Doing your taxes on your own

[agavegirl1]

Just a note to say...I am glad someone brought up this topic on the Budget Board. It is certainly a timely and valuable discussion and one that directly affects our bottom line.

 

[starry_solo]

I use TurboTax.

When I had a simple filing, I did it myself, by hand with my dad's help. Now that it's a bit more complicated with charitable deductions and various taxes, I get the deluxe+state TurboTax and file the federal for free. Then I go to my state's website and do the state for free, instead of paying $20 to go through TurboTax.

 

[agavegirl1]

State fillable forms are a great way to save money. Use your state's free electronic filing but make sure you file Federal first so your state refund will not be delayed due to inability to cross reference with Federal.

ETA: I am a professional tax preparer and the opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect those of the industry I work in.

 

[Dentam]

I've used Turbo Tax for 6 years now. This year was the most complicated with a home out of state that I'd been renting out and then sold. It took me a long time of reading all of the info on their site multiple times and doing searches for answers to some of my questions, but I got the federal and two state returns done. I paid $54.99 for federal and $34.99 for each state if I remember right. No extra charge for direct deposit and am anxiously awaiting my refunds now. I filed this past Saturday evening so hopefully I'll see the refunds by this weekend!

 

[daly7o9]

I tried using Turbo Tax this year and was confused about my husband's income. He teaches CPR for multiple companies. Some send W2s and some send 1099-misc's. Turbo Tax keeps saying that he's self employed (like he owns a business). Is he a 'business owner' or an independent contractor? Do we owe state taxes? We live in Florida, by the way. Turbo Tax is very confusing to me in this regard. I thought about going to H&R Block but, from some of the PP comments I've seen, this may not be a good idea.

 

[Smile4Me]

Thanks for the recommendations. I use to do mine for free on H&R Block.com but they changed their options and price structuring this year and needless to say I'm done with them. Looks like Turbo Tax is a strong option!

 

[havaneselover]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1904319,00.asp

Here's a decent comparison of online options.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

I have used h&r block online and filed with the best of both worlds to have the accountant double check our return. We have done this since 2010 and have always had our return completed within 2-3 days after we submitted it. This time i was on over 1 1/2 weeks with no response so I called today and they reimbursed me. I called a local h&r block and was able to schedule an appointment. When I went in, before we sat down, I asked for a price and showed her a list of our documents. She said it would be $150 and then a small additional fee because my DH has a 1099 and needs to file and a schedule c. First she does the taxes and tells me I owe $1500 federal and $1500 state. I told her when I did it online, I owed $200 federal and was getting back $400 state. She goes through again and says she missed putting in the state taxes from one of our w-2's and now came up with the amounts I had when I did it online. Then she was stuck and needed help so she clearly did not know what she was doing. She finishes and tells me the cost is $398! I said when I walked in, you told me it was $150. She goes yes and I said there would be a fee for the schedule C. I said you told me a small fee, this is more then double! So I left without filing. I am done with h&r block. I have lost so many hours with them since I first did my taxes online, then the phone calls when no one was responding to my submission, and the time today in the office. We have also filed a schedule c for the past two years with my DH's 1099 and never paid additional with h&r blocks online with a tax professional reviewing. For $398, I will see a cpa! So now I need to find an accountant.

 

[Cadiewampus]

Ok kind of unrelated but have tax question. My son part time worker full time student(lives out of state) filed his on line a week or so ago with HR Block. Few days after he filed I received a 1099 for regular dividend on an account he had. We both had forgotten completely about this when he filed. Anyway it was for a whopping $72. Not positive of his income but it is probably between 15k and 17k. Can you file amended return on line with them?

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I am a freelancer/consultant. I have an accountant and I love him. He's very reasonable (usually costs me about $150) and when I was audited, he handled the whole thing on my behalf.

 

[StephMK]

I filed ours on 2/3 through taxact.com and the refund went in our account today. I have the state scheduled to get paid late next month and it's nice to have it done. I love the quick turnaround!

 

[mslhb]

We use Turbo Tax. It is super easy. If you google fidelity turbo tax there is a link on the fidelity site to TT where the deluxe version is $24.

 

[Dentam]

My federal refund was deposited today. Six days after I filed, so I'm very happy with the turn around. Turbo Tax has worked great for me. Wish I'd known about the Fidelity discount!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We also use TurboTax.

 

[CrystalPalace76]

My DH is an Accountant so he has always done the taxes on his own, but he does recommends Turbo Tax.

 

[sdoll]

Op here with an update! I just finished doing my taxes with turbo tax. I will never do it any other way! It was super easy and other than being disappointed in the results I couldn't be happier!

 

[Sagginit]

I tried using Turbo Tax this year and was confused about my husband's income. He teaches CPR for multiple companies. Some send W2s and some send 1099-misc's. Turbo Tax keeps saying that he's self employed (like he owns a business). Is he a 'business owner' or an independent contractor? Do we owe state taxes? We live in Florida, by the way. Turbo Tax is very confusing to me in this regard. I thought about going to H&R Block but, from some of the PP comments I've seen, this may not be a good idea.

