chinoloco wrote:My situation is not complicated. The forms seem complicated and time consuming and I would like to get some professional help for the first year and DIY next year. My budget is under 300SGD. I heard the local American accounting firms like Pricewater House provide similar service. I am just curious if someone has experience with them before.
I have used PWC for many years.
They are very capable, but what I pay is way out of your budget.
If your situation is not complicated, their fee might be very expensive tuition just to see what your own tax forms should look like.
(I presume that your employer is not subsidizing your tax preparation.)
I did try a cheaper alternative once (only S$1000 by American expats in SG).
They did not know how to handle the Foreign Tax Credit and claimed to know more than they really did.
Seems you get only what you pay for (and maybe not even that).
If you really want to learn how to do your own taxes, you should try to do your own now, even if you choose some other means for the final filing.
Today's tax preparation software packages should be a good self-help guide.
I know of seasoned expats that are satisfied with TurboTax
(however, I haven't seen anyone on this SG Expat site that has used it).
The IRS forms may seem complicated at first, but the accompanying instructions are step-by-step and should be able to get you through them.
IRS has made things easier with online access to forms and instructions.
They also have phone numbers you can call for help.
I would not expect to get through the tax forms in one sitting.
Work through them, then give it a rest for a day or so and go back again with a fresh eye. So, yes, it can be time consuming.
However, you will need to spend time anyway transferring all your information to whomever it is that you choose to use.
A big part of what you end up paying for is this time spent together sifting through the raw information your provide trying to organize it so that they can make sense out of it.
Making an attempt to go through your own tax forms first can help you be better prepared for this.
Hope this helps.
Compared to what's required for the IRS, the IRAS tax filing for SG is a breeze.