Do you prepare your own tax return?

[gwraigty]

Nothing special except I don't want to pay (via ink/paper) for all those forms.
And now printer doesn't print black so it's even worse. Guessing 20 pages for Fed..............thinking it's a plot to make the paper filers surrender and I ain't gonna..................

I guess you're more patient than me. And more cheap.

I'm paperless, even with regards to the 1099s. I print out more than 20 pages just for those, so I can make notes in the appropriate pages before I do the taxes. It used to take longer to get those via snail mail. I'd prefer not to wait. Filing electronically is painless, faster, and no postage.

 

[CardsFan]

Use TT. Download all investment data from broker's site. Input the few other 1099's we get. I know the standard deduction will be best, so don't bother with all the deduction inputs.

Takes maybe 1 hour, then I sit on it for a week and review.

We did use a CPA for a few years when DW first got into real estate. After a couple of years, I realized there was no real secret to how to handle that.

TT was able to handle everything, including stock option selling, with out a problem.

And I agree with the sentiment that doing your own taxes really helps you understand the tax laws better, and helps you look for ways to improve you tax efficiency.

 

[kaneohe]

I guess you're more patient than me. And more cheap.

...........................................

Certainly the latter..........thinks it's genetic
I try to make sure the forms are the same as current yr (line#s , etc.). If not
I modify to conform. I could file w/ Taxslayer that's used in the AARP TCE program but there's something about being online financially that freaks me out..........just showing my age, I guess.

 

[SecondCor521]

I do my own, plus my Dad's, plus a trust. Times two for federal and state. I also help my kids with theirs.

I usually put everything into TaxAct, then file with some combination of TaxAct, Free Fillable Forms, and paper.

 

[nancyfrank232]

I pay a cross-border tax accountant to file our 1040NR with the IRS and our T1 with the CRA

Even if I had the time I wouldn’t want to do this myself. Doing taxes sounds to me to be about as fun as watching paint dry

 

[Dtail]

I spoke to multiple reps who all said the same thing. They didn't say how the terms changed but they all used the phrase "you relationship is insufficient". After hearing that 2 or 3 times, I called my Schwab rep who gladly gave me $2500 to move my IRA's over to them.

As to an other "private client level perks", my statements said "private client" for many years (and still say "Premium Services" since I still have a sizable taxable account there) but I never got anything because of it.

We have had some threads on this concept. I would push them on it. I didn't receive it at first, then pushed and got it. I have 1mm+ but less than 2mm with them.

 

[LarryMelman]

I'm over it. I moved my IRA's to Schwab and got a big wad of cash. And they invite me to events. Thank you, Fidelity!

 

[Splash]

I have always done our taxes. I think this experience has helped me in recent years as I've tried to estimate and manage income in a way that optimizes ACA subsidies, IRA conversions, and taxes.

 

[misanman]

Keeping and gathering all the records is most of the work, so why I should pay a CPA to do the easier part? Besides saving the fee, far more valuable is that I learn what impacts what on the tax forms.

+1 My feelings exactly.

 

[W2R]

My taxes never took long to complete even back when I did them by hand.

Now I use TurboTax, because for me it makes doing taxes more fun. Even better, I can finish them and file them in an hour or two and move on to enjoying my serene retired life again.

 

[World Traveler]

For the last 10 years I had a CPA do our taxes and when I called about a question he would answer and he wouldn't charge me. He retired and they had a change of leadership and I was assigned another CPA. I would call up which was not that often and I would get a bill for $125 for about 30 min with no warning that they were going to start doing this. I said ok I get it your going to start charging like a lawyer with billable hours. I looked for alternatives went back to TT and did it myself. Questions were answered by their professionals with no additional charge. It's like most things in life taxes, investing, oil changes. What is your time worth. DIY or hire someone. I was a glad I did. Oil changes? Well there getting close. Since FIRE I've got time.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Always done it myself. I keep everything in Excel during the year, so it takes minimal time. I would not trust anyone else (or TurboTax) to do it right, and either of those options would take more time.

 

[retiredunder50]

I have always prepared my own returns. Initially, I just followed the IRS instruction books but later I purchased the Lasser guide when things started to get a little more complex (started a side-biz consulting gig). I moved on to free software versions of Taxact starting around 1999 or 2000. About a dozen years later, I migrated to TT and haven't looked back (although I have to occasionally override some errors). I have also been preparing about 150 returns a year for the last 7 years at the library under AARP. I really enjoy this. Thankfully, the real complicated and time-consuming stuff is out of scope. We used Taxwise for a few years and then moved on to Taxslayer Pro. I prefer using TT. Some of the new clients bring in prior year returns from CPAs or from the usual suspects of tax preparing companies. I'm always amazed at some of the errors from these professionals considering how much they charge for mostly straightforward returns. When the clients bring us the IRS letters, we tell them to get their prior year paid preparers to help them.

