where to do taxes???

ok so we all know tax seasson is upon us and well here is my question to you all WHERE DO YOU GET YOURS DONE AND DO THEY KNOW WHAT THE HECK THEY ARE DOING well look forward to get the input thanks

 

Unless you have a very simple form, no deductions like home, kids etc...I would stay away from the chains i.e. HR Block, Jackson Hewett....etc.

My 23YO had HR do his, charged him $110 for a simple form.

My Tax Accountant does mine for $125 and as a homeowning railroad emplyee w/many deductions they are quite complicated as I work in another 2 states and not my own.

I had HR block beat me to death back in the 80's (major screw-up and an audit)and I was damned if I would ever do business with a "professional seasonal tax" place again.

I would find an independent tax accountant.

 

Or do it yourself, with TurboTax.

 

I agree with turbo tax. Friend of mine had a pretty complicated return last year he did if first with turbo tax and then felt like something wasn't right and paid an accountant to do it too. The accountant and the turbo tax was within a few dollars of each other on the final amount that he owed.

 

Turbo Tax is good and used it many times until the IRS caught up with me...had to get an accountant to straighten it out...if you have no deductions, use Turbo Tax, if you have alot of deductions get a reliable CPA and you'll find it will save you money(even though you have to pay him) but do stay away from the chains...

 

maybe learn to do them yourself. it's really not that hard and once you learn you'll find you can do them every year. i still do them longhand, and don't even buy the software (it can be up to $50 and only good for one year). that being said, a friend of mine, who is not a professional, runs a small business every year preparing taxes using professional software and charges quite a bit less than the big names. so, maybe find someone similar? hope this helps

 

Agreed with the above who advised to stay away from the seasonal companies. They hire people who do a crash course just before tax season and some of them really don't know what they are doing. I had used them for about 5 years, and then one year had a guy who was completely clueless. He had to call his supervisor to explain almost every question on the form, and it ended up I had to pay in $2,000, where I usually get money back. (I hindsight now that I know better I should have gone somewhere else and had it checked by someone else, but so we learn). Anyway, now I go to a professional CPA, pay about $150 but he takes care of everything throughout the year, make suggestions, make comparrisons with previous years to give advise etc. Well worth it.
If you have financial background/education and don't have a lot of deductions, something like TurboTax is good, but if you have a lot of deductions etc. then talk to a professional. My tax guy keeps up with all tax laws and changes, and know how to defer incomes or expenses, or make recommendations on what type of products to buy where I get better tax benefits while staying within the law, so if there is an audit he will be involved and everything will be in place.

 

my wife does our since they made it so easy with the free online tax thing and no one gets any of my cash.. WINNING

 

Another option, if you do the basic short form, you can go to the IRS office and they will do it for you for free. I did that the first few years before I had a house and kids - after that they would not do it for free anymore.

 

I do mine at my desk at work. Even with the house and our investments- It's easy.

 

That's the best way if you can, but with what my wife and I know about taxes I am sure I will screw myself big time if I try to do it myself.
I always go to the tax guy thinking that I am well prepared and have everything I need, and then he come up with all his questions...What about business meals, what about new workboots, what about....etc, and often times there are deductions that I would never have known about. I am a complete idiot when it comes to taxes and it is totally out of my field of interest so I have no desire to study any of it.

 

I've used taxslayer for the last 6 years or so. It has many options, and will even walk you through the entire process if you have any deduction. It's amazingly simple!

Last year I was gonna try H&R Block, but they were gonna charge me an arm and a leg, so I went back to my computer and got on taxslayer.

Great advice so far from everyone else, learn to do them yourself! I really don't trust anyone other than myself to mess with my sh!t.

 

Turbo Tax FTMFW

 

x2

I have plenty of deductions, interest forms, etc and quite honestly, it is very simple. Anyone w/ a house, investments and makes any donations should be tracking this information all year long anyway, so entering the information in to turbotax should be a piece of cake.

 

I've been using TurboTax the last couple years. Super easy. I kind of enjoy doing my taxes. I got married this year and the wifey is a hair stylist, so it'll be a little more fun this year!

 

TurboTax! If you are a "normal" person (just a house, kids, few small donations and deductions like student loans) with nothing complicated TurboTax is 100% the way to go. They can even import your W2 if your employer allows it. Its VERY easy and if you are unsure of something you can ask a question or review answers to similar questions.

 

almost 10 years using taxact.com love it simple and walks you through all forms and deductions

 

Thanks guy for all your input so far I might go independent

 

I do mine and my family's for free in my Tax class .

I would recommend having a CPA do it. It can be pricy, but they will make sure you get every possible penny on your refund, and they usually guarantee a 100% accuracy. Even the chains do that, but they are much more "corporate" about it. CPA's are the way to go. Worth the $.

x2, this is what we learned on in my Intro Tax class