Tax Return Fee

[SecondCor521]

Yeah I'm deep into Pub 970 - the example on page 53 which covers the coordination of QTP distributions with credits seems to apply exactly to my situation. And that requires 1099-Q input.

Oh yeah, that one.

The easiest way is to not do NQ QTP distributions. Allocate $4K of OOP expenses to AOTC, then distribute from QTP for the remainder. Done, no math, no muss, no fuss.

 

[old medic]

And I was complaining our Credit Union went up from $75 to $95 this year...

 

[iloveyoga]

Does anyone know for sure which other free tax software allows you to see the forms without paying?

I've done my taxes directly on freefilefillableforms for years. This thread has made me interested in signing up to be a Tax Aide volunteer next year. I'd like to try some tax software to both confirm I'm not missing anything in my own return and also to check out the software, and be able to compare its output forms with mine.

I tried OLT and it allows me to see the forms (yay!) but I can't figure out how to tell it that a distribution from a 529 plan account was used for eligible college expenses so should be tax free. It keeps adding the earnings portion to my taxable income. If the same kind of thing happened with TurboTax and I couldn't see the forms I probably wouldn't figure out what was happening.

So I'm looking for any other free software that lets me see completed forms, even if it wants payment to efile them. Thanks.

I've not found a free service where you did not have to reenter all past data, so I will be watching this thread. It is worth it to me to pay $50 not to have to reenter everything and also that causes more risk of an error.

 

[leftcoastjayhawk]

I've used TaxCut (now H&R Block Tax) every year since 1988 (with 5 1/4" floppy disks and dot matrix printers!). Now I download the Windows version from Amazon for Fed and State with free federal e-filing for under $35. These tax programs make it easy with an interview style data input system that handles everything. The hardest part is just gathering the data, which you have to do anyway for a tax preparer.

We have rental properties, stock transactions, etc. Tax programs like H&R Block Tax or Turbo Tax (on your computer) will transfer everything from the previous year so you do not have to re-enter information like depreciation, carry-forward tax loses, state tax refunds, etc. And H&R Block Tax (like TurboTax) can load Fidelity and other major broker's 1099 data directly from them into the program so, no filling out the interview form for those are necessary either.


I always found the most time consuming part of tax preparation was determining the "thrift shop value" of donated items to Goodwill, and with the doubling of the Standard Deduction, there is no need to do that anymore! Thanks Congress!

 

[meleana]

I always did our returns on Tax Act. Seemed to get more expensive every year.


2 years ago when we moved out of state we used a CPA because I just didn't want to deal with it. Charge was $325.



Then I got lazy and used the same firm last year and they made two major mistakes that I discovered and they had to do an amended return! Charge was $350. I made the mistake of not asking for a discount since they made the mistakes.



A glutton for punishment I gave them another chance this year and low and behold I discovered another mistake! And we have a pretty simple return!



All these mistakes would have resulted in us getting a much less refund! I asked for a discount on their fee this time so instead of $375 he charged us $300.


Next year I am going to try Turbo Tax as T Rowe Price offers a discount and their forms can be uploaded right into Turbo Tax, thus eliminating me having to input the brokerage info which I hate doing. Plus it will be less expensive than using the CPA and having to check his work.

 

[1242Vintage]

I prepped my own taxes for decades until this year. This year for the first time farmed them out to a small firm across town for $400.

 

[rrs26ja]

I have been doing ours for years. My sells Avon and I have investments that pay dividends and short and long term gains. I use H&R Block online. This year I paid $106.00

 

[Lstansbury]

I paid $250 this year. It was a luxury item in my budget, just hate the paperwork ( and I used to do taxes for Jackson Hewitt).

Since I got a refund for overpaying 2021 taxes, my CPA says I don't have to make quarterly estimated payments this year. How can that Be? I told him 2022 is a different thing, I'm retired and getting pension income and taking 401k distributions, with nothing withheld for taxes. He is still adamant I don't have to pay quarterly this year unless I want to.

Does this sound Right?

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Call around I can get taxes done from $100-$150

 

[FANOFJESUS]

And I was complaining our Credit Union went up from $75 to $95 this year...

I did not know credit unions did taxes. Tell us more.

