Do you prepare your own tax return?

[mountainsoft]

We've always done our own taxes. We used the old paper forms until 2008. Then I started using EZTaxReturn.com to file online. It's faster, easier, and I don't have to make a trip to town to mail the paperwork. It does cost about $25 per year, but it's worth it to me.

 

[rk911]

yup, me and turbo tax. our finances are not all that complicated. had a cpa do our return fir 2-yrs back when we technically had three homes...2 sticks and bricks and an RV plus sold some mutual fund shares with a loss. the cpa prepared our return but i did also using TT. as i recall we the two returns were virtually identical. i've used TT ever since for our personal returns i acted as trustee for my bro-in-law's estate and defacto trustee for my mother-in-law's estate and in both cases i had a pro prepare the taxes.

 

[Jerry1]

I was a CPA but not a tax practitioner.... my career was in corporate financial reporting... I prepare a handful of returns these days... us, Mom, DS, DD & DSIL, aunt, friend.... all are pretty straight forward... a couple real estate rental properties but not sole proprietorships. I use TT.

My situation exactly.

I did taxes professionally for a couple years when I worked at a CPA firm. Frankly, for a good size firm, tax returns are a byproduct of doing the financial statements. Corporate taxes and tax planning are a different animal. For most individuals, you’re better off doing your own taxes because no one knows you like you know yourself. With the software available today, doing the taxes is pretty simple. For the cost of the software, you get the forms and stay up to date with any changes in tax law and of course all the calculations are done for you. Pretty good deal actually.

On this board, I’d imagine that the typical reason of people who don’t do their own is because they just don’t want to spend their time doing it. Kind of like paying to have your lawn mowed. Sure, you can do it yourself, but some people can’t or just don’t want to.

Tax planning is another matter. As is discussed frequently on this board, there are important decisions that retirees face as they manage the tax burden of pulling money from their IRA’s, manage their tax bracket and the cash flow associated with that and the income limits for ACA subsidies, to name a few.

 

[brett]

I used to have it done by a CPA. We have simplified and consolidated our finances. Now I do both of our returns. On line program.

 

[Alan]

I did our taxes for 25 years using TT mostly. When we moved back to England I took to using a dual qualified US/UK tax preparer as the UK/US tax Treaty adds a whole other level of complexity. I still do my own Louisiana tax return and our FBAR reports.

 

[RunningBum]

My own, with TT. Tried to save a few bucks with H&RB one year and had to file amended twice due to their errors/omissions. Back to TT for good. My taxes are usually pretty simple, and doing them myself helps me better understand how to make tax-efficient decisions.

 

[Lewis Clark]

As a very young adult I used a CPA ... because my dad would do it for free. : )

Been doing my own taxes for 30+ years.

 

[Helen]

I took our taxes to a CPA last year and I love not doing our taxes. We've been travelling a lot, especially in the winter and my heart just wasn't into do doing them. I am having the CPA do the taxes again this year but I may do them in Turbo Tax just to compare.

 

[foxfirev5]

I prepare my own taxes. The main reason is to understand the mechanics of the tax code for future planning. Roth conversions, future RMD's, witholding, managing LT Cap gains etc. The actual filing is easy simple score keeping after the fact. Nobody could have as much interest in my finances as I do.

For example if I decide to sell a property next year I may or may not want to take a little extra from the tIRA this year. Unrelated, but this is another reason I take the bulk of my retirement distributions at the end of the year.

 

[DrRoy]

Free TT from Fido.

 

[Midpack]

Free TT from Fido.

I’d forgotten it was free from Vanguard for many years, but I don’t mind paying for TT these days. I’ve been thinking about moving our IRAs to Fido, another small incentive maybe.

 

[Philliefan33]

I do our taxes with TurboTax, and always have except for a couple of years when DH first started contract work and we had some unusual (for us) things happening with the family LLC out of state. After following along with the paid preparer for two years I felt confident enough to do it alone again.

Once FIRE’d I started volunteering through AARP to help others file their taxes.

 

[joeea]

I am left wondering how many of your fine leisure-world folks have CPA's or do your own taxes? And why?

Since I was a teen, I have always done my own taxes - first on paper, more recently on the web.

Why? I tend to be very organized. I like to know the details. I've never found it hard. I dislike paying someone else to do tasks if I have the knowledge and the time to do them myself.

One year was rather complicated. When I completed my taxes, I ended up with a very large return and didn't feel confident that I had gotten everything right. I brought my data and return to a local tax preparer. He looked it over, told me I had done things right, and didn't charge me anything.

 

[jazz4cash]

I’ve always done my own. I prefer the non online version of the Bloch Taxcut software ($20). That covers 4 returns for individual family members.

When Megacorp gave me a relocation package it included a tax prep benefit for two years so I used a CPA. The first year I found 3 errors. He challenged me but eventually agreed that I was correct and corrected the return. The following year, he made the same errors! So many CPAs don’t specialize in taxes so it’s like going to the wrong doctor.

For those that use a tax prep service, I wonder what the cost is these days.

