Tax Preparation Options

BGF_Yankee

BGF_Yankee

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My taxes are not overly difficult each year. One W-2, a couple 1099s, etc. For years I've used TurboTax to file my taxes, and have been happy with the refunds that they've been able to get me. However, just on a whim yesterday, I entered all my information into another website as well and their projected refund was almost 20% higher than what TurboTax was saying. Just got me wondering...for any of you out there that are in a similar situation, do you have any recommendations on who you use? Is it really worth it to have someone prepare them in the hope they can get you more for your money?
 
I use a human accountant to do my taxes.
 
I use TaxAct. After my wife said all her friends use accountants I took all my stuff to an accountant and he came up with the same answer as TaxAct did.
 
BGF_Yankee said:
My taxes are not overly difficult each year. One W-2, a couple 1099s, etc. For years I've used TurboTax to file my taxes, and have been happy with the refunds that they've been able to get me. However, just on a whim yesterday, I entered all my information into another website as well and their projected refund was almost 20% higher than what TurboTax was saying. Just got me wondering...for any of you out there that are in a similar situation, do you have any recommendations on who you use? Is it really worth it to have someone prepare them in the hope they can get you more for your money?
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what was different?
 
I've been using TaxCut (or whatever the HR Block version is called). I used to use TurboTax for many years.

Some day I'll use a human.

Note: I just saw in the paper this morning that TurboTax has been issuing refunds and apologies to customers who had to upgrade to the Deluxe version. Apparently, people who had been using the Schedule A with a particular version of the 1040 for many years with the Basic version, found out that this particular combination of forms is only available in the Deluxe version now.
 
I use TaxSlayer. Then again in 2014, I only have 1 W-2 and 2 1099s (bank interest and state tax refund), and the only deductions I have are license tags, state income tax, and property tax. So, there's no point in my paying a tax person any money to do something so simple.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
what was different?
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Nothing. I input the same information on both sites, but the second one came back with return almost 20% higher (@$350). I was confused to say the least. Neither really does a good job explaining why they arrived at the number they did.

EdFred said:
I use TaxSlayer. Then again in 2014, I only have 1 W-2 and 2 1099s (bank interest and state tax refund), and the only deductions I have are license tags, state income tax, and property tax. So, there's no point in my paying a tax person any money to do something so simple.
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That's exactly how I feel. I do not however feel comfortable just doing the paperwork myself. Not my bag.
 
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My taxes are simple enough that I can do it in a couple of hours manually (including gathering the forms, receipts, etc).
 
BGF_Yankee said:
Nothing. I input the same information on both sites, but the second one came back with a higher return. I was confused to say the least. Neither really does a good job explaining why they arrived at the number they did.
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I think I'd be inclined to print out each and make a line-by-line comparison.....:eek:
 
A spread sheet that I made years ago and update each year per the paper tax form.

I have multiple w2's, 1099R, 1099Misc, self employed... Once you figure out which forms to use, you just walk through line by line.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
I think I'd be inclined to print out each and make a line-by-line comparison.....:eek:
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Yup, some entry is different. Simple taxes are easy enough to check. When I first started using tax software I also figured the taxes manually. Anymore it's just a glance at it check after going through all the built-in checks. No big deal but it does take some time.
 
I used TurboTax once maybe 25 years ago and it took so long that I swore I'd never do that again. It just seemed overly complex, with hundreds of pop-up windows that had nothing to do with anything related to my sources of income. It was horrible. I just take everything to my acct. now and for $350 she takes care of everything.
 
Been using the same guy / firm for 30+ years...... Happy so far...
 
Gerhardt said:
I used TurboTax once maybe 25 years ago and it took so long that I swore I'd never do that again. It just seemed overly complex, with hundreds of pop-up windows that had nothing to do with anything related to my sources of income. It was horrible. I just take everything to my acct. now and for $350 she takes care of everything.
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The TaxCut and TurboTax systems now are pretty simple. They walk you through an 'interview', which forces you to round up all your paperwork. By the end of the interview, your taxes are done. I've never been to a human pro, but I imagine the process isn't much different.
 
Matthew said:
The TaxCut and TurboTax systems now are pretty simple. They walk you through an 'interview', which forces you to round up all your paperwork. By the end of the interview, your taxes are done. I've never been to a human pro, but I imagine the process isn't much different.
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Yeah...But...

