A poll on taxes

katiewhompus · February 2010

Out of curiousity (and a slight wager with my husband), what do you guys do for your taxes? Ever since I was 16 I've used the free version of Turbo Tax and love it. Dh has always taken his tax stuff to HR Block (his whole family uses it, they also have more complicated taxes). I want to just do TT as usual (and already ran the figures, just didn't file, easy peasy) and he wants to take it to HR because he's worried we'll get in trouble if we get audited. We have our W2's, no dependants, no itemizations, nothing. Not that complicated and nothing to mess up an audit.
This year, to promote marital peace, we will take it to HR and get their estimate as well, compare it to TT and go from there.

What do you do for taxes?

angie74 · February 2010

I've always done the freebie online ones... they've treated me well in the past

laurenclaire1386 · February 2010

Up until this year, I used TTFree and never had a problem. But I got a job in September as a contract employee, which for me, is way more complicated than just plugging in numbers from my W-2. My parents' CPA is doing them this year, because taxes are one thing I can't afford to screw up.

mocha beans · February 2010

We just did ours online this afternoon through H&R Block's online service, it used to be called TaxAct I think. Easy peesy as well. We've done it that way for a few years, didn't ahve too much trouble when we had to deal with the mortgage refinance and such. No IRS agents knocking on our door yet, so I think we're good.

Not sure if we got the best return, but I hate doing taxes, so it's not worth it to me to do it at a bunch of places to get the best return. And ours have been pretty simple so far, so I doubt there would be much difference.

katiewhompus · February 2010

Lauren, do you have any clue what the price is for a cpa? I'm thinking a couple hundred, but when I looked at H&R's website they said it would be $70 for fed/state.

I hate to post and run, but the computer is conking out on me. I'll be back later.

laurenclaire1386 · February 2010

Katie, I don't. My parents told me they'd let me know what I owed them when they got the bill.

Brie2010 · February 2010

FI did mine on his own, but took his to H&R Block because his are more complicated. It cost him $200, but they found $600 more in deductions FI didn't realize he could get, so we're fine with it.

SaraAndrew2010 · February 2010

I do them myself without a program.

MyNameIsNot · February 2010

I said other. Up until recently, I've always done them myself online. Last year, DH and I weren't married but had some joint stuff to claim. We decided to go to HR Block b/c I was confused about it. This year, I'm self employed, so it's back to HR Block.

I hope to get a job job soon, and go back to doing it myself, but HR Block was pretty cheap last year, so I might just stick with them.

thesuninherhead · February 2010

I selected other because our system is a little different to yours. We have accountant places like HR block, and we also have an online lodgment system, but it's run by the government taxation department and is free.

Anyway, H and I keep saying we'll go to an accountant (we have a financial advisor but they're clearly not the same thing as an accountant- too many people to be paying to tell us about what to do with our money! haha), but then when the time rolls around we always end up doing it online- it's quick and easy as the government has a lot of centralised records so it auto-fills most of the income sections etc anyway, and all we have to do is add in our deductions.

KentuckyKate · February 2010

I chose "other" because my dad is a CPA, so I just drop off my W2s and a voided check and never think about it again, until I see my refund direct deposited into my checking account.

saschaduran · February 2010

There is no reason to pay for such a simple tax return. Like PP said....if you do not itemize any deductions, and fill in the blank from a W2, there is nothing to audit.

I use a CPA. I have a few different investments, a house I short sold this year and an out of state rental property. I used to do my own, even when I had to file self employed, but I feel like I get a lot more money back when I use an accountant. For a complicated tax return I think H and R Block sucks. My accountant knows a lot more deductions that they never mentioned. For example...she estimates the sales tax we have paid in the last year and we can deduct part of it. This is especially great in years that you buy a new car.

BioGirl21 · February 2010

My dad has been doing his own taxes for years and he does mine too. FI uses an independent tax guy and is majorly opposed to not having someone do it for him, but I honestly don't think it's that hard to do yourself.

pooh8402 · February 2010

I've always taken mine to my aunt, who used the paid turbo tax to help with my taxes. this year, I'm taking them to FMIL since FI and I are going up there anyway, and he's taking his taxes, so it's just easier than asking my aunt. next year will be a different story once we're married.

goheels05 · February 2010

Here's my take on it. Most people are capable of doing their own return. If you have W-2s and 1099s and not much else, it's pretty simple. Go to the IRS website and you can look up the free services. If you don't qualify for the free service, you can buy TurboTax for $25 on Amazon.

If you have more complicated things going on, I recommend skipping right over H&R Block and Liberty and Jackson Hewitt and going straight to a CPA. The staff at those tax prep places are only required to have a GED. They don't undergo much formal tax training, just enough to do their jobs, and they charge just as much as a mom and pop type CPA firm. They (H&R Block and the others) use a software that is much like the software you can buy at the store for about 1/4 what they would charge you to do your return. A CPA is required to undergo licensing requirements and they must have formal training every year--a minimum of 40 hours.

I know rates vary by area, but my billing rate is $85 an hour, and it takes me less than an hour to do a typical 1040 and accompanying state returns. The highest rate in our firm is the lead partner who bills at $150 an hour, and he typically only reviews returns. Usually, the larger the firm, the higher the rate, because you're paying more overhead. That's why I recommend going to a small, local CPA firm to have your taxes done.

goheels05 · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_poll-taxes?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:afb9e784-40fb-44bc-ab8d-8893c371241cPost:f4433a88-cd9f-4de5-a167-cea247d90400">Re: A poll on taxes</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: A poll on taxes : If you pay over $500 in tax preparation you can deduct it the following year. I'm not sure how much the deduction is, though.
Posted by msmerymac[/QUOTE]

I don't believe that is true. Businesses can always deduct tax preparation expenses. Individuals can deduct them if they itemize and if the cost you incur is greater than 2% of your income, and then only the amount in excess of 2% of your income is deductible.

arbolita · February 2010

My mom always buys one of the versions of TurboTax, and since you can use it to file up to 4 or 5 people, she lets me borrow the CD once she's done. Mr. Arb usually takes his to a tax guy, but when I did a test run of his last year on TurboTax, the result I came up with was the exact same as his tax guy, so I think he feels comfortable letting me be in charge of it this year.

A poll on taxes

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