By SCOTT REESE WILLEY

Hometown Press

It’s the simple mistakes, like filing as head of household when your income recommends you file single, or failing to ask for earned income credit, that costs taxpayers to lose out on bigger returns each year.

Others lose huge tax returns because they don’t know what they can deduct, or have an inexperienced family member or friend prepare their tax return.

“We make sure our customers get the best return possible by checking their returns for the simple mistakes people make each year, and by making sure they get every deduction they have coming to them,” said Gina Evans, owner of GP Tax Service in Winnie. “And because we are trained, we make sure our customers get every deduction they have coming to them.” 

Evans has been preparing taxes returns for 14 years, five of those years at her 340 Broadway office in Winnie.

She must be doing something right: business has grown so much that she and her husband have opened another office in Port Arthur and a third office in Louisianna.

“We always get our customers the biggest return possible and that’s why we have so much repeat business,” she said. “It’s allowed us the opportunity to grow our business, open offices in new locations.”

Friday is the first day taxpayers can electronically file their returns with the Internal Revenue Service. 

Business owners have until the end of January to provide their employees with W-2 forms.

Evans said she and her staff are ready for the influx of anxious taxpayers.

“During our off-season we go through training to learn all the new changes to the tax code,” she said. “Because we have that training, we are more knowlegeable when it comes to preparing tax returns.”And knowlege of the changes in the tax code is important, she said.“Everybody wants to get a big tax return but they let a friend or a family member prepare their taxes and they lose thousands of dollars because their uncle or sister isn’t aware of all the new changes, of all the new deductions or exemptions allowed,” Evans explained. “The deductions and exemptions can change from year to year. The percentages can change from year to year. That’s why we go to tax seminars and tax training conferences every year.”Besides, she said, the IRS is more likely to question tax returns prepared by Uncle Joe than by a professional tax preparation firm like GP Tax Service,.“The IRS knows us because we have a code we include on our tax forms that tells them GP Tax Service has prepared this tax return and GP Tax Service has undergone training on the new tax codes and changes,” she said. Evans and her staff strive to prepare the most accurate tax return possible, she said.“We work hard to prepare accurate tax returns because accurate returns often mean more money in our clients’s pockets and less chance of an audit.GP Tax Service offers pick up and drop off service, notary public service, and Rapid Anticipation Loans, which allows customers to receive their refund within  a day or two.GP Tax Service also has a Spanish translator for those clients who feel more comfortable speaking Spanish.Over the years GP Tax Service has given back to the community.“We support the Texas Rice Festival’s Passport for Fun, which provides free admission for needy children,” she said. “And we regularly donate to schools and to worthwhile events and organizations in the community, like the Little Dribblers and baseball leagues.”Last Christmas Evans and her husband Prince gave away 10 new bicycles to lucky kids at East Chambers Elementary School.“We’re a local hometown business and when our clients do business with us it keeps the money here in Winnie,” she said.