Tax Agent Reviews

Etax leads the way in tax agent satisfaction

It comes around at the same time every year – but still many of us find ourselves scrambling to complete our tax return on time. There are plenty of companies queuing up to help, but who can you really trust? Not only can a good tax agent make your life a little easier, but they can also help you to maximise your returns. That’s why Canstar Blue conducts an annual review of professional tax agents, to find out which are deemed to offer the best advice, service and value for money. This year, we’ve surveyed more than 900 Australian adults about their experiences with some of the biggest tax agencies in the country, with their opinions reflected by the star ratings table you see above.

Three of arguably the most prominent tax agents in Australia feature in our review, with Etax, H&R Block and Income Tax Professionals rated on factors including ease of application, turnaround time, customer service and website navigation. When you put your tax return in the hands of professionals, you’ll rightly expect them to do a great job on all fronts. If they don’t, you should consider your options. In 2018, our survey found Etax to be the highest rated tax agent of the three compared.

• Etax recorded five stars for ease of application, turnaround time, website navigation, value for money and overall satisfaction, with three stars for advice and customer service.
• Last year’s winner, H&R Block, earned five stars for customer service and turnaround time, with four stars in all other areas.
• ITP scored four stars in most research categories, but had to settle for just three stars overall.

While there are lots of reasons why you might want to employ the services of a professional tax agent, the research identified value for money as the greatest driver of customer satisfaction. It makes perfect sense – we all want the best tax return we can get, at the minimum expense of our time and money. But consumers also want tax agents that deliver on quality personal advice, make the application process as easy as possible, and ensure a speedy turnaround.

Drivers of Customer Satisfaction

Why use a tax agent?

As part of our research, we asked survey respondents what their main motivation for hiring a tax agent was. We found:

• 54% wanted to maximise their return and thought a tax agent would help them do it
• 19% did so simply because they weren’t sure how to file a tax return by themselves
• 18% just wanted to save time by having a professional do their tax return for them
• 9% had other reasons

Whatever your reasons for hiring a tax agent, it’s important to do some research to find the right one for your needs and budget. However, not all consumers take the time to do this. Our survey found that just 29% of respondents compared prices from different companies before agreeing terms. Nevertheless, it seems that most experiences are generally positive, with 82% of respondents agreeing that they would recommend their tax agent to a friend, while 83% plan to use a tax agent again next time.

What do we spend our tax returns on?

The day your tax return drops into your bank account is a great one. But what are you going to do with the money? We asked survey respondents to tell us what they did with their money last year:

• 23% put it in a savings account
• 22% spent it paying off bills
• 8% put it towards a holiday
• 5% put it towards an investment (i.e. car or home)
• 5% spent it on things for the family and/or kids
• 3% wasted it on things they didn’t really need

A further 2% spent their tax return on other things, while 1% weren’t sure what they did.

Whatever you plan to do with your bonus cash, make sure that you get the best deal you can from a tax agent. Take the time to compare quotes and ask your friends and family about their experiences. Failing to do so could mean you end up paying more than you need to, or don’t get the sort of customer service and advice you would like. With that in mind, we hope our tax agent review proves helpful the next time you’re shopping around.

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