David Rae, Contributor

Many people confuse filing their taxes with doing tax planning. Is your tax preparer actually giving you tax planning advice? The truth may surprise and cost you.

Is your tax preparer giving you tax planning advice? For that matter is your financial advisor giving you tax planning advice?

Many people confuse filing their taxes with doing tax planning. These are two very different services; ignoring this fact can cause you to be forced to leave the IRS a huge tip. Each year, around April 15, millions of Americans are forced to file their taxes; there is literally a deadline and penalties for not filing in a timely manner. However, no such deadlines or direct penalties exist for not doing proactive tax planning. That being said, the costs of not at least exploring the tax strategies available to you can be devastating for your financial security.

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