I actually talked with an accountant in the US my first tax year living year, and her advice was &quot;don&#x27;t use an accountant&quot;. I have no idea if this is true or not, but according to her, the IRS&#x27;s view is basically, &quot;we know this is complicated stuff, so do your best, and if you make a mistake, no big deal&quot;, whereas if you hire an accountant and get something wrong, the assumption is that you&#x27;re trying to avoid taxes.