Why Hiring an Accountant Matters More Now Than Ever

Every tax season, I hear some version of the following: “I saw this on TikTok” or “My friends found this advice I can use.” That sentence used to be harmless. Now it is expensive.

In the last year, the Internal Revenue Service assessed more than $162 million in penalties and more in taxes, tied to false tax claims that spread online. People filed returns based on viral advice. Refunds went out. Then the IRS came back and took the money back.

This is not about people being reckless. Most people think they are doing the right thing. The problem is that the tax system has become more complicated, at the same time, bad advice has become effortless to share.

The Tax Code Is No Longer Simple, and It Has Not Been for a While

Over the past few years, tax law has been constantly shifting. Credits expanded and now narrowed. Temporary rules were extended, modified, or quietly allowed to expire. Income classifications changed. Filing positions that worked one year no longer worked the next.

What gets people in trouble is not the headline rule. It is the conditions underneath it.

Eligibility now depends on details most people do not realize matter. How income was earned. When it was earned. Whether the activity is passive or active. How a business is structured. How prior year filings affect the current year.

Social media does not ask those questions. It cannot. It just tells you that you qualify.

The TikTok Tax Advice Problem Is Real

The advice usually sounds confident.

“Everyone qualifies.”
“The IRS will never check.”
“This is a loophole.”
“Your accountant just does not want you to know.”

What was actually being pushed were narrow credits presented as universal. When the IRS reviewed those returns, they disallowed the claims. Then came penalties and interest. In many cases, repayment demands followed.

That is what the $162 million represents. Not a warning. Actual money already taken back just in penalties. That doesn’t account for the back taxes

Penalties Are Only Part of the Damage

The apparent cost is financial. Fines. Interest. Lost refunds.

The longer cost shows up later.

Once a return is flagged, future filings tend to get more scrutiny. Processing slows. Legitimate refunds take longer. Some people end up stuck in months of correspondence trying to unwind something that should never have been filed in the first place.

And when that notice arrives, TikTok is not there to help.

What an Accountant Actually Does

When I review returns that came from online advice, the issue is rarely the math. It is missing context.

A qualified accountant is looking at how the pieces interact. They are asking questions that do not show up in a thirty second video. They are evaluating whether a position can survive scrutiny, not whether it sounds clever.

They are also accountable. Licensed professionals sign returns. They stand behind the positions they take. They are required to stay current, and they are exposed if the advice is wrong.

That alone changes behavior.

This Is About Protection, Not Just Saving Money

People still think hiring an accountant is about squeezing out deductions.

Sometimes it is. More often now, it is about avoiding preventable damage.

Protection from misinformation.
Protection from penalties.
Protection from fixing a problem after it has already attracted attention.

The IRS has made it clear that guesswork is no longer tolerated and will not hesitate to send you to collections for unpaid balances.

The Bottom Line

Tax law is changing quickly. Bad advice is spreading faster than ever. Those two things together are costing people real money.

Hiring an accountant today is not about delegating a task. It is about having someone who understands the rules, understands the risk, and is willing to say no when something does not hold up. Someone who is in your corner to protect you.

That has always mattered. What has changed is how easy it is to get this wrong.