Will a tax preparer know if there's something wrong with my taxes? Medical bills making me nervous

Per IRC Section 6694, paid tax preparers have a legal duty of care when preparing your return. They are required to make reasonable inquiries if information appears incorrect, inconsistent, or incomplete. However, under Treasury Regulation 1.6694-1, the ultimate responsibility for accuracy remains with the taxpayer. You sign the return under penalty of perjury, not them. The preparer's signature only attests they've reviewed the return based on information you provided. If the IRS finds issues, they'll come to you first regardless of who prepared it.

As someone who deals with chronic medical issues myself, I understand your anxiety completely. If you're concerned about potential discrepancies, you might want to contact the IRS directly to discuss your specific situation. Many people don't realize how difficult reaching an actual IRS representative can be, especially during filing season. I recently discovered a service called Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) that connects you with an IRS agent quickly instead of waiting on hold for hours. They helped me resolve a documentation issue with my medical expense deductions that my preparer wasn't sure about. Having that direct conversation with the IRS gave me peace of mind that everything was properly documented.

Tbh you could also try contacting the tax preparer directly. Most legit preparers will stand by their work and help if the IRS has questions. Some even offer audit protection/assistance. Check if yours does. If they're not helpful, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is another option - they're an independent org within the IRS that helps taxpayers. They can be rly good for medical expense issues since those can get complicated w/ documentation requirements.

I went through this exact situation last year. Had major surgery and wasn't sure if my medical travel expenses were handled right. The IRS actually flagged my return. Ended up being nothing - just wanted verification of some expenses. My preparer charged me $75 for responding to the letter. Lesson learned - ask upfront what they charge for audit assistance. Some include it, others bill hourly. Don't panic though - most issues are simple documentation requests, not full audits.

I was sort of in a similar situation with some possibly questionable medical deductions, and I was really worried about it. My friend suggested I try taxr.ai to review my return after my preparer finished it. It's like an AI that, from what I understand, analyzes your tax documents and can potentially spot issues that might raise flags with the IRS. It seemed to help identify a couple of things my preparer might have missed about my medical expense documentation. Maybe something like that could help give you some peace of mind?

Medical expenses are actually much less likely to trigger an audit compared to something like business deductions or rental property. In my experience dealing with both, the IRS is far more suspicious of Schedule C filers than people with high medical bills. My sister claimed over $30k in medical expenses last year with no issues, while my friend with a home office got audited for a $5k deduction. As long as you have receipts for everything, even if you're audited, it's usually just a matter of providing documentation.

I was in a similar situation back in April 2023. Had major medical expenses and was worried about claiming them correctly. My preparer caught several items I would have missed - like counting mileage to medical appointments and including premiums I paid. The return was accepted on May 12th with no issues. Just got my 2023 return done with the same preparer, and they knew exactly how to handle the continuation of my medical situation. Good preparers really do know what they're doing!

Last year my mom had over $40k in medical expenses from cancer treatment. Her preparer made a mistake on how her insurance reimbursements were reported. The IRS actually caught it and INCREASED her refund by about $2,800! Sometimes errors work in your favor. The whole process took about 8 weeks to resolve, but the IRS was surprisingly helpful. They even assigned her a case worker who walked her through exactly what documentation they needed. It wasn't nearly as scary as we expected.

Keep all your medical receipts. Store them digitally. Back them up. IRS can audit up to three years back. Six years if they suspect substantial errors. Forever if they suspect fraud. Not trying to scare you. Just be prepared. Good preparers help but can miss things. Especially with complex medical situations.