Is it foolish of me to do our taxes myself using Turbo Tax each year?
I have no tax-related education but Turbo Tax walks you through everything step-by-step and asks detailed questions… there is even a discussion board option. I always buy the best package for personal use (not the business packages) and we have always gotten about the same amount of money back. We do have a home office (I often work from home) but that’s the only thing out of the ordinary in our lives.
Just wondering if there are any tax professionals on here who know a reason I should or shouldn’t use Turbo Tax. We’ve been happy with it so far, but I’m open to other options.
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If it’s foolish for you, it’s foolish for me. I’ve been doing it for years. At first I hired an accountant to check it over, but once I learned the things he thought were mistakes, I ended up dispensing with him and relying on turbotax. I never try to stretch the truth, and I have documentation for everything that goes in my tax return. Seems good to me.
It’s safer than just getting the form for free at the post office….
I’ve been using the web-based turbotax.com (not the shrink-wrapped in-store boxed software) for years.
Costs a fraction of paying a tax accountant… and they basically do the exact same thing anyways, near as I can tell.
My mother does my taxes, using Turbo Tax. She just likes doing taxes (she volunteers each year to do taxes for low income families, so they can get the most out of their tax deductions, for their refund) She has no problem with Turbo Tax. It’s not foolish.
My husband uses the Tax Cut software from H & R Block and he does the taxes for us, his parents, our son, grandsons, and son’s in-laws.
I think my accountant uses Turbo Tax! LOL! He is putting the numbers into the computer as we go over everything when I meet with him. I have never used Turbo Tax myself, so I don’t know what info it gives you, but if you are self-employed or own your own business, I would use a good accountant. I was watching CSPAN a few years ago and this fabulous accountant was one. She talked about SOLO IRA’S. I had never heard this term. The benefits seemed excellent, you were able to contribute very high amounts and avoid taxes. I asked three accountants about it, one was a friend of mine, and all of them said more or less, “Oh, you mean a SEP IRA.” Well, it is not the same thing. They had no idea what I was talking about. I think now you can contribute up to $100K a year. Here is a link http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/taxes/the-perks-of-the-solo-401k-13505/
Not foolish at all!
You’re the kind of person who keeps my mother employed (She’s one of the programmers as well as part of the Q&A team).
Yay I got the answers I wanted for once lol! @JLeslie That is funny! Ha ha he probably does use it!
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