Tax preparers will file the tax documents for you. Whether they are worth it or not depends on many factors. It depends on whether you are single or not, have children or not, and whether you have your own business or not. It also depends on if you are willing to spend certain amount of time tracking your own financial records. If you rather pay money and let someone do it for you (e.g., you are busy etc), that's okay. Tax preparers do have different rates so it's worth checking them out. However, if you would rather do it by yourself, there are smart, easy to use DIY tax software and online services available.