 

[target2019]

First 10 years I manually prepared our individual and then joint tax returns.

Next ten years, with self employment and her W-2, my brother's tax business prepared all.

Next decade I started using his Proseries to prepare all. He looked things over and filed.

Last 15 years or so, I worked at his firm a few times, and took over in-laws filing also. When he passed I started using TT and usually prepared 4-5 filings each year.

Last 2 years I became involved in a CPA tax business, preparing over 100 each year. I'm just data entry on those filings. CPA reviews and he's on the hook, so to speak.

 

[Lakedog]

I have always done my own - manually. I do have a spreadsheet to estimate taxes throughout the year which makes tax prep fairly simple.

 

[Independent]

I have always done my own. Now days, I input data into the free version of TT for a check on the final number. I use the IRS (and state) online fillable PDF forms, then print and mail hard copy.

I have a spreadsheet to do the math, estimate taxes during the year (so I can get the right withholding), and compare year-over-year changes.

 

[mrfeh]

I prepare our tax return, using TT. Pretty vanilla situation, except for an LLC membership, which results in a K-1.

 

[deserat]

I have always done my own - manually. I do have a spreadsheet to estimate taxes throughout the year which makes tax prep fairly simple.

+1 - I also do it to see what the federal government is up to with the tax regulations and policies...consider it part of my duty as a well informed citizen. I also have read about too many people having their identity stolen and the IRS making life miserable for them, so it's paper for me.

 

[scrabbler1]

I have always done my own - manually. I do have a spreadsheet to estimate taxes throughout the year which makes tax prep fairly simple.

One of my spreadsheet's features is to complete an estimated full-year tax return throughout the year so I can figure out if I need to make any estimated tax payments prior to the 4th quarter when I (usually) make my lone payment. I can run a what-if scenario whenever I like and figure out hw much cushion have for year-end cap gin distributions to retain my ACA premium subsidy.

 

[karen1972]

I prepare mine and my BF (and his business while it was a sole proprietership)... its now an LLC and we are having a CPA for that.

I hired a tax preparer 3 times
1. when I had 3 different states, but I felt they had done them wrong, called around and sure enough they didn't fact in local tax properly or my time as residency properly so I fixed it myself, my friend in the same boat didn't because he hired professionals and then got a tax bill and no help from said professional.

2. When I lived out of the country 1 year.

3. First time I had major stock sales (stock options, employee stock purchase, and my own trades). Just to compare to be sure I did it correctly.


Like everyone else I use Turbotax, I usually get an early version when it goes on sale on Amazon in like November, use it to pre-do the taxes to see if I have any room left for more free capital gain harvesting, then again when everything is ready to download. Between the transferring from last year and the importing there isn't much to do anymore as not much changes year to year.

I have occasionally used the free Turbotax online when our income qualified.

 

[SheitlQueen]

I used to use a tax preparer but the cost kept going up every year. I have two rentals and farm income, but between the tax software and reviewing the old tax preparation forms I've done it myself the last couple of years.

 

[Sue J]

I’ve always done ours myself. I used paper forms until online filing became available. Our personal taxes have always been fairly simple and I keep up on tax issues that apply to us. I also keep a spreadsheet that represents our current situation and project to the end of the year. I’ve been using Free Tax USA free filing online and it meets my needs just fine.

My Dad always had an accountant do his taxes. When he was elderly I helped him get ready. His accountant sent him a thick packet asking for all his numbers. I got everything ready, filled out the packet and sent it in. The accountants staff entered the data, filed electronically and sent him the bill. Heck, I could do that for free, I had done all the work! So the last few years that’s what I did. By then his financial life was fairly simple.

My son was self employed for many years and I helped him file with Schedule C, estimated quarterly payments, all the stuff involved in self employment. In 2018 he moved to W2 employee and had a child so next tax season I will teach him how to do his own taxes and hand it all over to him and his wife. Should be simple enough since his mortgage interest and taxes will be under the standard deduction. He also used free filing software and it always suited his needs.

I’m glad our tax lives are simple enough to have never paid for tax prep.

 

[Bir48die]

I have been a TT guy for many years. It has been a bigger challenge in year's past due to all the K-1's from the 25 odd MLP's in my portfolio. As time goes on they've been easier for me and only one or two hiccups that I eventually figure out. For the first time both Schwab and Fidelity allow me to import CG's and I/D's so I'm home free.

A few years ago I started doing taxes for Tax Aide on Taxslayer so have a couple different formats that I'm adept at. Now I do my MIL's along with a couple of friends.

No way I could do mine long hand.

 

[T-Minus]

Each year, I don’t make New Years’ resolutions, but I do have an overarching theme. In preparation for retirement, 2014 was the “year of simplification”. One of the results of this focus has been a marked reduction in financial complexity - and associated tax filings. Instead of seven (!) financial institutions, we now have two. Instead of dozens of investments, we now have seven. And many, many other changes. As a result, it is now a straightforward affair for me to do our taxes in TT, where before, I had to use a CPA for what he described as a moderately complex return.