Who does their own taxes?

[Toejam]

I do my own taxes using Turbo Tax and file electronically. If I have any questions, I go to a tax expert (my sister).

 

[Bikerdude]

What was the work experience like?

The first year was great only one office and got to work with other people. 2nd year they wanted me to anchor their 2nd store and that sucked. Mostly alone with no support so that was it for me.
[/quote]

I took one of those tax prep courses also which I paid for and was offered a job. I was surprised how "methodical" the tax prep process was.......I was more interested in the logic of the system and how to minimize my own liability, but there was little time for discussion as instructor was focused on completing the return quickly and very busy explaining terminology, etc that was already familiar to me.

I took the extended course that lasted 3.5 months two days/nights a week with a 6 inch textbook. Good course. Depends on the teacher however.
[/quote]

I declined the job offer as I was told by many that you could not make much money the 1st two years until you built up a client base....at that point many preparers take thier clients and go on thier own. I am potentially interested in working for a neighbor that has a growing franchise with the #2 chain.

Don't expect to make much money. Depending upon your hours expect to be bored or work hard (depending on traffic flow) and make 2K to 5K tops for the season unless you work in a low income area. You must sign a non-compete form that says you will not contact your customers for 2 years after you leave.

 

[Brat]

Do my own and my Mother's using TurboTax.

 

[VoyT]

Been using Tax Cut ... I used a tax guy the years I sold/bought houses (especially the year I had to rent out a house I couldn't sell). But tax life's been a bit less complicated these past few years.

 

[genghis]

We've always done our own. Back in the day when we didn't have much, it was fairly straightforward. Now that things are more complex, TurboTax has come to the rescue.

I'm on the same page with those who've said they are either:
A) Too cheap to pay someone else
B) Eager to understand the nuances of the tax laws thru iterative TurboTax runs
C) Of the opinion that getting all the pertinent info together is 90% of the task
D) Ultimately a control freak when it comes to personal finances

This past year we had a significant capital gain on some property that we sold, so we used a tax accountant (a friend who charged us a very reasonable hourly rate)to ensure we paid enough (but not too much!) in our quarterlies to avoid a fine - but I still intend to use TurboTax to actually do the taxes.... I'm already gulping at the size of the check I will be handing over to our friends at the IRS!!!!

 

[sgeeeee]

I do my own using Turbo Tax. I've done my own for 30 years but have only used Turbo Tax for about the last 15 or so. I don't find it that difficult to figure out tax laws and tax forms. The exercise of doing my taxes each year also teaches me something about optimizing my expenditures for tax reduction.

I don't see how a tax preparer could possibly do as much for me as I can do for myself. By knowing how the tax forms work, I can make sure my spending and receipts lead me to get the most for my money. If I wait until the end of the year and dump a bunch of receipts on a tax preparer, then all they can do is try to piece them together into as good a picture as they can make.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

I have always done my own, for 30 years or so. I compile a spreadsheet
for each year, doing all the figuring from there. I would never trust a CPA
or Turbotax. The most complicated parts of mine are the multicategory REIT
dividends and capital gains, nothing too complex.

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

Have done my own for the last 36 years by hand. Had a lady CPA and a buddy who is a CPA check them out 3 times through the years and I was always spot-on. 25 years ago the paper printed this full-page cartoon of a guy pulling his hair out at 4:am with forms strewn all over the place, and every year I diligently tape it to the wall. It reminds me of when I had 2 of my daughters attending the University of New Mexico and working, and I was doing 7 tax returns in the late evenings after working 12 hours. I was that guy. Could never get over the fact that if I paid someone and it was screwed up, the I.R.S. would come after me.

 

[Outtahere]

I've done my own since I was about 18 until I ended up being a partner in this company. I could probably do them on my own but since he does it for the 4 of us no charge I figure he can handle it. I check over what he does, even checked it in Turbo tax the first year. He's a good tax/company CPA and does his best to minimize our tax hit.

I did my sisters for her last year with Turbo Tax, I did it wrong and she is getting a nice little refund check because of it. Turbo Tax seemed to have a hard time with someone that lives in NH but works for a company in MA. I remember doing it over 3 times and it still gave me the same numbers so now I don't trust it for issues like that.

 

[simple girl]

I used to do ours myself with TurboTax every year. This year will be using a CPA due to having a rental property for the first time, plus living in several states.

 

[BUM]

As I approached ER it was obvious that I would have to disengage my CPA services and start doing my own taxes again... and the kids. Sticky wicket here is that I still keep my S corp open to handle residuals.

So 2 years ago I took my prior year's CPA-prepared returns (S Corp, 1040, and state) and "force-fit" them into the prior year's TurboTax Business and TurboTax Deluxe programs. You can buy back issues of TT on eBay cheaply.

Using the 2004 returns for practice, at my own pace with the aforementioned 2004 eBay TT program I was able to get my stuff onto TT without the stress of deadlines. The depreciation schedules were So when 2005 rolled around all I had to do was let the program migrate the old returns forward and I was all set.

Any masochist can do this.

 

[Moemg]

I've used CPA's when necessary otherwise Turbotax .

