How can I become a US Tax Expert to maximize my returns? Learning options?

I worked in tax preparation for about 8 years before switching careers. There are several paths you could take depending on how deep you want to go. For a solid foundation without becoming a professional, I'd recommend taking the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) training. It's completely free and teaches you how to prepare basic returns. The materials are available online through the IRS website, and you'll learn about common tax situations, credits, and deductions. You don't even have to volunteer afterward - just use the knowledge for yourself. If you want more comprehensive knowledge, consider the Annual Federal Tax Refresher course or look into basic enrolled agent (EA) exam prep materials. You don't need to take the actual EA exam, but the study materials give you a much deeper understanding of tax concepts. The most important thing is to apply what you're learning to real situations. Tax knowledge is meaningless without practical application. Start by understanding your own return completely, then maybe help friends and family (with appropriate caution).

After spending hours trying to figure out complicated tax situations like stock options and multi-state filing, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it's been a game-changer for learning tax concepts. It's like having a tax expert explain your specific situation in plain English. You upload your tax docs or just ask questions, and it breaks everything down in normal human language. I've learned more about maximizing deductions from using it than I did from reading tax books. It pointed out several credits I qualified for that I had no idea about, especially around some freelance work I did.

I was in exactly the same boat trying to understand taxes better and tried taxr.ai after seeing the comment above. Wow - what a difference! I uploaded my last two years of returns and it showed me where I'd been leaving money on the table. Unlike just reading tax books (which I tried first), the AI actually applied the concepts to MY specific situation. It explained how my student loan interest deduction worked with my income level and showed me that I qualified for the Lifetime Learning Credit for some online courses I took. The best part was understanding WHY certain deductions were or weren't available to me. Now I actually understand what AGI means and how it affects everything else. Definitely recommend if you're trying to build actual tax knowledge rather than just getting forms filled out.

If you want to understand taxes better AND get help with actual IRS issues, check out Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent 3 weeks trying to reach someone at the IRS about a notice I received that I didn't understand at all. Kept getting disconnected after waiting on hold for hours. I found Claimyr from this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c and they actually got me connected to a real IRS agent in about 20 minutes. The agent explained that there was an error in how my employer reported my income and walked me through fixing it. I learned more from that one conversation than from hours of reading online.

Ok I need to apologize for my skeptical comment above. After continuing to struggle with getting through to the IRS about a refund issue (3 months and counting!), I broke down and tried Claimyr. I got connected to an actual IRS representative in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed my refund was delayed because of a verification issue and helped me submit the right documentation. Would have NEVER figured this out without actually speaking to someone. Honestly feel dumb for wasting so many hours trying to do this myself. Sometimes the best way to learn about taxes is directly from the source.

Former tax preparer here. If you want to learn enough to handle your own taxes and maybe help friends/family, I recommend a three-pronged approach: 1) Take a basic tax course from H&R Block or Liberty Tax. They're designed to teach beginners, and while they're focused on preparing returns for clients, you'll learn a ton about common tax situations. 2) Read "J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax" - it's updated annually and explains tax concepts in plain language with tons of examples. 3) Practice with last year's returns. Get copies of your previous returns and try to recreate them from scratch using what you've learned. This hands-on practice is where real learning happens.

Don't overthink this. I spent years trying to "become a tax expert" and realized what I really needed was just to understand MY specific tax situation. Focus on learning the parts that apply to you. If you're a W-2 employee with some investments, learn about capital gains taxes and retirement account rules. If you freelance, learn about self-employment tax and business deductions. The IRS website actually has surprisingly good resources under their "Tax Tips" section. Start there before spending money on courses.