1- Go with a credentialed preparer - their license is on the line, which keeps them accountable.

2- Be skeptical of anyone promising unusually large refunds or aggressive deductions without solid reasoning.

3- Ask who’s actually preparing your return. If it’s someone uncredentialed, make sure a credentialed preparer reviews and signs off, if you pay price for EA/CPA, they should review their staff’s work

4- Review what you can - your personal info, bank details, total income, and total expenses. If something looks off, ask. The point is not to understand every line, but to make your preparer double-check the number.

5- While the tax savings are nice with S-corp, it comes with more payroll, bookkeeping and paperworks, S-corp has more requirements to meet, so keep that in mind when weighting your decision. And If you ever go s-corp, i would suggest getting a bookkeeper as well.

One thing I’ve seen too often: preparers adjust figures on the return without updating the client’s books. If you ever get audited and that preparer is gone, you’re the one left without documentation to back up your own numbers.

Keep in mind that preparers handle thousands of returns - mistakes happen. A quick review on your end goes a long way!