Hire a Professional

Ahh yes, April 15th. Tax day, the day that we are held to account for calling ourselves American citizens, whereby the price of that citizenship is set. Forty years ago, I was given maybe the best piece of advice I ever received from Dean Horger, a gentlemen not known for dispensing particularly good advice, who said to me, “Dunnevant, if you’re smart you’ll get an accountant to do your taxes for you. I know a guy.”

At the time, it was quite debatable whether or not I was “smart”, but I took Dean’s advice and called his guy…Carl Woo. As a consequence of that call, I haven’t prepared a tax return in over four decades now and wouldn’t know where to start. I often have thought that if some unfortunate accident or illness were to befall Carl, I would be forced to leave the country, forfeit my citizenship and go into hiding. On the downside, I have paid the man a small fortune over forty years. On the upside, he has saved me countless hours of grief, outbursts of profanity, peptic ulcers and mountains of money. Take 2021 for example:

2021 was an unusually profitable year for Dunnevant Financial, made so by a particular transaction upon which I knew that a capital gains tax would become due. As a result of this transaction, I made intentional increases in the amount of taxes I pay the Feds and the Commonwealth of Virginia each month. In addition, to minimize the impact of this transaction on my tax bill, I increased the amount I contribute to my SEP plan, church etc…Even with these moves being made, I had a gut feeling I might still owe a little bit. There was perhaps an outside chance that I might get a small refund, but the chances weren’t good. I made these assumptions solely on instinct since I have no idea how Carl does what he does. All I know is what I earn and what I pay and after forty years you get a feel for these things. A side note—I am not one of those guys who hates paying taxes and feels put upon on April 15th every year. On the contrary, I kinda like safe streets that are paved and well lighted, schools that aren't falling down, a functioning legal system etc, etc. So, as a general rule I have never gone in for Byzantine tax avoidance schemes. I’ve always told Carl, I want to pay every dollar of taxes that I legally owe…but not a penny more.

So, I nearly fell out of my chair yesterday afternoon when I got a two sentence email from the estimable Mr. Woo:

Federal and VA refund of $**,*** and $*,*** respectively.  Will mail returns to you.  attached are the efile authorization.  you and Pam can sign and return at your convenience via email or fax 804 ***-****.  we have filed extensions so no rush.

 

Carl

So, the lesson here is pretty simple. If you are a young business owner out there struggling to establish yourself in the world, find yourself a young accountant who will grow along with you. Hire him. Pay the man or woman the money. Turn your taxes over to a professional. Rid yourself of the headaches and perpetual frustration. In this world you get what you pay for. Then forty years from now you too will be planning on naming a wing of your lake house after your accountant.