Filing Taxes

[Betty]

In previous years, I've used H and R Blocks online tax program to file our taxes. Probably not the best but it was convenient.

This year we've got a few complications with disability, unemployment and a move (not sure if moving means anything or not.)

Who do you use (or what software do you use) to do your taxes? What are the rates? Do you like them?

[Kevy Baby]

Turbotax. Used it for many years and it has done me well.

[Alex]

I too use TurboTax most years (though sometimes I just do it by hand).

Never been a problem. I keep my tax life extremely simple because I'd rather just pay too much than have to deal with anything complex. But a couple years have forced some complexity upon me and it handled everything smoothly.

[wolfy999]

Since we own a business....we hire a CPA. Been using the same one now for many years.

[scaeagles]

I've always used HR's TaxCut software (formerly Kiplinger's TaxCut). Easy to use, great interview process to determine deductions, etc. My taxes have included self employment stuff as well as normal employment, with lots of deductions and tax credits, and I don't think I've ever spent more than 90 minutes doing them.

[RStar]

Since we own a business....we hire a CPA. Been using the same one now for many years.

Same here.

[katiesue]

I've used Turbo Tax forever. This year though I'm thinking of using a cpa. I've got all my mom's crap, bought a house, bought a car - more complicated than usual. Plus I have to do the Estate's taxes so thinking it may be easier just this year to have someone do it for me.

[BarTopDancer]

My parents have fairly complicated taxes and use Turbo Tax.

I have very basic taxes and use their Turbo Tax too.

[BarTopDancer]

I've used Turbo Tax forever. This year though I'm thinking of using a cpa. I've got all my mom's crap, bought a house, bought a car - more complicated than usual. Plus I have to do the Estate's taxes so thinking it may be easier just this year to have someone do it for me.

Ya, thinking that will be money well spent.

[Andrew]

I have used HR Block's Web version for several years and it's worked fine. For context, we own a home, Jen works two jobs and I have consulting (1099) income as well as standard W2 income.

[Snowflake]

I've used H&R Block web tax cut for years and it has been great for me. I'm usually done in about 15 minutes which is all the time I ever want to dedicate to anything related to complicated math.

[Betty]

I'm surprised that more people don't use a professional for some reason. Maybe I'll stick with H and R after all. They have all my info which makes it easier to let them prefill it all out.

[mousepod]

We've used a professional for more than a decade. The difference in the final total (vs turbotax or Block) can be astounding. Plus, you can deduct the cost of the preparation. So worth it.

[Strangler Lewis]

I thought as a general rule you could only deduct tax preparation expenses as part of the miscellaneous deductions that must exceed 2 percent of AGI to become deductible.

Maybe that's why your guy is so good.

[mousepod]

You're right. It does fall under the 2% rule.

[Alex]

Tax Software: Do you want to do deductions?

Me: Would that mean answering more questions and/or filling out more forms?

Tax Software: Yes.

Me: Well then, I'm good. Can I just toss in an extra $500 to avoid any additional worries? Because I'm not going to be keeping any receipts for anything, and probably won't even keep a copy of this year's tax return.

Tax Software: I suppose so.

Me: Make it so.

[Andrew]

The nice thing about the Web versions is that they keep the returns so I don't have to.

[Alex]

Yeah, I have copies of previous returns because I still have the same computer as the last two times. But if I got a new computer tomorrow I'd no longer have any copies of previous returns.

[€uroMeinke]

Last year we went with a professional. NA being self-employed in multiple lines of work made it way to confusing for me to keep up without fear of incurring some huge penalty. I was happy we did as my negative best guesses and swags turned into a healthy refund.

[Not Afraid]

Professional mean the difference between owing money and getting 5k we were not planning on. Soooo worth it!

[Strangler Lewis]

Focusing on federal taxes, that means finding offsets for 17 to 20k worth of income. I'm not sure you've answered the question about the value of a professional. Was there a point where you said, e.g.,

"Huh! TurboTax never told me I could deduct what I spend on CDs and music downloads because I listen to music when I walk dogs." or

"Huh! TurboTax never told me I could write off my entire mortgage payment as a home office because I have a laptop and wireless Internet."

Or something similar.

[Not Afraid]

Focusing on federal taxes, that means finding offsets for 17 to 20k worth of income. I'm not sure you've answered the question about the value of a professional. Was there a point where you said, e.g.,

"Huh! TurboTax never told me I could deduct what I spend on CDs and music downloads because I listen to music when I walk dogs." or

"Huh! TurboTax never told me I could write off my entire mortgage payment as a home office because I have a laptop and wireless Internet."

