Taxes beyond the 1040 - do them yourself?

[Nana2Callie]

I usually do our taxes (instead of paying preparer) but this year we're adding rental property to the mix so I'm wondering how many still do their own taxes beyond the standard 1040 itemization. Thanks,

 

[Marionnette]

I usually do our taxes (instead of paying preparer) but this year we're adding rental property to the mix so I'm wondering how many still do their own taxes beyond the standard 1040 itemization. Thanks,

We haven't done our own taxes in years. But we own a small business, which is registered as an LLC. We also rent out an apartment on the second floor of the building. And then there are our personal taxes and we pay quarterly taxes instead of payroll deductions because we are self-employed. Our taxes are too complicated for us to attempt on our own. Our accountant is worth every penny that we pay him!

 

[jedijill]

I owned a rental property for 5 years (house wouldn't sell after I moved out of state). I used Turbo Tax Premier every year and it made it very easy to deduct all the rental property expenses.

HTH

Jill in CO

 

[disykat]

We do our own. With two kids in college right now it's a little complicated, but not bad enough to have to hire help.

 

[My3Princez]

We have a rental home and I have a very small photography business. I do our taxes every year with Turbo Tax. Did ours yesterday and it took a couple hours. I keep good records all year, so it's not too hard.

 

[KennesawNemo]

I used to calculated all my taxes manually, without software help. I didn't have rental at that time, but did itemize mortgage, tuition, charitable donation and childcare. I also dealt with incomes from multiple states.

It was definitely doable, but it was a pain. Now that we are in better financial situation, I consider the $65 on TurboTax money well spent.

 

[Sadie22]

I used to calculated all my taxes manually, without software help. I didn't have rental at that time, but did itemize mortgage, tuition, charitable donation and childcare. I also dealt with incomes from multiple states.

It was definitely doable, but it was a pain. Now that we are in better financial situation, I consider the $65 on TurboTax money well spent.

I did the taxes manually before the software was available. I have been using Intuit Quicken and Turbotax Home and Business/now Personal and Small Business for quite a few years now.

 

[tnd]

We have a rental property in addition to our regular income/investment stuff and I do the taxes with the use of TaxAct.com and reading the Internal Revenue Code and IRS website as needed. The IRS has very helpful publications that I think are clear. I should add that I am a lawyer (not a tax lawyer though) and took tax law classes in law school, so I might have an advantage, but the IRS website is really quite good. I think you can do it, especially with a program that guides you with questions.

I would agree with previous posters that good records are the key! We have a property management company and they send us a very detailed statement each year showing the income, expenses, and any costs incurred (replacement or repair of appliances, etc.). That really helps with the taxes.

 

[eliza61]

not anymore. another with rental income, inheritance issues, college tuition, capital gains, yada,yada yada. for me it was simply just not worth the headache for me to try anId do it myself.

I'm in the "cpa is so worth it" column. my guy only runs me a couple of hundred bucks though. I figure that's what I'd spend on a movie and nice dinner for me and my kids.

 

[artemis4]

I usually do our taxes (instead of paying preparer) but this year we're adding rental property to the mix so I'm wondering how many still do their own taxes beyond the standard 1040 itemization. Thanks,

We own two LLCs and rental property. My husband does the accounting for all. For a number of years, my FIL (CPA who did taxes in his retirement) did our taxes, but DH took over our taxes when FIL stopped doing them two years ago. He does use Turbo Tax Premier for the person taxes and Turbo Tax Business for the LLCs' taxes.

We joke that accounting is in DH's blood since FIL and BIL are both CPAs, but ADHD would make that a miserable full-time career for DH. In addition to doing all of our business accounting, DH ends up the treasurer for almost every non-profit organization he volunteers with.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I have a very small side business, which I don't even bother having a separate LLC for. I still do my own taxes (through TurboTax).

 

[scrapquitler]

We have an LLC, and pay a CPA to the business taxes and our taxes. We figure that it's a business expense, and if there is every any question (ie. an audit) of WHY we deducted something or how the tax return was done, it's good to know that we have a professional behind us to explain why it was done the way it was.

Sure, it's an extra expense, but it gives us enough peace of mind that we think it's worth it.

 

[Ginny Favers]

I have a small side business. I used to do the taxes myself until I used a CPA and he found all these deductions I didn't know I could take. It's also good to know he will represent me in the event of an audit. Now I just stick with him.

 

[lauradis]

I can change oil, tires, etc. But I would rather have the pros do it. Same with taxes.

Somethings are just worth paying a professional to do. Taxes is one of them for us.

 

[tina.tina]

Since DH began his self-employment sideline which is not an LLC, I do our taxes with an online program. It was easier for me than just trying to read and find what to do all on my own and conveniently enabled me to efile. I've used the same one ever since because it's so easy when they already have all my info. Since my sister worked at H&R Block for the past couple of years, she confirmed that I correctly understood some mileage issues that I had looked up online last year. You can find everything online and can do it yourself.

But, if you have any questions, you can always use a CPA this year and try it on your own next year if you're comfortable.

I also wanted to say that my Dad told me I needed a CPA to do my taxes when I first got married. We had no itemization, no children, no anything- just 2 regular incomes. I had already done our taxes but he told me he would pay for it if I would take them to a CPA and they didn't get me more money back. They rounded everything when I used exact amounts, so technically I guess they got me back a little more change and he wouldn't pay for it. He told me I'd learned a valuable lesson. Every year at tax time I still tell him he owes me $30 (it was a long time ago and our return was simple).

 

[wannaheadsouth]

I do ours myself. We have schedule A, B, C, D and E this year. I was a tax manager in a CPA firm for 5 years so I don't really mind.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We have 2 rental properties and I have used TT for years. You need to get the one that includes rentals though. I believe it is the premier edition. The first year you have to set everything up for depreciation, etc, but if you keep good records it isn't complicated. Then the subsequent years are quicker. Just stay organized with your expenses throughout the year. Also, you want to spend some time researching what you can write off and what you can't. All the info is easily found on the web.
In our case, we haven't been able to write off our losses for the last several years since we are above the income threshold, but the program carries the losses from year to year and if we are able to ever write off the back-losses it will remember for me.
Good luck!

 

[Nana2Callie]

Disneymagicgirl - I was wondering about the depreciation set up and you answered that. I think I'll go with the software and give myself plenty of time to research - thanks everyone!

 

[amcnj]

Was a "manual" tax person till it started getting hard to find forms anywhere, and I didn't want to print out so many pages ( do my own as well as for 5 other family members). The software packages make pretty quick work of things like rental properties. just make sure the version you buy covers this area.

 

[JCMHutch]

We have a rental home and I have a very small photography business. I do our taxes every year with Turbo Tax. Did ours yesterday and it took a couple hours. I keep good records all year, so it's not too hard.

We have a rental property (plus a small consulting side gig) and have used Turbo Tax for years. We keep receipts for everything and we have had no issues. We still find it worth doing ourselves instead of having someone do it.