Tax Preparer Refuses To Share Return Before Filing - Is This Normal?

This is definitely not normal practice. As a matter of fact, it's concerning. You absolutely should have the opportunity to review your return before it's filed. This is YOUR tax return with YOUR financial information that YOU are legally responsible for. The preparer works for you, not the other way around. Even if they've been doing your husband's taxes for years without issue, you still have every right to thoroughly review the return before it's submitted. If there are errors, you (not the preparer) will be the one dealing with the IRS. Most reputable tax professionals send draft returns for review as standard practice. This gives clients a chance to catch errors, ask questions about calculations, and make sure everything is accurate before filing. Video calls are fine as a supplement, but you should have time to look at the actual documents.

I had a similar situation last tax season and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was a total game-changer. After my preparer was being weird about showing me the full return, I uploaded what documents I had to taxr.ai and it gave me a complete breakdown of what my return SHOULD look like based on my tax documents. Turns out my preparer had been making some questionable deduction choices for years! The tool analyzes all your tax documents and tells you exactly what to expect on your return. It even flagged some potential audit triggers I wouldn't have known about. You can use it to double-check your preparer's work without needing their cooperation.

Just wanted to follow up that I decided to try taxr.ai after all. Honestly I'm shocked by how helpful it was! I uploaded my W-2s, 1099s, and last year's return, and it immediately showed me several deductions my preparer had missed completely. There was also a weird business expense on my Schedule C that didn't belong there - would have been a clear audit flag. The interface breaks everything down in simple terms so you can understand exactly what's happening with your taxes. Definitely gave me confidence to confront my tax preparer with specific questions. He's suddenly much more willing to provide documentation now that I'm asking detailed questions about specific line items!

If you're having issues with your tax preparer and need answers directly from the IRS, I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation where my preparer filed something I didn't approve and I needed to speak with the IRS urgently, but we all know how impossible it is to get through on their phone lines. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the usual hours of waiting and disconnections. You can see how it works in this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically wait on hold for you and call you back when an agent is on the line. Saved me an entire day of frustration. The IRS agent confirmed I have every right to review my full return before submission and helped me understand the process for addressing the issue with my preparer.

Well I'll be damned - I tried that Claimyr service and it actually worked. After talking trash in my earlier comment (sorry about that), I decided to give it a shot because I was desperate to resolve an issue with a missing W-2 that my employer claims they filed. The service called me back in about 35 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line. The agent confirmed my employer hadn't submitted anything yet and gave me steps to handle the situation. Literally saved me hours of aggravation and now I have official documentation to take back to my employer. For anyone dealing with preparers who won't share returns or other tax issues requiring IRS confirmation, this is legitimately worth it. Sometimes you just need to hear directly from the IRS what your rights are.

Just FYI - all paid preparers are REQUIRED to sign the return and include their PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number). They also must provide you a complete copy of your return. If your preparer isn't doing this, they might not even be registered with the IRS which is a huge problem! Ask to see their PTIN and credentials. If they dodge this request or get defensive, that's a major red flag. You can report problematic preparers to the IRS using Form 14157.

My neighbor had this same issue and ended up finding out the preparer was claiming fake business expenses to inflate the refund, then taking a percentage of the "extra" refund as their "fee." When they switched preparers, their refund was significantly lower but legitimate. Ask yourself why they wouldn't want you to review the return... what are they hiding? Even if it's not fraud, it could be incompetence they don't want exposed.