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Tax preparer

stosh

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
What does everybody here do to get their taxes into the Gov? Typically I've gone to a person and had them done. This year I just found out their rates are going up by $75 so I'm second guessing the decision. It also seems like the tax software out there is better and easier than it was 15yrs ago the last time I tried. It's just my wife and I with a few deductions like kids, house, school loans, nothing crazy really.

Just looking for some suggestions.... thanks!
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
i used to pay HR Block to do mine but my mother in law works for them part time so she has been doing them....the one good thing about a mortgage is the tax return. hooray for new toys and guns!
 
stosh

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
jonKranked said:
online. i've used it previously with good results and 0 issues. I like continuing to use it now b/c it automatically imports any necessary information from my previous years' taxes.
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Ok, I think I'm going to go that way. It's a significant savings and I'd like to give it a shot.
 
stosh

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
jonKranked said:
online. i've used it previously with good results and 0 issues. I like continuing to use it now b/c it automatically imports any necessary information from my previous years' taxes.
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Also, which version did you buy? Deluxe?
 
J

jasride

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2006
1,069
5
PA
I used turbo slut this year. Pretty simple and my return was in my account in 5 days. It walks you through pretty much everything.
 
CrabJoe StretchPants

CrabJoe StretchPants

Reincarnated Crab Walking Head Spinning Bruce Dick
Nov 30, 2003
14,163
2,484
Groton, MA
stosh said:
Did you use basic or deluxe?
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Basic, I should say my taxes are pretty simple though. As I'm single/no dependents, I just have my one W2, one mortgage, one car and health insurance.

There was a LOT of stuff that didn't apply to me and just skipped through....so whatever write-offs/deductions, credits, additional incomes, etc that may apply to you and not me should still be very clear.

Edit - after looking at my receipt, I just went with basic, but this year I was able to import my W2, despite the site saying that's a feature with Deluxe.....I think it's because I used HR Block last year as well? Either way manually entering isn't a problem for me since there's only 1.
 
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stosh

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
CrabJoe StretchPants said:
Deluxe, it was worth the $10 more it cost to import my W2 and last years returns....I should say my taxes are pretty simple though. As I'm single/no dependents, I just have my one W2, one mortgage, one car and health insurance.

There was a LOT of stuff that didn't apply to me and just skipped through....so whatever write-offs/deductions, credits, additional incomes, etc that may apply to you and not me should still be very clear.
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Ahhhh ok thanks!
 
stosh

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
Ok i have my wife leaning towards it. Maybe I can pull the trigger tonight.
 
CrabJoe StretchPants

CrabJoe StretchPants

Reincarnated Crab Walking Head Spinning Bruce Dick
Nov 30, 2003
14,163
2,484
Groton, MA
The one thing I HATED was it cost $20 to file and submit the fed return......and $35 for state. Kind of wacky given my fed refund is about 15x bigger than the state....but the convenience and speed is nice (option to direct deposit the refunds).
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,654
7,331
Colorado
The only reason I can afford a CPA is because I have a CPA. Last year entering things on Turbo Tax I showed owing $5k. When I sent everything to my tax preparer, I got $6500 back. Having a good CPA, $75 more or not, is worth it sometimes.
 
B

bean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 16, 2004
1,335
0
Boulder
stoney said:
The only reason I can afford a CPA is because I have a CPA. Last year entering things on Turbo Tax I showed owing $5k. When I sent everything to my tax preparer, I got $6500 back. Having a good CPA, $75 more or not, is worth it sometimes.
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What sort of things did the CPA find that Turbo Tax didn't?
 
dan-o

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
My CPA is $350 for our personal and ~$1200 for my business; fees I gladly pay.
 
kazlx

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
stosh said:
How much does that cost? Do you use him all year long?
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stoney said:
The only reason I can afford a CPA is because I have a CPA. Last year entering things on Turbo Tax I showed owing $5k. When I sent everything to my tax preparer, I got $6500 back. Having a good CPA, $75 more or not, is worth it sometimes.
Click to expand...
dan-o said:
My CPA is $350 for our personal and ~$1200 for my business; fees I gladly pay.
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I pay the same as dan-o, $350. Before I bought a house, I just used TT. When I bought the house, I wanted to just have someone do them that knew what the hell they were doing. I know most people don't care and just want to pay the least amount possible to get them done.

I did them myself online through TT (without submitting) and the CPA (who my mom knew through her work, she's an accounts payable manager) ended up getting me around $2500 more than I would have got if I filed myself online.

