprietor-who-bills-clients-directly/1012779 "2025-01-09T23:23:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tax-professional-do-i-need-as-a-sole-proprietor-who-bills-clients-directly/1012779/41 "2025-02-19T17:53:21Z")
Hey folks, I’ve spent the last few weeks finishing this up, and I just wanted to report back here with an update (no big surprises, but just wanted to share the conclusion in case this experience is useful for anyone else). First, I SUPER appreciate all the help, especially bobsmom101’s DMs with more info and worksheets. Here’s what I ended up doing: - First, I tried a few online self-fillable forms. They were very similar to bobsmom101’s worksheets, so I opted just to use them instead of manually running the numbers in a PDF. I tried a few different services and they all had their pros and cons, but I ended up filling it out (but not submitting it yet) with HRBlock’s online option. This is what got me the initial ~$5000 number, which is in line with this [self-employment tax estimator](https://www.taxact.com/tools/self-employed-calculator) (i.e., I’m not sure why it’s higher than bobsmom101’s $3k estimate… maybe self-employment taxes? but in any case, it’s close enough to be realistic) - I then tried to find a free TaxAide / VITA person in my area, but there aren’t that many, and the orgs that were hosting them didn’t have any openings quite yet (in mid-January). Because there was a timeliness component to this (my employer was waiting for me to decide what to do for the 2025 tax year), I decided to find a paid tax professional instead, just to get it done sooner. And besides, it’s another business expense I can write off for this year. - I then reached out to an EA (enrolled agent, per above) near me. She was nice on the phone and said she could help, but after I emailed her my details, she never wrote back. I followed up a few more times by email and phone, but never heard back from her. She just ghosted me 🤷 Not sure why… - In exasperation, I went to the local HRBlock, because they made it easy to find someone with self-employment tax experience (they let you choose the preparer and see their experience/background when you make an appointment). The lady I got had been doing it for twenty years and was very helpful in person, answering all my questions and collecting sufficient details. I had all my invoices and expense receipts ready to give her on the spot. * * * This year, I probably won’t use a professional again. The self-serve form was actually much quicker and easier than working with HRBlock in person. The step-by-step guidance made it easy to use even for slightly complicated situations like mine (self-employment + brief period of paid employee work + school tuition + business expenses + depreciation schedules… handled all of it with ease). And the final numbers came out really close to what the tax pro came up with. Online, I could easily pull up all my relevant docs and spreadsheets alongside and copy-paste things as needed. In person, not only could she not reuse my prefilled HRBlock online form, she couldn’t even accept my documents by email or USB drive. She had to get her secretary to print everything out, scan them back in, and manually enter them in by keyboard (I have no idea why). It took me more time to walk her through my details than it took me to actually just self-file it all online with the form. And it was a lot more expensive. It was worth it this first year just to make sure I did the work OK (it was close enough in the end), but too expensive for future use. I didn’t have any particular preference for HRBlock’s online software. It was fine… not perfect, but good enough. Some of the others, like TaxAct’s, also seemed fine. I only chose the HRBlock one this year in case I needed to go into an office, but turns out the two systems are completely disconnected anyway, so that didn’t help at all. Most of the online providers do offer the option of a virtual online review, which is still cheaper (and faster) than having a local person do it from scratch. So that’s that! I just wanted to share my experience in case it helps anyone else. Phew. What a pain. Thankfully, starting in March I’ll be an employee again, and can let someone else worry about all the taxes! ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tax-professional-do-i-need-as-a-sole-proprietor-who-bills-clients-directly/1012779/42 "2025-02-20T16:31:57Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > (i.e., I’m not sure why it’s higher than bobsmom101’s $3k estimate… maybe self-employment taxes That was just a WAG based on what you gave as your gross & figuring that you had expenses to write off. Yes, the downside is that you have to pay 1/2 of your self-employment taxes. Ouch! Sorry you ended up owing more! But I hope it’s easier next year! > [@Reply](#): > > The self-serve form was actually much quicker and easier than working with HRBlock in person. The step-by-step guidance made it easy to use even for slightly complicated situations like mine (self-employment + brief period of paid employee work + school tuition + business expenses + depreciation schedules… handled all of it with ease). And the final numbers came out really close to what the tax pro came up with. Yeah, I **knew** you could do it! Most taxpayers have pretty simple returns – the ones with the oil wells, offshore racehorse farms and rental property portfolios can afford their own accountants.Congratulations on figuring it out! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tax-professional-do-i-need-as-a-sole-proprietor-who-bills-clients-directly/1012779.md?page=2)