 

[Nords]

Any masochist can do this.

That sounds like a great career motto!

 

[Retire Soon]

I have also found TurboTax extremely valuable in estimating what my taxes would be after retirement. I simply entered some hypothetical numbers into the program and it gave me a close idea of what to expect in federal and state income taxes. Like many others on this board, I've always done my own tax preparation, but TurboTax makes it a million times easier.

 

[justin]

I do my own by hand. It's the best way for me to keep track of all the tax law changes and how I can save the most in taxes. I have fairly easy tax forms, no itemized deductions (yet), and a simple schedule D every once in a while.

I studied tax/accounting/business a lot during law school, so the ins and outs of basic tax prep are pretty easy for me to understand. I also did two seasons as a tax preparer in the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program where all my clients spoke Spanish and many were "nondocumented" immigrants or some other type of non-citizen resident/visa holder (this aspect greatly complicated otherwise simple tax returns). The VITA program also included a good training course on tax prep.

I also complete tax returns for various family members who have simple returns.

 

[Texas Proud]

I have done my own for most of my life... I was a tax accountant doing complicated returns when I graduated from college.... we are talking some that were over 500 pages thick... doing some of the arcane stuff in the code...

BUT, when I was an expat for awhile, my company paid for my returns for a few years... and I found an error every year they did the return (and this from one of the big four accounting firms)...

And to be fair, I have made mistakes that the IRS has caught and either dunned me for more taxes or sent me more money back... but I had done them by hand... I will use one of the free programs this year to get the math correct...

 

[donheff]

We use a CPA. DW pays tax in three states and her partnership form (K9?) never arrives until late March. I ran the numbers with Turbo Tax in 2005 using the same info we send to the CPA but he did a lot better than me. Convinced me that there can be value in professionals. When DW retires in a couple of years things will get relatively simple and we will probably DIY. I have run some post DW ER withdrawal scenarios through the 2004 Turbo Tax and thanks to suggestions here have downloaded H&R Tax Cut to run more this year.

 

[TromboneAl]

This is the last year I'll have the CPA do them, since they will be simpler next year -- the first full year of retirement. Also the taxes will be so low that even if I miss something, it won't make that much difference (maybe).

I'd been doing them myself until 7 years ago, when I switched to a CPA. He immediately saved us much more than his fee by showing how I could employ wife and daughter and deduct all medical expenses.

I'd recommend that even if you generally do them yourself, you hire a CPA once every several years to see if there's something you are missing.

Also, a convenient routine that I've developed is to have all the necessary tax-related reports on Quicken. I then just go through those, print to PDF's and send those PDF's to the accountant. Did that yesterday!

 

[Empty Pockets]

I own a small business, I have a great CPA who does everything for $250. I have to tip her $50 so I don't feel guilty.

 

[USK Coastie]

We use TurboTax for our returns and MIL's. I like the import feature for the 1099's from FInancial Institutes. Has made MIL's returns much easier and have not needed a CPA for hers in 4 yrs.

 

[BarbaraAnne]

I've done ours using Turbo Tax for about 5 years.

We used to use a CPA when we had a small business and rental homes but after closing the business and selling the rental homes our returns were quite simple. Ironically that's the time when the CPA wanted $750 (!) to complete our simple return. That's when I decided that using TurboTax would be a good idea. For us its a no-brainer...

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

my family acts as an excellent testing ground. we don't let members get away with squat. you screw up, we're throwing it in your face. we try to be a bit more gentle outside family, but among our own there is little holding back.

when i email my accountant uncle (who specializes in generational wealth), i never use puter speak. i become my old editor self, my grammer & language proofread & perfected. yes, i even use caps. so my brother throws that in my face. "why does uncle get the better emails?" because, brother dear, he's the bigger ball buster.

i just started using turbotax last year based on this forum's recommendation. when i told uncle, i was very surprised to get this odd momentary silence. i don't recall ever having silence from this guy who busts my chops at every opportunity. he knows i'm w*rking to learn about investment and taxes so i can do this on my own. still, if i was screwing up, he'd tell me. i would never get a compliment, but i have the sense that i must be doing something right. or at least right enough.

 

[HFWR]

Have always done my own, lately with TurboTax on the Web (thanks, Al). Nothing complicated enough to justify paying someone else.

 

[Ibid]

Could never get over the fact that if I paid someone and it was screwed up, the I.R.S. would come after me.

That's exactly why I've done my own since high school and my partner's since we've been living together. Figuring out tax on stock options was taking so much time (the first year I sold any) that I paid a CPA to look it over. When he gave it back to me, there were several errors. Forget that - pencil and paper and then run it through software and I'm done.

Sometimes I wish I could ask my Dad for help. He's a CPA who still does taxes (more than enough $$ but no desire to retire). He's so judgemental that nobody in the family wants him to touch their taxes. Oh well.

 

[Sheryl]

I was obsessive about doing my own - even after partial ownership in an S Corp, which complicates the heck out of things. But last year I could not get Turbo-Tax to recognize the existance of the S-Corp so I finally just gave up and gave it to our company accountant.

I was stunned when I got the bill, though! $800!!