the Cost of Personal Accounting Services

The accountant prepared my state tax forms for the first half of the year in California, as well as my federal tax forms. He used last year's return as a starting point, then gave me worksheets to fill out with this year's numbers, had a meeting where we reviewed the numbers, and finally he prepared the forms.

While the accountant is a really really nice guy, and was referred to me by a family member, he is also very close to retirement. Or, I hope he is. It's very frustrating to be charged by the hour for someone who appears to move and think so slowly.

This represents a 300% increase over what I paid for my taxes last year, and frankly, I'd have preferred to buy a plane ticket to fly to my old accountant for the same money.

The work, at least, seems to have been done accurately. Getting him to understand some of the nuances of the forms (being a art time resident of two different states last year) was a bit frustrating, but in the end, the numbers are roughly what I predicted and the effective tax rate was actually lower than last year, which is always a good sign.

Sometimes, even referrals from family members can go awry.

I'm still not sure if I plan to pursue this issue and try to get the amount reduced, or if I'll just suck it up and pay it. Clearly, I will go to someone else next year.