I review the entire submission and discuss everything I have questions about. I feel there are some things left to professionals. What works for some, doesn't work for everyone. For our combined income, I have no problem paying someone a couple hundred to handle it. Plus, there are times during the year I can e-mail him or call him to talk about investments, tax implications, etc and paying that extra for personal service is worth it to me. Not getting boned by the IRS is one of the things that's pretty high on my list for lifetime achievements.

I personally know a few people that have been...and it ain't pretty. While I know that I'm still responsible even if they are prepared by someone else, I like having someone I can ask how and why when I'm not sure about certain things. I would also assume that TurboTax is going to be as conservative as possible when figuring out write offs.

I would like to *hope* that I'm hitting my prime for investments and it's only going to get more complicated. It's nice to know before the fact the best way to go about things. But then, I'm more anal than most about money.

It's like Bizutch trusting himself to work on his own car...
 
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stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,654
7,331
Colorado
bean said:
What sort of things did the CPA find that Turbo Tax didn't?
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A Lot of stuff for Wifey's business - mileage, cost deductions, home office, etc, our cross country move for work, my travelling cross country for job interviews, adtl CA reductions based on that stuff, and a bunch of other stuff.
Plus, we are pushing the edge of what we can deduct. By having our CPA do it, the liability falls onto him if we over deduct.
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,654
7,331
Colorado
kazlx said:
I pay the same as dan-o, $350. Before I bought a house, I just used TT. When I bought the house, I wanted to just have someone do them that knew what the hell they were doing. I know most people don't care and just want to pay the least amount possible to get them done.

I did them myself online through TT (without submitting) and the CPA (who my mom knew through her work, she's an accounts payable manager) ended up getting me around $2500 more than I would have got if I filed myself online.

I review the entire submission and discuss everything I have questions about. I feel there are some things left to professionals. What works for some, doesn't work for everyone. For our combined income, I have no problem paying someone a couple hundred to handle it. Plus, there are times during the year I can e-mail him or call him to talk about investments, tax implications, etc and paying that extra for personal service is worth it to me. Not getting boned by the IRS is one of the things that's pretty high on my list for lifetime achievements.

I personally know a few people that have been...and it ain't pretty. While I know that I'm still responsible even if they are prepared by someone else, I like having someone I can ask how and why when I'm not sure about certain things. I would also assume that TurboTax is going to be as conservative as possible when figuring out write offs.

It's like Bizutch trusting himself to work on his own car...
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This. We paid $225 last year and I expect it to be a bit more this year. That being said, the amount he saves us, and having him on call makes it totally worth it.
 
kazlx

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
stoney said:
This. We paid $225 last year and I expect it to be a bit more this year. That being said, the amount he saves us, and having him on call makes it totally worth it.
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There are plenty of things I would spend $350 throughout the year on that I would gladly give up to pay to have someone I trust do my taxes. Just like you said, it's more of the 'soft' things where they can find you write offs.

If you don't itemize and have one W2, it's a waste of money. Just like anything else, you need to weigh the pros and cons. I don't think my taxes are 'all' that difficult, but having someone do them is well worth it.

If you are really curious and have the cash this year, find someone to do them. Then, do them yourself online (you can basically do the whole thing without submitting and paying) and compare the numbers. See if it's worth it for you. Obviously, a CPA is like any other service, your mileage may vary.

The number one thing my mom said about the guy that does mine is she respected him for being fair and not crossing the line. There are plenty of people (probably more business stuff) that like to write off more than their share. At that point, you are rolling the dice and it could easily come back to bite you ten fold.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,082
24,611
media blackout
If you don't pay someone else to do your taxes, you hate America. Imagine all the jobs that would be lost if everyone filed taxes themselves!
 
stosh

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
Brian HCM#1 said:
My CPA is reasonable at $150, and knows his sh*t:thumb:
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At $150 I'd be using him.
I haven't received a raise in 5 years, my retirement was turned off, Overtime has been cut, and everything else in my life has gone up. In that time I've had 2 kids and bought a house.
When an tax preparer (not a CPA) tells me their fee is going from $165 to $250 I need to evaluate what it's really worth.

Last night I spent 1hr on HRblock.com and was able to run through my entire tax return without paying a dime. There was almost no difference between what HR block got me and what I received last year from the tax lady. I sent my federal and state taxes in and bam I'm done for less the how much their fee was going to go up. $70 total for both.
 
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