 

[Scuba]

I was also a CPA but never prepared tax returns. For the small cost, I prefer having our CPA do our tax returns. He is up-to-date on upcoming tax code changes and proactively projects our taxes each year so we know what to expect. We got audited for 2 years about 12 years ago, and I’ll never know for sure, but I think having our CPA deal with the IRS helped us win our points and come out of the audits owing zero. Well worth the small cost to me. I pay our CPA far less than I pay our housekeeper, another thing I could do but prefer not to.

 

[Carple Tunnal]

Printed and filled in the blanks with a pen. Did the arithmetic with a calculator. Federal was 18 pages this year.


Saying you prepared you own taxes when you used Turbo Tax is like saying you prepared your own Thanksgiving dinner after microwaving a TV dinner.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We always do our own except for 2 years when we sold some rentals and had a few other things that complicated it. It was expensive. Each time was 1500.

 

[travelover]

Printed and filled in the blanks with a pen. .........

Real men use a Sharpie.

 

[Montecfo]

i do my own and that of other family members. i am a CPA amd have done a lot of individual and corporate tax. But for most people, it is not that hard to do your own taxes (with software).

 

[Cobra9777]

I've always prepared our tax returns myself, manually at first, then using TurboTax since the mid 90s. Same reasons others have posted... mainly to understand the process well enough to enable effective tax planning, especially during ER. I also do DMIL's return and I help each of the kids. I get TurboTax Premier for free from Fidelity, which is good for 5 free e-filings. So the kids both come over and use our PC and software. When they get stuck or have a question, I help out. I also look over the return and give them some tax planning advice for the following year.

There were a few years when I did an expat assignment for Megacorp. I had a tax equalization agreement under which Megacorp paid all my incremental tax associated with the assignment. In return, they received the benefit of my US foreign tax credit and engaged a Big-4 accounting firm to prep all returns (US and foreign). It was a VERY complicated process involving multiple hypothetical returns and lots of reconciliations. My actual US return one year was 95 pages long. I counted. There was another 100+ pages of supporting documents and reconciliations. This went on for 3 years after retirement due to option exercises that were deemed to be foreign income and thus Megacorp got some benefit from my giant FTC carryforward.

Anyway, I was a bit nervous transitioning back to TurboTax on my own after all that. But it seems to have worked out fine and I'm very glad to be preparing my own returns again.

 

[PERSonalTime]

Do my own. Used TT for years. It takes time, but you get a better understanding of what your current and future tax picture looks like.

 

[target2019]

Printed and filled in the blanks with a pen. Did the arithmetic with a calculator. Federal was 18 pages this year.


Saying you prepared you own taxes when you used Turbo Tax is like saying you prepared your own Thanksgiving dinner after microwaving a TV dinner.

About 15 years ago I sat next to an older fellow in tax class, who was ex-IRS. He described in detail how he went to home of each client, and did all the work right there. I asked him what printer he used, and he went on about the usefulness of carbon paper. Since carbon paper was getting harder to find each year, he stockpiled cases in his basement.

 

[albireo13]

I've always done my own, TT mostly. This year I will hire out so not to miss anything.
I am 63 and have had a number of financial events:

* sold house
* rented for 3 months
* bought new house
* taken out 401K loan to help son with college

I plan to retire next year. After things settle I will go back to doing my own.

 

[11522914]

I've always done my own taxes using tax software. I used to use TurboTax until they kept raising prices. Now I use H&R Block Deluxe. Includes one state. Use camelcamelcamel to track prices on Amazon and almost always get it for less than $20.

 

[HpRyder]

I've a complex complicated returns. Fed & state Tax regulations change too much & fast for me to keep updating each year, even with Lassers. So CPA wants numbers in boxes, effectively forcing me to do a return, so I use TT. Then give him the major TT return schedules with identified areas I don't know the best tax approach to use, along with all the forms I & IRS get. After his 1st try, we discuss areas I question for alternatives. After he's all finished I mail in his signed return.


With his signature I think audit chances are slimmer and I can skip the ulcer I use to get with audits.


After all's finished I update TT with what he did so future what ifs have some reality basis.

 

[PatrickA5]

I'm a CPA and worked a retirement job at Block for quite a few years, so taxes are kind of fun for me. Been doing our joint return since 1979. On paper for years until TT showed up. Usually do most of my family's returns too, but I'm beginning to think I'm not actually doing them any favors by doing so.

I buy TurboTax the day it becomes available in November. I don't care to wait until it's cheaper or can get it for free from Fidelity. I use it to plan out year end conversions, etc. I'd gladly pay 5 times what I pay for TT - it's just that valuable to me.