Interesting question for this article?!

But a good question on its own.

The answer is, some do and some don’t.

Bookkeeping and taxes are not the same thing.

You need bookkeeping records (specifically a Profit & Loss Statement, and possibly a Balance Sheet, depending on the business entity type) in order to prepare the tax return. But bookkeepers do not automatically know how to prepare a tax return just because they understand bookkeeping.

The opposite is also true. Tax preparers do not automatically know bookkeeping just because they understand taxes.

Therefore, some bookkeepers choose to learn tax preparation so they can do it for themselves, but also so they can add it as another service offering to their clients. Others would rather not go the tax prep route, and instead have their own accountant or tax preparer do their taxes for them.

The advantage to learning taxes is, as stated, you can do it for yourself AND turn it into a profit center for your business.

The down side is, if you prepare taxes professionally, you may be seen as a threat when working to build referral relationships with CPAs. They may not want to work with you for fear that you will attempt to steal their tax clients away. For many CPAs tax work is their bread and butter.

Conversely, the advantage if you choose not to offer tax services is that you will find it much easier to build mutual referral relationships with CPAs and professional tax preparers.

So bottom line, it’s really up to you as to whether or not you wish to do taxes (for yourself and others) or not.

Gabrielle