 

[t49eng]

AARP Tax-Aide training begins in Dec or Jan. Most areas are always looking for volunteers. I have been doing this for over 15 years. Great training, test & certification by IRS as a volunteer preparer. We use TaxSlayer software on provided Chromebooks. Most people in on this forum would be excellent at this. Choose the days you want to volunteer between Feb 1 and April 15.

 

[SecondCor521]

I paid $250 this year. It was a luxury item in my budget, just hate the paperwork ( and I used to do taxes for Jackson Hewitt).

Since I got a refund for overpaying 2021 taxes, my CPA says I don't have to make quarterly estimated payments this year. How can that Be? I told him 2022 is a different thing, I'm retired and getting pension income and taking 401k distributions, with nothing withheld for taxes. He is still adamant I don't have to pay quarterly this year unless I want to.

Does this sound Right?

Impossible to say without all the information.

Have you informed your CPA of the differences in your 2022 income and withholding circumstances?

If he said what he did without asking you if there were any changes between 2021 and 2022, that sounds like a lapse on his part.

If you updated him about the changes and he still is confident in his answer but you are not, I'd just ask him for details or clarification if you think there may be an error. If there is an error, it will be you paying the underpayment penalty, not your CPA.

 

[RunningBum]

I paid $250 this year. It was a luxury item in my budget, just hate the paperwork ( and I used to do taxes for Jackson Hewitt).

Since I got a refund for overpaying 2021 taxes, my CPA says I don't have to make quarterly estimated payments this year. How can that Be? I told him 2022 is a different thing, I'm retired and getting pension income and taking 401k distributions, with nothing withheld for taxes. He is still adamant I don't have to pay quarterly this year unless I want to.

Does this sound Right?

Doesn't sound right, because safe harbor says nothing about refunds. It's all about your previous year total tax, and this year's total tax along with estimated payments and withholding. And probably other things not occurring to me right now.

 

[indiajust]

Yes, I've been using macintax/turbotax since the early 90's. Usually 3-4 returns a year.

 

[simple girl]

Once I complete the process will I be able to see it and compare with my return that I am trying to replicate without paying for the program?

Does anyone know for sure which other free tax software allows you to see the forms without paying?
....
So I'm looking for any other free software that lets me see completed forms, even if it wants payment to efile them. Thanks.

I used the free-file option with TaxSlayer this year (our income was low enough to qualify) because TurboTax didn't participate this year. I was able to see my full return before filing, but I'm not sure if you always can see the full return unless you've paid. Perhaps others know. Regardless, I was impressed with TaxSlayer. Pretty easy to use. I compared it with TurboTax (entered all my info, but didn't file through them) and had the same exact refund, which gave me great confidence in it.

AARP Tax-Aide training begins in Dec or Jan. Most areas are always looking for volunteers. I have been doing this for over 15 years. Great training, test & certification by IRS as a volunteer preparer. We use TaxSlayer software on provided Chromebooks. Most people in on this forum would be excellent at this. Choose the days you want to volunteer between Feb 1 and April 15.

Great to know, especially since I have just recently used TaxSlayer and found it to be very user friendly. It sounds like a volunteer opportunity I would be interested in.

 

[DayDreaming]

I've been using TaxHawk - Federal is free, add $14.99 for a State return.
My taxes include some self-employment business income and TaxHawk meets my needs.

https://www.taxhawk.com/

 

[VanWinkle]

AARP Tax-Aide training begins in Dec or Jan. Most areas are always looking for volunteers. I have been doing this for over 15 years. Great training, test & certification by IRS as a volunteer preparer. We use TaxSlayer software on provided Chromebooks. Most people in on this forum would be excellent at this. Choose the days you want to volunteer between Feb 1 and April 15.

+1 on Tax-Aide training. I have been volunteering for 6 years with the last 3-4 years on Tax Slayer.

 

[Badger]

I just had my taxes done by AARP yesterday for $0 just like in the past 10+ years. I usually have all the paperwork organized in groups of SS, pension, RMD, dividends, interest, and capital gains. For the exercise I also use the previous year's returns and the present year's instructions from IRS to do a cursory calculation. After all the years AARP and I come up with the same bottom line. Many years ago I used to spend hours of frustration (and a lot of blue words for the IRS) to do my taxes with paper and pencil. It is so nice to have AARP provide this service. You don't have to be a member of AARP but I think it is worth the small annual fee to support them.
A BIG THANK YOU to all those who volunteer their time to help the rest of us with our tax returns.



