Hiring a tax professional

[Kathlyn Lewis]

Hello all!

Not sure if this has been covered here - did a quick search and didn't find anything.

My husband and I are looking for someone to do our taxes, which are probably not super complex, but they are complicated enough for us not to want to do them.

I am of the mind that we should be able to meet with a professional to see if we like them before hiring them. Just as I would go in to meet a doctor before having her treat me.

Most of the tax preparers I have talked to so far seem to want me to just have them do my taxes without having met. If we do meet, they want to charge $150-$300.

My question is - is that standard for the industry? I can understand not wanting to just give away time and I respect that, but $150 seems kind of steep to just meet and greet. And I am very uncomfortable handing over part of my financial life to someone I've never had a chance to really talk to.

Also - is there some reason that tax professionals don't like to file extensions? I've had this issue with a few tax pros - they seem to either want to do your taxes before April 15 or not at all.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Kathlyn