CONCORD, Ohio — Punching numbers and preparing forms is routine during tax season for Robert Zappitelli, who’s going on to his 43rd year as the co-owner of Zappitelli Financial Services alongside his brother.

What You Need To Know

  • Millions of Americans are turning to their computers as we enter the final weeks of this year’s tax season

  • According to data from the Internal Revenue Service, nearly 80% of filers fill out their returns and other tax forms online

  • The IRS estimates the average American spends $270 and 13 hours filing their annual returns. Now they’re helping lift this burden for millions of tax filers, offering IRS Direct File in more than 20 states

“We started out, just the two of us, in Painesville, Ohio and the business grew,” Zappitelli siad. “We have 12 locations in northeast Ohio now. We specialize in doing income taxes for the general public, but our big business is providing tax services to business owners.”

Customer turnout has remained high over the years, he said, but has noticed a significant shift in younger generations.

“They have a lot of familiarity with using a computer and software and doing apps and stuff like that. So they have a tendency, at least in the beginning years, to do their own taxes,” he said.

Timothy Fogarty is a professor at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. 

It’s easy to find tax services online, he said, but there’s a few other factors to consider before you begin filing.

“If your time is very valuable, you [can] probably think of better things to do with it than this,” Fogarty said, “On the other hand, [there’s] the complexity of your return. If your return is very simple, then, you probably should think about doing it yourself.”

For most Americans, their decision on how to file comes down to the cost of convenience.

“Taking this off your shoulders… it creates a huge sense of relief for a lot of taxpayers, and so therefore, it's probably worth it to them to pay for," he said.

In the digital age, fewer Americans are willing to pay the price for professional help, Fogarty said.

“I think the software is gradually pushing paid preparers out of the picture,” Fogarty said. “And as a result of that, at least the costs to buy the software and follow the instructions … it's going to be a lot smaller than a human being would be.”

Still, Zappitelli said his team will be around to help, even with the trickiest of tax returns.

“So once you start having a side gig, you might want some professional help,” Zappitelli said. “Because it might cost you a couple hundred bucks to get it done, but one deduction that your tax preparer knew about that you didn't, will get you back that 200 bucks in no time.”