If you had asked me years ago whether I’d end up preparing taxes, I probably would have laughed.
I’m what people call a multipotentialite — I like learning new things, diving deep into unfamiliar systems, and figuring out how they work. I’ve built accounting software. I’ve started businesses. This past year, I got a Paralegal Certificate for Boston University.
For a long time, I didn’t know much about taxes beyond “here’s free/cheap tax software.” There was a lot of tax illiteracy on my end. Because I do a lot of freelance stuff, I always found myself owing taxes instead of receiving refunds. Many of my early returns resulted in me sending an amended return soon after.
In a sense, that is how I have always learned and always been though. I learn through failure, and then I use that knowledge to help people not make the same mistakes I have. Give people the knowledge that I was expected to figure out myself. This is the driving motivation for why I teach many things I do — not just taxes.
Enter: Faith First
When I connected with Faith First Professionals, I didn’t know what to expect. There were a lot of job postings on Indeed looking for seasonal tax preparers. I applied to several. The lack of experience and willingness to train me was a massive green flag in my eyes. As I said, I like learning. And if I can get a job where I can both learn and teach, that’s always a bonus.
The first company to reply to me asked me to fill out a form and then I never heard from them again. Faith First responded after that, and then was extremely consistent following after. It wasn’t until a full two-months later that I received a reply from another company. But at this point, I had already decided to give Faith First a chance.
Faith First was, ironically, the company I was hesitate to apply to the most. There are faith-based companies out there that are massive red flags, but there have been devoutly religious people out there would care deeply about integrity and honesty that I respect greatly (refer to John Wannamaker and the invention of the price tag) and there are many who strive to run a “faith-based” company who are not nearly as transparent about that–and with that, I went in with very high standards. If I didn’t like it, I would drop out.
Immediately I was met with structure, training, and emphasis on doing things the right way. But most importantly, a culture and emphasis on integrity. I’ve personally known people who treat the IRS like it’s some kind of game — something to “beat,” manipulate, or exploit. Integrity matters to me. While I am not religious myself, honesty and ethical responsibility remain core parts of who I am, and many values I have I found aligned with Faith First.
That mattered.
I didn’t want shortcuts. I wanted competence. I wanted to understand the rules well enough to help people operate confidently within them.
From Tax Illiteracy to Advocacy
Here’s something I believe strongly:
If you are filing taxes for the first time, you should hire a tax professional at least once.
Not because you’re incapable.
But because you’re a person and taxes are not intuitive.
We joke about how there should be tax classes in high school and college. The memes circulate every year. But very few people actually go out of their way to learn the system before they’re forced into it. I honestly didn’t even know tax preparers existed! I was just told “User Turbo Tax, they do free tax returns” — when what they do is free tax returns for people with a W2, only. If you’re a college student with a contractor job or do gigs on the side, then surprise, your returns are not free anymore.
Your first filing shapes how you think about taxes. A good preparer doesn’t just submit forms — they teach you:
- What counts as income
- What documentation matters
- How credits actually work
- Why refunds happen (and what they really mean)
- What to expect next year
That educational component is huge to me. I’m not interested in just pushing returns through software. I want clients to leave more informed than they arrived.
And to put this rather bluntly: You only need to hire a tax preparer for one year. Longer is preferred on my end (obviously), but it’s best to think of a tax preparer as someone who can educate you on your tax situation and make that one-time investment. We have every incentive to ensure your tax refund is as high as you can get it.
I’ll write more about this in a separate post — but if you’re filing for the first time — or just want someone to walk you through things properly — I offer free estimates and am happy to help.
Leave a Reply