CPA in a box (taxes, income, house, investment)

[cleosmom]

Has anyone used one of the "box" CPAs? You know like TurboTax the like? Also, did you previously use a real CPA for your tax purposes?

Before we bought our home I always did our taxes, it was so simple I could do it over the phone However with the home and the husband's busniess expenses I went with a CPA five years ago, but am wondering if I'm brave enough to use one of the kits.

I'd like to hear both pros and cons please.

[cleosmom]

I'm guessing either no one has used one or I've posted in the wrong forum.

[lchoro]

Turbo Tax software has a questionaire that'll guide you through the incomes, expenses, etc. I used to use the software. Our CPA would send us a organizer to submit with our receipts, 1099's, 1098's, etc. I set up my own organizer and stopped using the CPA and the software. A good place to start is to get out last year's tax return and set up an outline using the line items in the tax return and identifying what things you recorded under each line item in last year's return.

[NorthmeetsSouth]

I used to use Turbotax to do my own taxes. I owned a house plus a few rental properties and, after having a CPA do them one year so that I could use his as a "template" to check my work, I never had any problem with the Turbotax.
Nowadays I am back to using a CPA just because we have since then started a company which is an LLC structured as a partnership, plus investment properties, plus doing subcontractor work, etc., etc. There comes a point when you just have to hand it over to someone else to do it for you.