Or something similar.

No, the point was that doing them at home with software meant we weren't claiming the deductions we should have been claiming. Hiring a professional solved that issue.

And.....you're being a snot to me because......?

[Kevy Baby]

And.....you're being a snot to me because......?You deserve it?

[Morrigoon]

My accountant has been amazing. I got back a thousand bucks last year when I expected to owe.

This year with only Dis and unemployment I'm not sure if I'll be using them, but (my) Alex still will for sure, and I'm still considering it, what with the extra deduction for unemployment (thanks stimulus bill), and for consistency's sake.

You can find them at www dot clinecarroll dot com

[Not Afraid]

You deserve it?


Really? OK then. I will shut up. I'll stick to more mundane topics.

[Ghoulish Delight]

The thought of having to admit to a stranger how bad I am at keeping records is unappealing. Especially since other than donations that I don't keep particularly good track of, I doubt there's much I'm missing as our income is entirely W2/1099-int based and the most complex deduction we have (until the dependent arrives) is a mortgage payment. So there's not a lot of room for them to find hidden deductions to pay for themselves.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

And.....you're being a snot to me because......?NA, meet Strangler Lewis. I thought you'd met before...

[Alex]

For those who use a CPA, what is the cost, generally?

There was a radio show yesterday talking about new regulations from the IRS for requirements to do returns for other people. One of the tips given was to never use a person who's fee is a percentage tax return. That seemed like a very self obvious thing to me.

[Strangler Lewis]

Yes, before you were born, young'un. Well, her husband, anyway. Same thing. One flesh and all that.

I didn't mean to be snotty. I'm all for not paying extra tax. However, by all appearances, TurboTax--or at least the version I use--is extremely thorough, down to asking you about potential deductions or credits that it says are not common. Of course, if it's not asking questions about things that I can document, then I'm missing out.

So, I remain curious about what matters, if any, the accountant said, "You know, they left this out of TurboTax, but you can deduct that, and it's not an audit flag."

[Strangler Lewis]

For those who use a CPA, what is the cost, generally?

There was a radio show yesterday talking about new regulations from the IRS for requirements to do returns for other people. One of the tips given was to never use a person who's fee is a percentage tax return. That seemed like a very self obvious thing to me.

I know a tax preparer who worked that way. He gets out next year.

[Morrigoon]

Mine runs around $360*, but that was to have a partner in the firm do it. Might be less for a lower-level accountant. Sounds high, but she's always been worth it.

Also, that means they send me paperwork early in the year that allows me to get myself together, and when it's all done they file it electronically for me so I get my refund a bit quicker, and they send me a nicely-bound copy of everything for my records.

Since the last time I attempted to do my own taxes left me in tears, I have determined it's a worthwhile expenditure. Filing my own taxes was find back in the 1040EZ days, but no more.

(*-I can't remember exactly, but somewhere between $360 and $400)

[Kevy Baby]

BTW: if you want to use TurboTax and know someone who has already purchased it, just borrow their copy. If I recall correctly, you can use it up to five time without problem. A certain car-lovin, state-of-bliss-male has borrowed my 2007 and 2008 copies of TurboTax. In 2009 :)

[€uroMeinke]

To be honest we didn't try TurboTax out on the new levels of our financial complexity - so who knows maybe it could have given us the same results. But then we were looking for someone who could also give us other financial advice going forward as far as what we could and couldn't deduct, what receipts or other documentation would be required, how much I should increase my holdings to avoid having to do quarterly tax payments on NA's non-tax withheld income, etc. I think ours also cost in the $360 range.

Personally, I liked being able to do the taxes myself, but when I started trying to interpret IRS rules for our situation, I started to loose confidence that I was doing so correctly and figured it was time to consult a professional (who would also share some liability)

[Kevy Baby]

Filed

I win

[Andrew]

I am still waiting for my 1099s but I think I have everything else. I'd really like to get it done before we leave for Vancouver.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Done and done. Getting a refund, but lower than last year (a good thing, means I'm getting a handle on the W4 situation which was way out of whack). Most of said refund will likely go to the beginnings of T's college fund.

[Kevy Baby]

I actually got my refund in January (on 1/29/10)!

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Damn, you beat me. Mine was direct deposited on Tuesday 2/2.

[Ghoulish Delight]

So I looked at the 1099 for our savings account at Chase. "Damn," I thought, "this must be only for the part of the year after the WaMu account officially became a Chase account, I'm going to have to wait until I get the 1099 for the WaMu part of the year."