When something goes haywire, I would rather have a breathing human being to take the burden, then try and use a 30 dollar receipt for DIY software from Staples as a" get out of jail card"..;)..:yes:
 
N801BH said:
Yeah...But...

When something goes haywire, I would rather have a breathing human being to take the burden, then try and use a 30 dollar receipt for DIY software from Staples as a" get out of jail card"..;)..:yes:
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So....whatcha gonna do with that human?

You are still responsible for what gets filed. :eek:
 
Checkout_my_Six;1677192[B said:
]So....whatcha gonna do with that human?[/B]

You are still responsible for what gets filed. :eek:
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Guess......;)
 
N801BH said:
Yeah...But...

When something goes haywire, I would rather have a breathing human being to take the burden, then try and use a 30 dollar receipt for DIY software from Staples as a" get out of jail card"..;)..:yes:
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Pretty sure the fine print on TurboTax and TaxCut says they'll provide some kind of service if their product causes the audit or fine (like pay the fine for you). But, yeah, you are the one who has be aware of the Garbage In Garbage Out problem all by yourself. They do try to do a self-audit when you finish in an attempt to go through and find any areas where you entered a value that is grossly above or below average and then ask you to verify.
 
Been using Turbotax for quite a few years. Certainly won't put personal financial information on any old website. Heck, a few hundred bucks would be worth it to not have such a security breach.
 
Pencil, Paper, and an HP calculator.
Been doing it that way for 52 years, no reason to change.
And since the IRS wants to extort funds to do electronic filing, that also gets done on paper with the help of USPS

((oh yeah, huh --- I do sign in pen, vs pencil))
[[ long form 1040 with attachments and supplements ]]
 
I use TaxAct. Free Federal filing. I file directly online with Illinois; it's simple enough and TaxAct usually lets you calculate state taxes for free, just not file, so I can double check things.

I tried using the IRS Free Fillable Forms this year that does only minimal calculations; I found it to be a pain (minimal means VERY minimal) and would rather do pencil and paper, but I like the online filing aspect and saving everything as a pdf for posterity so I went back to TaxAct.
 
I use Tax Cut(HR Block). I've used TurboTax in the past, and I've used an accountant. About 6 years ago, I did all three the same year and compared. All the taxes due were different even though I tried very carefully to put the same info for all three methods. My taxes are pretty complicated.

It's the nature of schedules, and deductions, and recapture, etc. Nothing is cast in stone anymore. I prefer Tax Cut because it will allow me to easily override entries, although that can be done in TurboTax also.

I can't recommend either as better, both seem to do a good job, and cost far less than a human accountant. However, if you don't know what you're doing a tax accountant is the right way to go. I would never put info into a website, never.
 
Have used an accountant for most of my life. Now that I'm retired,thinking of going the self prepared route. Or a product like turbo tax.
 
Vinny said:
I tried using the IRS Free Fillable Forms this year that does only minimal calculations; I found it to be a pain (minimal means VERY minimal) and would rather do pencil and paper, but I like the online filing aspect and saving everything as a pdf for posterity so I went back to TaxAct.
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You can download the forms and fill them out by typing in the numbers in adobe reader (the forms have fields for you to type into) then you can save as .pdf, and print and mail the paper copies.
 

Attachments

After years using a warm body I switched to H&R block about 8 years ago and have been pleased with the level of service from the person assigned to our account.
 
Hybrid here.

I use TurboTax, but don't worry about having the current year. For instance I was using 2008 until last year, when I finally updated. For this year I'll just use last year's version.

Why? I use it mainly as a place to gather my info. So I don't worry about changing rates or deductibles or the like. Once done, I take it to an accountant.

Might seem like wasted/duplicated effort, but I think being involved and actually inputting the numbers gives me a better idea of our financial situation and to spot trends.
 
Bob Noel said:
My taxes are simple enough that I can do it in a couple of hours manually (including gathering the forms, receipts, etc).
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I could probably do mine myself. It would take about 6 months and I'd probably go to jail for something. I pay an accountant an exorbitant (but well earned) amount to do mine. And I still wind up paying $$,$$$ every year.
 
