Our response is that while certain "do it yourself" products have previously claimed that using their product is "free", this was actually not true for the majority of taxpayers and even led to a case placed with the Federal Trade Commission related to deceptive marketing practices. If you simply open your web browser and search the words "tax software free lawsuit", you can see this for yourself. When not deceptively leading the public to believe their products are "free" for everyone, a common way that frequently advertised tax preparation companies are compensated is by paying you a sum of cash within hours of completing your return, but what you receive is less than what you'd otherwise be entitled to receive back from the IRS. For example, if the IRS owed you $2,000 after completion of your return and a tax preparation company set their fee as the greater of 20% or $250, you will have actually paid $400 to have your individual return prepared by someone less qualified than a CPA for even a simple return (i.e., a Form 1040 with only W-2s and claiming the standard deduction). After paying you $1,600, which would make most anyone feel as though they had their return prepared for free, the tax preparation company will receive the full $2,000 when received from the IRS a few weeks later. Our firm believes this to be deceptive in nature, and an incredibly expensive way to have your return prepared and prepared by someone that's not even a CPA at that. For this type of simple return, this is more than what you would pay Bradley Ray CPA. While some people indeed have circumstances that qualify them for a free return, this is not the case for the majority of taxpayers. When tax preparation companies advertise "free" in their commercials, they're typically referencing the IRS Free File Program which is a public-private partnership between the IRS and many tax filing companies. However, most taxpayers do not qualify for this, and some well-known tax preparation companies would deceptively claim that the service is "free" without clearly disclosing that it is not free to the majority of taxpayers. As such, after being deceived and taking the time to complete the return themselves, which is risky to begin with since they're not a tax professional, they would learn after putting in all that time that they do not qualify for a "free" return and must pay before filing. Therein lies the deception being addressed by the Federal Trade Commission.

To address this question it's best to first identify and describe who the "other preparers" are and who they are not. In the hierarchy of tax professionals (and competency), the first level would be an employee that works for a tax preparation service. This individual can be found working for small offices in local strip malls or sitting in a kiosk in large retail stores and shopping malls. They are not CPAs nor are they familiar with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code under US Title 26. They are individuals that have been trained by a company on how to populate tax forms by checking boxes in a software application. They are familiar with how certain tax documents are used to populate the various fields in the software application, but the extent of their competency does not typically extend beyond this point. The fee you pay for this level of service is often as described above, where a non-CPA completes your return and charges a percentage of your return in exchange for a reduced payment within hours of completing the return. The next level of competency would be the Enrolled Agent, often simply referred to as an "EA". While this person is defined as a Practitioner under IRS Circular 230 §10.3, they typically do not possess the same degree of competency regarding accounting and tax law, nor would they have the same ability to substantiate complex tax positions taken, represent taxpayers in the event of an audit, or provide comprehensive tax planning services. A common way to analogize the difference between an EA and a CPA is the difference between a Registered Nurse and a Medical Doctor; both are trained professionals, but a Medical Doctor's knowledge and training exceed that of an RN. Finally, even if someone is a CPA, this still does not guarantee the highest level of competency, as some CPAs are better than others and provide their clients with differing amounts of attention. Many of these other CPAs will have a small office consisting of a few tax preparers and/or maybe an EA, which the CPA will mostly be hands off other than generating the client relationship during the business development process, in which he or she will have their staff do all of the actual tax work, and will then simply "review" at the end, sign, and present to the client. This is a model based on maximizing the firm's growth and not client service. Additionally, many of these CPAs are still deficient in their knowledge of tax law and how to navigate the authoritative guidance (IRC). Instead, they rely on software, interpretative guides, industry templates, and other such tools that attempt to apply a "cookie cutter" approach to serving clients, which is inappropriate. Some firms are now even leveraging offshore options to send work (and their clients' personal information) to foreign locations to cut costs while accepting the reduced quality of service.

Bradley Ray CPA spent years with the global CPA firm PwC serving some of the largest clients in the world and has a comprehensive understanding of accounting and tax law. He is adept in researching and interpreting the Internal Revenue Code (US Title 26) to substantiate taxpayer positions based on technical merit and is able to apply tax law in a manner that minimizes taxpayers' liabilities only to the extent that is required under the law. Bradley Ray understands the complexities associated with each taxpayer’s unique fact pattern and is able to provide a level of competency that would be expected of a CPA practicing before the IRS.

Our firm challenges you to review your current CPA's competency and business practices to distinguish whether they are simply checking boxes in a software application, passing off the work to staff, sending the work (and your information) to foreign countries, relying on technical guides/manuals/templates that are nonauthoritative in an attempt to apply a "cookie cutter" approach to their tax practice, etc. Many CPAs and Firm Partners simply serve in a "front office" role, primarily as a spokesperson/salesperson for their firm, prioritizing growth over quality and not providing the level of attention you deserve. Do not settle for this. As Sole Practitioner, Bradley performs all the work, from beginning to end, and does not use staff or other offshoring options to cut costs at the detriment of the quality you deserve.