Tax Administration Most Taxpayers Believe They Benefit From Paid Tax Preparers, But Oversight For Irs Is A Challenge

Over 55% of the 130 million taxpayers in tax year 2001 used a paid tax preparer. However, using a preparer may not assure that taxpayers pay the least amount due. As many as 2 million taxpayers overpaid their 1998 taxes by $945 million because they failed to itemize deductions and half of these used preparers. This report: obtained the views of taxpayers about paid preparers and examples of preparer performance including any problems; and describes the IRS's oversight of problem preparers; the challenges facing IRS in dealing with problem preparers; and the efforts to address those challenges. To obtain the views of taxpayers who used preparers, the authors surveyed a national representative sample of taxpayers. Charts and tables.