jbooma Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 What are the pros and cons in using tax software like Turbotax and others. Do these software packages work out pretty well or is it wiser to go with a tax accountant. I ask this because this is my wife and I's first year being married for tax purposes and we bought our home last year. We want to make sure we take advantage of what we can. I am also interested in what people have thought of the software or what they recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinInsite Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 If you kept your record pretty much together it's much simplier to go with an tax accountant. Plus they'll probably get you a better return. Although Turbotax is pretty easy to use, i helped my parents with their return in like a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Originally posted by SkinInsite If you kept your record pretty much together it's much simplier to go with an tax accountant. Plus they'll probably get you a better return. Now is it worth the money though? A good tax accountant will be anywhere between $200 to $500 dollars, the software only costs $40 dollars and you can get if free if you get the new quicken Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atloldskin Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 JBooma, Turbotax is a great software package. It asks good questions to ensure that you have not missed any deductions. Use it if your return is fairly simple and straightforward. Otherwise, use a CPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinInsite Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Well that depends on how much you make, if your combine income is greater than 80,000 i think tax accountant is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Originally posted by SkinInsite Well that depends on how much you make, if your combine income is greater than 80,000 i think tax accountant is the way to go. interesting, thanks for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Originally posted by atloldskin Use it if your return is fairly simple and straightforward. Otherwise, use a CPA. What do you consider simple? Like just the basic stuff for interest from your home, school payments, etc.... I don't believe ours is complicated but then again I am not an accountant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 My wife and I make over $200,000 a year now. I called an expensive tax professional. I told him what I've done and plan to do with Turbo Tax. And that I'd like to invent ways to continue driving down the tax bill. He flat out told me that at my "low" income I could wring more out of Turbo Tax than he could get for me if I was willing to be a tad inventive as I described. Simply put, unless you own a small business or run a trust or have taken profit from options or have to pay AMT you really get more out of Turbo Tax than you would an accountant. At least until you have enough that he can find more deductions than you could dream of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Originally posted by Art My wife and I make over $200,000 a year now. I called an expensive tax professional. I told him what I've done and plan to do with Turbo Tax. Which version are you using the deluxe or premier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 I use premier just because I like the modeling it allows for the future. You get a free state copy so it's pretty much worth it. And it's a tax write off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Originally posted by Art I use premier just because I like the modeling it allows for the future. You get a free state copy so it's pretty much worth it. And it's a tax write off So you can write off the software on your taxes, however can you write off the payment for an accountant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Yeah. You can write off an accountant too. But, here's what I think you should do JB. Do both. I'd do Turbo Tax. From what I can tell from you, your return is straight forward. There's nothing tricky. So, get Turbo Tax and do the accountant thing and compare. I've used Turbo Tax for years and will until I move into the arena of a financial planner who'll plan life events in conjunction with taxes. Turbo Tax is the way to go though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Thanks Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleSteve Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 I'd agree with Art, JB. When I got married, my wife was from another state (MD) and we bought a house and I also got a dependent. I went with H&R Block for that year because of the additional complications of part-year state returns. I also did them on TurboTax. Both were pretty much the same. That was three years ago and I've since used TT each year. In fact, every year since '97. Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Punani2 Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Turbo Tax rocks!!! I've used it for the past 3 yrs and it works like a charm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKurp Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Am I the only one to use the web version of Turbo Tax? I've been doing it for the past 4 years; and the best part? It's free. You only need to pay anything if you want to print out your forms and/or file electronically. It allows for direct deposit of your refund or direct payment if you owe. I can also bring up past year's filings. I know some people have this phobia about having their tax statements stored on someone else's database. A phobia I'm either too smart or too dumb to share with those folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Kurp according to the site you have to pay: http://www.turbotax.intuit.com/welcome/internalnocobrand/live.htm?source=intuitcom03b Unless you just write that info down on your own tax forms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKurp Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Read my post again jbooma. (Also note I haven't edited it). Do I wind up paying? Yes, but the price includes electronic filing as well as printing as many copies of the forms (PDF) as you wish. The point is, you can try any of them for free, compare [actual] results with each one, and then decide which one benefits you the most, if any. Try doing that with purchased client software. Once you've broken the shrink wrap, no refunds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 California offers free electronic filing of state taxes - provided you don't make over 138k singly or over 2xxk (forget the #) jointly. Nice feature Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Originally posted by TheKurp Read my post again jbooma. (Also note I haven't edited it). Do I wind up paying? Yes, but the price includes electronic filing as well as printing as many copies of the forms (PDF) as you wish. The point is, you can try any of them for free, compare [actual] results with each one, and then decide which one benefits you the most, if any. Try doing that with purchased client software. Once you've broken the shrink wrap, no refunds. good point, wouldn't you want to just pay once so you can use it every year or is this the type of software they make you buy new every year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKurp Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Don't know the answer to your question jbooma, having never bought the client version. I do know Quicken releases a new version every year (tax laws change?) but whether most people need to update their sofware for their own returns, who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Yes you have to buy new versions of it each year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter's Better Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Personally I think a good accountant is worth his/her weight in gold. Especially if they are good ring leader and get your through some tax holes... I will let you know on Saturday after I meet my tax/estate planners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Originally posted by Dexter's Better Personally I think a good accountant is worth his/her weight in gold. Especially if they are good ring leader and get your through some tax holes... I will let you know on Saturday after I meet my tax/estate planners. cool, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLusby Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 If you guys need a great firm look to ATLOLDSKIN as their firm is about the 7th largest in Atlanta and he has been the tax partner for almost 20 years. They have done my work for the past 15 years and he has been a frequent guest on a few major networks including CNN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.