Q&A · Accountant and advisor
Do I need an accountant or a tax advisor?
A bookkeeper keeps your records and prepares statements. A tax advisor is a licensed professional who can sign your return, represent you before the tax office and extend your filing deadline to 1 July. For a simple sole trader a bookkeeper is usually enough; for VAT, employees or an audit, a tax advisor adds real protection.
An ordinary accountant or bookkeeper processes invoices, keeps your tax records or double-entry books and can prepare the return, but cannot represent you before the tax office under a power of attorney.
A tax advisor registered with the Chamber of Tax Advisors carries mandatory liability insurance and can act for you in dealings with the authorities. Using an advisor also extends the filing and payment deadline from spring to 1 July.
For a student or a small sole trader with tax records, a bookkeeper or even doing it yourself in the online portal is fine. The cost of an advisor is hard to justify at that level.
For anyone with VAT, employees, foreign income or a limited company, an advisor is usually worth it, both for the deadline extension and for the protection during a possible tax audit.