I know someone who has had issues like this with past employment in home health care. What they found out the hard way was even if they were given a W2 they were classified as an independent contractor by the IRS and their income should have all been filed that way. I would think if your husband works for multiple companies he is being viewed at by some as a consultant who is hired independently, and yep, self-employed. You may want to look into this right away as you may instead need some companies to switch the W2s to 1099s. If you file it the IRS holds you responsible not the company so its important to get it right. I would consultant a professional here as this is something a computer program may not be much help with.

 

[manning]

Ok kind of unrelated but have tax question. My son part time worker full time student(lives out of state) filed his on line a week or so ago with HR Block. Few days after he filed I received a 1099 for regular dividend on an account he had. We both had forgotten completely about this when he filed. Anyway it was for a whopping $72. Not positive of his income but it is probably between 15k and 17k. Can you file amended return on line with them?

I forgot a 1099 once. File a 1040-X and wait for them to send you a bill. I sent the balance owed and they returned it

 

[barkley]

Disclaimer: I am a professional tax preparer and the opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect those of the indaustry or company for which I work.

Okay OP and a few others who have chimed in. Everything depends on the complexity of your return. For those with sole proprietorships, Turbo Tax Home and business works well if you have a good grasp on your accounting and only do business in one state. I used it for years when I had a business without issue. It costs about $80 and your state filing will cost extra but federal is free.

For online so called "free filing"...the free part is for the 1040 and 1040A. If you itemize deductions, there may be an additional charge for Federal and state. Multi-states cost extra and require a knowledge of reciprocity or no reciprocity. Check the fine print. Remember, you are responsible for the representations and information on your return if you make an error. The most common reason I get new customers is that they tried to file on their own, messed up, assumed the taxing authority was correct then they later got a bill for extra tax. They then said..."I am not doing this on my own anymore".

I frequently Amend previously filed returns for years when the taxpayer made an error. The adjustment was really NOT going against the taxpayer, they just didn't know how to answer all the questions correctly in the software they used and they were often unaware of other deductions and credits to which they were entitiled.

All of this said...simple returns (no itemizing, no business etc) use an online free file program. If you consider your time more valuable or your return more complex, consider your tax knowledge and either use purchased software for your situation or use a tax service. Research your preparer well if you do use a preparer. Some Tax services are better than others for home based businesses or complex Schedule A (employee business expense comes to mind).

I hope this helps some of you out there and please note my disclaimer. PS....I am a CPA

I'm quoting this in the hopes this cpa or other cpa's might chime in on what I'm going to ask below (as well as those who file on their own).


is anyone else having issues with tax software (be it professional through a cpa or on your own) being (for lack of a better word) 'whacked' if you have a college student who is your dependent?

I am seeing so many issues reported on the college parent and tax software websites about issues with 1098's, taxable grants/scholarships and tax credits because of new tweaks to programs to prevent fraudulent deductions and 'double dipping'. many parents of dependent college students are reporting that the various tax software programs are calling upon them to duplicate report 1098, grant/income information as well as expenses such that they are fearful that when they finally officially file, the information that gets imported from their/their dependent college student's returns to the FASFA will be duplicated and wreak havoc.

I would appreciate any input on this issue.

 

[Southernmiss]

I'm quoting this in the hopes this cpa or other cpa's might chime in on what I'm going to ask below (as well as those who file on their own).


is anyone else having issues with tax software (be it professional through a cpa or on your own) being (for lack of a better word) 'whacked' if you have a college student who is your dependent?

I am seeing so many issues reported on the college parent and tax software websites about issues with 1098's, taxable grants/scholarships and tax credits because of new tweaks to programs to prevent fraudulent deductions and 'double dipping'. many parents of dependent college students are reporting that the various tax software programs are calling upon them to duplicate report 1098, grant/income information as well as expenses such that they are fearful that when they finally officially file, the information that gets imported from their/their dependent college student's returns to the FASFA will be duplicated and wreak havoc.

I would appreciate any input on this issue.

We filed last Monday using Tax Act. We claimed a son in college who had a 1098 and had no trouble. Dh had looked up answers to a couple of our questions about claiming him and his scholarships before we filed. Dh is an accountant working in auditing so he does have a professional understanding of taxes which definitely helps. Because that ds's only income was his scholarships (no job this year), his tax filing was all done in our 1 tax return. He does not have to file his own return this year. I completed his fafsa, and only need him to sign it electronically.

For years, I had done our taxes with turbo tax, but for 2 years straight they had issue with appropriately handling a stock dividend I have. After that we switched to tax act. It's cheaper, and just as easy to file.

Because Dh referees soccer on the side and receives 1099s for that, we file a small business schedule c, also. He's considered a small business owner by the irs.