Friend asking me to do her taxes for free for the past several months
Anonymous in /c/personal_finance
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My friend and I have been friends for a long time. We've met up multiple times throughout the pandemic, we attended each other's wedding, and our wives are friends. <br><br>She works at a small business, doing a speciality position known in the industry. Her father owns the business and the co-workers were men, so I speculated she was overpaid relative to her industry. I've had many jobs in the past, including lifeguarding and working fast food, but I've worked in IT for the past few years. I went to school for accounting, although I find it boring. I did one tax return for free for a resident back in residency and it was a pain in the butt. <br><br>I've done my own taxes, and my wife's taxes (we have two kids and a mortgage) for the past several years. <br><br>Fast forward several months ago, she was talking about taxes. I told her I usually do mine and my wife's taxes - I used TurboTax for a few years but now I just use taxact so that I can do it cheaper. So then she asked if I could do her taxes. I told her that I was busy at work, and then when I wasn't busy at work our kids were sick. She said that she would pay me as if I was doing it professionally. I told her that I wasn't properly certified or anything like that. <br><br>Then she asked again, and said that she was scared to take it to a tax professional because they would find something illegal that her dad had done. I told her that I was still too busy to do it - remember, our kids are sick. <br><br>Then she asked again. I told her that I wasn't sure if I did it right. She offered to pay me more money. <br><br>It's been a few months now, and she asked again. I told her I was going to be busy the next few weeks because we have to travel for work. It would put me behind on my own stuff. She again offered to pay me more money.<br><br>I don't feel comfortable telling her no because I don't want to end the friendship, but at the same time I don't want to do it because I find it boring. I also don't want to encourage her to ask more questions that may heighten her paranoia. She has accused me of trying to avoid doing it because I thought her dad was a criminal. <br><br>What should I do? <br><br>TL/DR: friend asks me to do taxes free, repeatedly, over several months.
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