Amethyst
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2008
- Messages
- 12,668
Hello Forum Friends; I know this is long, sorry.
We have always paid a CPA to do our income tax returns. This year, the firm raised their rates significantly (see sample rates below). We are looking at $1400 or more to prepare our state and local returns– including entering 1099’s at $10 a pop. If we get all the info to them by this Friday, there is a 10% discount.
I realize the firm has to pay somebody to enter the data, but still…. we are required to present them with all our 2010 data in a carefully organized form. It’s not like I walk into their office carrying a shoebox full of paper.
I would like to hear your views on how to approach the CPA about my doing the data input (usingTaxAct) , and paying his hourly rates for consultation on aspects that I don’t fully understand, or where I can’t figure out what to enter from last year’s return (we get paper printouts of the worksheets). I’m very in favor of paying professionals for their knowledge – not for data entry that I can do myself. What would be a good way to phrase/frame my approach?
Although it may seem quite straighforward, I feel this is a sensitive matter because a) I have never done our taxes b) our taxes are fairly complex and c) it will be asking the firm to give up quite a bit of $$.
To pin down where I’d need help, I did a mock-up 2010 return in TaxAct, using the step-by-step Q&A option. As it turned out, TaxAct did a good job of calculating refund (small Fed, no State), AMT (yes ) and estimated tax payments.
Things got murkier when it came to rental property, capital losses, and calculating the non-taxable portion of my husband’s pension.
Sometimes, TaxAct asked me to enter information from a line on our 2009 return or a worksheet connected with it, but the corresponding lines from our 2009 return didn’t match up. Other times, TaxAct referred me to IRS pubs. Although I ‘m not a stranger to bureaucratic documents (JCIDS manual, anyone?)– some of the IRS instructions make my head spin. These are the worrisome areas where I’d need the CPA’s advice:
· Capital loss carry-overs for a)rental property and b) other investments sold at a loss
· Pension exclusion (husband has CSRS pension; some portion of it consists of already-taxed money that he paid in, and I cannot figure out what numbers to plug into the “simplified method” in order to calculate the portion that should be tax-free)
· Depreciation – of property, as well as of items purchased for the property
2010 Rates (Sample):
· 1040 long form and state form: $395 (up from $225 in 2009! And people say there’s no inflation)
· Each 1099 (of any kind) $10.00
· Rental & Royalty Income per property $120
· Depreciation & Amortization $50
· AMT $95
· Passive Activity Loss Limitation $80
Any help is appreciated!
Thanks,
Amethyst
We have always paid a CPA to do our income tax returns. This year, the firm raised their rates significantly (see sample rates below). We are looking at $1400 or more to prepare our state and local returns– including entering 1099’s at $10 a pop. If we get all the info to them by this Friday, there is a 10% discount.
I realize the firm has to pay somebody to enter the data, but still…. we are required to present them with all our 2010 data in a carefully organized form. It’s not like I walk into their office carrying a shoebox full of paper.
I would like to hear your views on how to approach the CPA about my doing the data input (usingTaxAct) , and paying his hourly rates for consultation on aspects that I don’t fully understand, or where I can’t figure out what to enter from last year’s return (we get paper printouts of the worksheets). I’m very in favor of paying professionals for their knowledge – not for data entry that I can do myself. What would be a good way to phrase/frame my approach?
Although it may seem quite straighforward, I feel this is a sensitive matter because a) I have never done our taxes b) our taxes are fairly complex and c) it will be asking the firm to give up quite a bit of $$.
To pin down where I’d need help, I did a mock-up 2010 return in TaxAct, using the step-by-step Q&A option. As it turned out, TaxAct did a good job of calculating refund (small Fed, no State), AMT (yes ) and estimated tax payments.
Things got murkier when it came to rental property, capital losses, and calculating the non-taxable portion of my husband’s pension.
Sometimes, TaxAct asked me to enter information from a line on our 2009 return or a worksheet connected with it, but the corresponding lines from our 2009 return didn’t match up. Other times, TaxAct referred me to IRS pubs. Although I ‘m not a stranger to bureaucratic documents (JCIDS manual, anyone?)– some of the IRS instructions make my head spin. These are the worrisome areas where I’d need the CPA’s advice:
· Capital loss carry-overs for a)rental property and b) other investments sold at a loss
· Pension exclusion (husband has CSRS pension; some portion of it consists of already-taxed money that he paid in, and I cannot figure out what numbers to plug into the “simplified method” in order to calculate the portion that should be tax-free)
· Depreciation – of property, as well as of items purchased for the property
2010 Rates (Sample):
· 1040 long form and state form: $395 (up from $225 in 2009! And people say there’s no inflation)
· Each 1099 (of any kind) $10.00
· Rental & Royalty Income per property $120
· Depreciation & Amortization $50
· AMT $95
· Passive Activity Loss Limitation $80
Any help is appreciated!
Thanks,
Amethyst
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