scrabbler1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2009
- Messages
- 6,710
I have done my own taxes each year for the last 29 years since I began working in 1985. When I bought my first PC in 1995, I created a spreadsheet to help me do the math. I worked in the actuarial field for 23 years so I am good at math and spreadsheets. No TurboTax or H&R Block or a CPA for me, ever. I have only begun dabbling with the fillable pdf forms in the last year or so; with my crappy handwriting it will save me some trouble.
The things which made my returns tougher over the years were (1) when I began investing and had to complete Schedule D in the early 1990s, (2) When Congress changed the determination of investment income in 1997, (3) when I began working in New Jersey in 2001 and had to file a NJ non-resident return along with a NY Resident Credit form, and (4) in 2008 when I cashed out my company stock and got hit with the AMT along with lots of other little worksheets I used to ignore. Since 2009 (my first full year of ER) my taxes have gotten much easier to do.
I have made a few mistakes over the years on my returns, nothing big, surely not enough to get me to change to another method. I prepare returns for my ladyfriend and my best (male) friend, too and have done so for 10+ years.
The things which made my returns tougher over the years were (1) when I began investing and had to complete Schedule D in the early 1990s, (2) When Congress changed the determination of investment income in 1997, (3) when I began working in New Jersey in 2001 and had to file a NJ non-resident return along with a NY Resident Credit form, and (4) in 2008 when I cashed out my company stock and got hit with the AMT along with lots of other little worksheets I used to ignore. Since 2009 (my first full year of ER) my taxes have gotten much easier to do.
I have made a few mistakes over the years on my returns, nothing big, surely not enough to get me to change to another method. I prepare returns for my ladyfriend and my best (male) friend, too and have done so for 10+ years.