Then I pulled up the account online to check the statements and do the math myself.

Turns out that the 1099 WAS for the full year, the interest rate has just dropped to absolutely nothing. Time to move that money into something that will actually earn something.

[Andrew]

Got everything I needed last week and did the whole thing on Saturday. E-filed so hope to have the refund next week. Yes, there's a fairly substantial refund because I haven't updated W4s in quite a long time. I'd rather give a no-interest loan to the government than the other way around.

[BarTopDancer]

Mine are done. I owe the feds (untaxed UI) and get nearly the same back from the state. State is mailed. Fed's can wait until April 15th.

Mine runs around $360*, but that was to have a partner in the firm do it. Might be less for a lower-level accountant. Sounds high, but she's always been worth it.

Save yourself the money and use Turbo Tax. Seriously, it's so easy. I had 2 W2s + my stuff from UI and it took me less than an hour.

Your taxes can't be complicated enough to justify spending $300+, especially now.

Just look around this thread. People with way more complicated taxes use it.

You could probably get away with the Federal Free edition online.

[alphabassettgrrl]

I'll be filing in March. We have an accountant do them; not because it's hard, but because I don't feel like dealing with it. Usually he gives us an appointment in February but this year it's March.

[Kevy Baby]

I'd rather give a no-interest loan to the government than the other way around.I am SO with you on this. Especially now, with interest rates so low. The refund is what is allowing us to purchase a new bed.

[Alex]

Time to move that money into something that will actually earn something.

Good luck. If you find anything let me know. Short of the risk of actual investing, nothing has sufficient interest that I'm willing to be illiquid with the funds.

I'd rather give a no-interest loan to the government than the other way around.

While I'd rather go the other way (I'd rather owe $1000 than get a $5000 return). It has proven impossible to get the withholding adjusted correctly to avoid the underpayment penalty. Every year I say "please! take out more!" and then come tax time I still end up owing a few thousand and paying a penalty.

Still, I'd rather pay the penalty than deal with the hassle of deductions, accountants, and saving receipts.

Hopefully I'd do them this weekend so I know how much we owe and then wait until 4/15 to pay.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Good luck. If you find anything let me know. Short of the risk of actual investing, nothing has sufficient interest that I'm willing to be illiquid with the funds.
Well, even the paltry rate offered by my credit union for regular savings would be 25x the rate Chase is currently offering. But then, I can put most of what's in regular savings into something less liquid, so that's what I'll be doing.

[Alex]

My Chase savings account is currently paying 0.35%. Somehow I doubt you're getting 8.75% at your credit union, did you mean 2.5x?

I'm getting 0.8% at USAA which is still utter crap (though this is where we keep our savings account money, I have $19 in my Chase account for work purposes). I'm too lazy to chase the better returns from short-term offers or dealing with smaller non-local institutions. But if you're not aware of it, check out money-rates.com (http://www.money-rates.com/savings.htm). If you're willing to constantly monitor your accounts and move your money around as necessary you can keep standard savings rates well above 1% which isn't bad in the current climate.

What I really need is a major institution to go into crisis again and desparately need to boost deposits. I'm still riding the 4.5% CDs I got when WaMu was in crisis mode, wish I'd gone in bigger. Unfortunately we're facing a big financial decision within the year so I don't want the money illiquid. By the end of the year if we don't pull the trigger I'll be dumping money into better things

[Ghoulish Delight]

Hmm, I'm getting .01% at chase. I'm clearly doing something wrong.

[Alex]

Hmm...just checked the published rate sheet and see that .01 is what I should be getting too. I'll have to investigate. Glad I don't actually have any money here.

0.25% from your credit union is surprisingly sucky too, though.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I took a closer look, there are savings accounts at Chase that give .35, if you have enough in them and have them linked to your checking.

Of course, I thought I swear I meet both those criteria and I'm still only getting .01%, so I still need to bug them.

A closer look at my CU, and I'm actually getting .65 from my money market acct.

[BarTopDancer]

Basic savings at ING is paying 1.20%

[Alex]

I took a closer look, there are savings accounts at Chase that give .35, if you have enough in them and have them linked to your checking.

And mine aren't linked, have almost no balance, and haven't had activity in months. So I don't know. 0.01% and 0.35% are the same thing when you have $19 in there.

[blueerica]

Hmm - for those who don't make teh big bux and don't have anything complicated going on - I really liked using H&R Block's Free File this year.