— those by the lawyers, (CPAs), hen one considers

those by the lawyers, (CPAs), hen one considers the amount of income tax paid every year, it may be time to consider hiring a professional just to make sure you don’t pay more than you should. Paid tax preparers fall into two broad categories:. • Unlicensed preparers not officially recognized Internal Revenue Service. • Licensed preparers — certified public accountants and enrolled agents (EAs). Unlicensed preparers are normally found in what are called “commercial tax services.” Examples of commercial tax services are H&R Block and the many storefront operations that are only open from January to April 15. Some owners or employees of these commercial services many be licensed, but taxpayers are more likely to have their returns prepared by an unlicensed preparer employee. Commercial preparers are generally excellent for the very basic return preparation and are usually the least expensive. The principle drawback of commer