The IRS would like to welcome you to the income tax preparation season of the new year! That's the way the taxes work. While on one hand you are enjoying the beginning of the new year and on the other you are looking back at the previous year while coming to terms with the pending tax bill. There is joy for a few. In fact, this is a very lucrative time for one of shortest seasonal industry in the US - Tax time. Every year, the IRS hires thousands of temporary workers for the process of accepting/verifying tax returns. In the corporate sector the tax preparation firms and individuals get ready for the deluge of clients come tax time. In all this, the question still remains - what is the best way to get your income taxes prepared?

Firstly, you should be aware of the fact that there are basically three ways to prepare your income tax return - (1) Do it yourself the old-fashioned way by filling out paper forms with pen and pencil (2) Do it yourself using software or web tools (3) Hire someone to do it for you. Now, which one will be most suitable for you? Well the answer is the all-time favorite - 'It depends'. It all depends on your preferences and your situation.

This is where a self-evaluation helps. Is your tax situation complicated? Do you own a part-time business? Do you have real estate investments? Did you buy/sell a home? These questions will help determine the level of complexity involved in calculating your return. As far as your personal preferences are concerned - are you a analytical person who loves working with numbers and details or do you dread math? If you are the latter, you will probably want to hire an tax prep expert to take care of your filing. For the remaining few, doing it yourself is the way to go. With the wide variety of tax prep software and websites available you will have plenty of options to choose from. For you, the first task is to shop around to narrow your choices.