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EVERYONE should do their own taxes. Hellish as it is, everyone should determine and print out EXACTLY how much they earn in gross income, next to how much they have lost to Washington, and state and local taxes.
Nah.
We can know all that without the hassle of plugging in the right numbers on the right lines on the right forms and schedules.
Our guy is worth every dime to us.
I use the "FreeFile Fillable" website or whatever the heck it's called (you can be directed there from the IRS website) and a bunch of my own spreadsheets.
That said, I'm a tax attorney who spends a lot of time with spreadsheets, so my situation isn't normal.
Print the forms off the IRS and state websites. Look through the 1040 instructions to see if there are any changes that might apply. Fill out the forms with a pen and mail them in. I just deduct mortgage interest, property taxes, state taxes, charity contributions, etc. Nothing special. I make too much to qualify for any credits.
Turbo Tax online. Mine are full blown 1040 - mortgage, kids, HSA, itemized deduction, rental of personal property some years. I worked as a tax preparer for two seasons, so that helps a little - I know what should show up where on my 1040 at the end, if it doesn't look right, I will go and correct it on the appropriate screen.
Over the years I got so familiar with the application that going through Turbo Tax screen takes less time than organizing the paperwork. Which is not to say paperwork is labor intensive. I usually collect donation receipts over the course of the year, then in January W2s, mortgage statements, dividend and saving statements start to show up. I sort them in two main categories - income and deductions. That's about it.
Overall, it takes me about 4 hours to do our taxes.
When I was in public accounting I would use lacerte, but now I just use turbotax. Itemized filer and nothing that I can't handle. I do about 6 other individual's returns as well each year.
State Taxes: I free file directly through the state web site.
Fed Taxes: I use the "FreeFile Fillable" Forms (just know that:
When you use fillable forms those are NOT filed directly with the IRS. It's filed with HRBlock, Intuit, and some made up "Free File Alliance," a third-party group of tax preparation companies that have partnered with the IRS to offer free electronic tax filing. The IRS site tells you when you hit the link for the forms you're going to a private 3rd-party website, and it makes no endorsements. The government is in bed with these companies, the link is on the site, yet it's not endorsing it, and making no claims about privacy....ah the government hypocrisy.)
Anyway, THOSE COMPANIES then file the form with the IRS.
Years ago, the paid tax preparation industry lobbied Congress, and lawmakers with no back bone agreed that the IRS won't set up its own free electronic filing system.)
TaxAct online. I love it! It walked me through buying/selling homes in 2011, and extra medical expenses in 2012. I have a handful of 1099s also. Did not find it at all complicated (don't really understand why anyone needs an accountant)
Now we have access to online documents, I can get my return done in the first week of February and have my money back within a week.
My mom uses an accountant. For some reason she REFUSES to let me do hers for her. They always end up filing for an extension because mom drags her feet on calculating her charitable donations and medical mileage. Last year she filed in OCTOBER. If I did her taxes we'd be done in February.
Tip: the nice thing about the online programs is they remember all your accounts from year to year...the first year you do it, there is a bit more work involved but after that it practically fills out itself.
CPA. I did my own for years, then after some of my investments complicated matters, I went to a public accountant. She did my taxes for 3 years and when I moved to a new locale and happened to go to a cpa, turns out those 3 years had to be redone, with penalties paid. My thinking is now on, only a cpa will calculate my taxes.
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