JOhnH said:
I could probably do mine myself. It would take about 6 months and I'd probably go to jail for something. I pay an accountant an exorbitant (but well earned) amount to do mine. And I still wind up paying $$,$$$ every year.
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Anyone want to "ballpark" their accounting fees are per year ???:dunno:

I have a gut feeling my guy is very reasonable...:confused:


My returns are not real complicated.. ie ; personal, S corp with rental property,, machinery purchases, depreciation, The most complicated stuff is my R&D aircraft with all the testing and marketing involved.... Aviation machine work on custom biz jet components with global sales... Etc etc....
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
You can download the forms and fill them out by typing in the numbers in adobe reader (the forms have fields for you to type into) then you can save as .pdf, and print and mail the paper copies.
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Yeah, full disclosure - I work for IRS. I've seen the state of our processing centers these days, which is why I go the electronic filing route rather than using the mail. :eek: I want that filing confirmation, because we can get canned for not filing on time.

For exempt org or other non-personal no-tax-due returns, I use the downloadable PDFs from our public site and mail in, because there really aren't any free online filing options (save for the "postcard" filing for teeny tiny charities)
 
When my taxes were complicated, with lot of exemptions and deductions, two incomes on W2s plus investments, interest, 3 State returns and other stuff I used an accountant. He must have been good, because now he owns a $2mil house in San Diego and a nice house in Chicago and a 5-location CPA business in two states.

Now I use HR Block software that is downloadable or available in many places on Disc. It seems to do a good thorough job and gets me what looks like the best possible results and does electronic filing.
 
Moderate complexity, taxes. I used to be a computer geek and used various software.

Switched to an accountant a while back and don't miss doing any of it.

Also can't get referrals to other financial biz professionals from a computer software box.

When he recommended we do something, he also gave us friend/business acquaintance's contact info for those services.

The referrals were good and appreciated. PITA to weed out the scumbags in financial stuff.
 
FastEddieB said:
About $400.

For a return of what I'd say is of moderate complexity.
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I am within 10 bucks of your experiences too... My guy files all the quarterly stuff, year end stuff.. And........... He is tax deductable...:yes::yes::)
 
N801BH said:
I am within 10 bucks of your experiences too... My guy files all the quarterly stuff, year end stuff.. And........... He is tax deductable...:yes::yes::)
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That's also something I like. I paid about the same for the software, net outlay, as I do for the more expensive accountant, and the get to deduct the accountant fees next year. Meaning net/net, I'm actually better off letting him do all the work. (Yes the software is also deductible.). Or at least a wash. With less work by me.
 
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For years I used H&R Block in-office but they got too expensive so last year I used their online tax prep. Just for grins I ran my numbers thru TurboTax's online service and realized that H&R Block's online tax prep missed the deduction for the prior year's tax preparation fees I'd paid and TurboTax didn't miss that. Too late as I'd already filed thru H&R Block so I missed out on getting a few bucks more on my refund. So this year I'll probably use TurboTax instead since it seemed slightly more thorough in getting me back the best refund possible.
 
So, I took the time to run my taxes through H&R Block online after having done them through Turbotax on my PC. Turbotax is getting me around $300 more back than H&R Block. Dunno why. So, filing with Turbotax this time for sure.

David
 
$27.90 for me this year.

Turns out from here on out, I can probably skip using any sort of third party. I forgot I switched my checking account to a zero interest, and all my other money is in tax free accounts. So, no 1099-INT forms. I also couldn't even come up with enough deductions to meet the standard deduction of $6200.
 
Turbotax. When I encounter something I don't know how to do I file for an extension then see a CPA in the summer to ask my question, and I have him glance over the rest of my return. He charges very little for this consultation, less than the cost of turbotax.
 
With respect to why one program generated more refund than the other: I'd suggest you carefully review exactly what you entered for your W-2 and 1099's, and also the birthdays of any dependants.

If you miss enter a code or birthday that can create this issue.
 
N801BH said:
Anyone want to "ballpark" their accounting fees are per year ???:dunno:

I have a gut feeling my guy is very reasonable...:confused:


My returns are not real complicated.. ie ; personal, S corp with rental property,, machinery purchases, depreciation, The most complicated stuff is my R&D aircraft with all the testing and marketing involved.... Aviation machine work on custom biz jet components with global sales... Etc etc....
Click to expand...

That should cost around $300 - $500 here in Austin, done by an Enrolled Agent or CPA.
 
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