Considerations for switching accountants?

First of all, as someone who works in the tax accounting industry, I am so sorry to hear that you were mistreated by a CPA. It is a CPA's professional responsibility to treat clients with respect, and your CPA acted in a very unprofessional manner.

1. He should have provided you with a copy of your return when he filed it with the IRS. By law, return preparers are required to provide the client with a copy of the return, and it cannot differ from the copy filed with the IRS. As long as you are reasonably sure that the copy he gave you is what he also filed with the IRS, then just bring that copy to your new tax accountant/preparer, and ask them to review it for accuracy. If they spot an error or find a needed adjustment, they can help you file an amended return.

2. Your return preparer is required to obtain your signature on the return, and presumably you read through it before signing it. It is illegal to file a return for taxpayers without first obtaining their signature. You also must sign Form 8879 which authorizes a return preparer to e file your return. Also, don't be too afraid of IRS notices. The IRS will usually try to resolve any disputes with you before taking you to court. They have a lot of returns to process, so they usually take people to court only when there is a serious issue and no way to resolve it outside of court.

3. In terms of being a good tax client, the best thing you can do is send your tax preparer any W-2s, 1099s, brokerage statements, and any documents/forms/papers you think might be relevant to your tax return. If the return preparer doesn't need everything you send, they should be grateful you provided them with as much information as possible. It will give them more confidence that you are being honest about all of your income, and generally, the more documents a return preparer has, the easier it is to prepare a return. Usually, the return preparer will scan all of the documents into one file and highlight/annotate to keep track of where everything goes on the return. Any unused documents will be labeled as such. Aside from providing documents initially, also try to answer any questions the preparer asks you to the best of your ability. If you don't know the answer to a question or find it confusing, don't be afraid to ask for clarification. A good tax accountant will be happy to clarify anything you find confusing about your return, and should also be available throughout the year to assist you with tax matters that arise during the year.

4. In terms of picking a good tax accountant, there are several things you should look for. First, you should avoid accountants who are harsh, impatient, or otherwise unprofessional with you. If they seem rude to you during the consultation, trust your judgement and find someone who treats you with respect. There are plenty of good CPAs who would be happy to have your business. If your accountant makes you feel bad for not providing everything you need to prepare your return, ditch them and find one who understands that oftentimes, preparers will need to ask clients for clarification/additional information. Rarely have any of the clients whose returns I have personally worked on provided us with all of the information we need from the first consultation. When we need clarification or additional documents, we simply send the client a friendly email detailing exactly what we need and why. This is how a good accountant should be communicating with you. They should never be rude, harsh, or abusive.

I hope all of that information helps, and I hope you've found a tax accountant who treats you with the respect you deserve. The only way you could truly be a "bad" client is if you refused to cooperate with your accountant or intentionally hid income from them, but that definitely doesn't seem to apply to you.