Cheers!

 

[hotwired]

almost embarrassed

$2,350 is mine. Our banker did tell us a few years back, as we were getting into real estate investing, that it was the most complex return the bank had ever needed to analyze. I have closed one S Corp so there's an 1120S he doesn't have to do any more, but I am considering getting a "second opinion". These guys that do ours are the "Big Guns" and we might make due with a smaller caliber.

 

[hotwired]

I should add that we have had up to 52 rental units, a lawn care business, web design business, am a solo musician, and stock and bond stuff each year (solo 401Ks, HSA, ROTH, and 529 with bunch of activity the last couple years).

 

[meierlde]

The most likely thing that would mess me up is my Schwab accounts..Even though my return is simple it is many pages..I think most of the forms have to do with dividends and long and short term capital gains that I get from my Vanguard bond fund. ( VFIDX). Does that require me doing some math or just transcribing those numbers off my Schwab 1099 which is about 9 or 10 pages?

As to dividends does schwab give you a 1099 with a total and the individual dividends listed as a supplement for you? Look at the documents and see what is sent to the irs and what is fyi. Vanguard and wells fargo do it this way. Anyway for the bond fund from vanguard they total up all the capital gain distributions (if you have a brokerage account at vanguard) so it is just one entry. For stock trades they do show each one separately. but the is form that you just copy the numbers over such as sale price basis long or short term etc. Now if the stocks holders are non covered because they predate 2011 or so they you have to get the basis from your records.

 

[londo]

I used the free-file option with TaxSlayer this year (our income was low enough to qualify) because TurboTax didn't participate this year. I was able to see my full return before filing, but I'm not sure if you always can see the full return unless you've paid. Perhaps others know. Regardless, I was impressed with TaxSlayer. Pretty easy to use. I compared it with TurboTax (entered all my info, but didn't file through them) and had the same exact refund, which gave me great confidence in it.

I did a quick run-through with TaxSlayer to see what it was like. It seemed pretty friendly and it ended up matching my hand-done return at freefilefillableforms. TaxSlayer wouldn't show the completed forms without payment, but it did break out the main 1040 line items so that I could do a line-by-line comparison and figure out where I had made some typos and go back and correct them until it matched my actual 1040. It gave me some confidence that I could use it if I volunteer for TaxAide next season and this is what is still being used.

 

[cathy63]

$2,350 is mine. Our banker did tell us a few years back, as we were getting into real estate investing, that it was the most complex return the bank had ever needed to analyze. I have closed one S Corp so there's an 1120S he doesn't have to do any more, but I am considering getting a "second opinion". These guys that do ours are the "Big Guns" and we might make due with a smaller caliber.

I should add that we have had up to 52 rental units, a lawn care business, web design business, am a solo musician, and stock and bond stuff each year (solo 401Ks, HSA, ROTH, and 529 with bunch of activity the last couple years).

That's a pretty fair price for 18 Schedule Es and 3 Schedule Cs in addition to the retirement accounts, HSA and 529. They're probably charging less than $100/hr.

 

[Koolau]

I consider spending money on tax preparation to be money well spent, though I can understand why some would not. This will be the last year I have to file two different state returns in addition to Fed return. We've been paying about $700. I think it will drop to around $500 when the other state disappears. YMMV

Whoops! Just getting our stuff together to go to the CPA, I found that last year's tax prep. fee was only $530, not $700ish. I'm sort of excited because our final K-1 for the old family business just came in. The corp. has been laid to rest, all distributions have been made (late last year) and this should be the last year to file in 2 states. Always have to pay a few hundred to the old state. Less complication is always a good thing though YMMV.

 

[Timeisprecious]

Wondering what others pay to have their taxes prepared. Since selling my farm mine is as simple as it gets. Our joint return has nothing except S.S. income, pension income, one IRA distribution, and one Schwab brokerage account that pays dividends, and capital gains.. Very little activity in that account.. I pay $350.00 for my return..That seems high for a very simple return... ?

Some fairly quick research (meaning, of course, a few sites explored on the Internet) indicates that averages for itemized and standard (i.e., non-itemized) returns for completed tax year 2020 were $380 and $220 respectively, with of course quite complicated returns running a bit higher. I can't speak from experience, however - I get mine done for no charge by the military tax prep service.