How do you file your taxes?

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Merica, Jan 24, 2018.

  1. Merica

    Merica Devine pls stop pointing out my demise. :(
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    I've always used Turbotax, but 2017 was a lot more complicated since we moved states and jobs.

    I think we might just let a professional take care of it this year and I have no idea how much that is supposed to cost compared to just doing it online.
     
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  2. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    H&R Block has a really easy online tool I have used the past few years. I had to pay around $35 to use their premium package because I moved states but I would recommend it

    filed on Sunday during the Pats game
     
  3. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
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    if thats the only change turbotax is still super easy and walks you through it

    i always use turbotax ftr
     
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  4. tjosu

    tjosu This is kind of like the breakfast club, huh?
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    Free with CreditKarma
     
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  5. Fancy

    Fancy thanks, i hate it
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  6. Merica

    Merica Devine pls stop pointing out my demise. :(
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    So for people who get them done by a pro, how much is it supposed to cost?

    I've basically gone through all of turbotax and honestly I just don't like the number I saw at the end and I'm hoping someone who knows what they're doing can help. But if it's gonna cost a ton I'd rather just do it myself.

    Basically I'm using you people as a cost benefit analysis. :beerchug:
     
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  7. tjosu

    tjosu This is kind of like the breakfast club, huh?
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    It depends on how involved your stuff is/how long it would take them to do it plus their markup but it can easily be in the $300 range even for fairly small returns
     
    Merica likes this.
  8. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    My accountant charges around 2-250 an hour, so comes out to about $800 for personal and about $800 for my s-corp taxes. He's on the more expensive side, but he's worth every penny to me. He has saved me much more than that, plus I don't have to do anything besides pretty much forward him my quickbooks backup and W-2's and he takes care of everything else. Also, I can contact him at any time to answer questions throughout the year.
     
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  9. TYdeFan05

    TYdeFan05 gOATS ™
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    Like you, I’ve flirted with the idea of paying a pro but I have 2 W-2’s to fill out, negligible mortgage interest since the house is almost paid off, strait forward investments, and that’s it. I can’t see how a pro could do anything for me, especially with the new standard deduction. Hopefully in the next year or so I can start investing beyond what I’m doing (rental property or something) and I’ll definitely need some help.
     
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  10. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Same.

    W2, mortgage interest, some investment income and deduct whatever I gave to goodwill/donations.

    Can't see how $300 will be worth it to me vs just using turbotax
     
    War Grundle, bigred77, Luka and 3 others like this.
  11. SenatorClayDavis

    Donor

    TurboTax/Intuit is a pretty despicable company. They've abetted likely billions in federal tax return fraud over the years.
    I think they've cleaned up, but they made a boatload of money allowing fraudsters to use their service.
     
  12. TYdeFan05

    TYdeFan05 gOATS ™
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    Do your deductions even matter? I’ve never totaled to an amount, after hours of poking around on TurboTax, where they didn’t say “yeah, standard deduction for you.” I’m no Scrooge, I do better when I donate cash to someone I know who is struggling rather than a church or charity whose motives I question.
     
  13. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    With my mortgage they do. Before I owned a house, no it didn't matter.

    Next year, with the doubled standard deduction, no I doubt it will matter for me.
     
  14. Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all

    Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all Putting big balls in little holes, circa 1995
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    A team of accountants, usually.
     
  15. Celemo

    Celemo tell 'em Steve-Dave
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    the accountant in my wife's office does it for us over his lunch hour and he usually ask us for a jar of macadamia nuts in return
     
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  16. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    Elaborate way to brag about financial and marital success
     
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  17. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    Found out I can use my firm's software for this year (was strictly forbidden when I worked at a Big 4) but I used Credit Karma last year and will use it for my gf's return this year. It's a great tool if you have some idea of what you're doing and you have a relatively straightforward return.
     
    jorge likes this.
  18. Not William

    Not William Well-Known Member
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    I’ve done both. TurboTax works fine unless you have a really complex tax situation IMO. When I hired a professional, it was $350.
     
  19. Seavie

    Seavie Loading tweet...
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    TurboTax for me. I just have a W2, my mortgage interest, and charitable donations. Would already have it filed but still waiting on a 1098 from the company who serviced my mortgage in early 2017, before they sold it.
     
  20. GeneralPaton

    GeneralPaton Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.
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    My company accountant does it for me. She’s fantastic, finds every deduction possible.
     
  21. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    My favorite part is clicking random buttons I don't understand and watching to see if it makes my refund go up. Haha free money!!
     
  22. Randy Bobandi

    Randy Bobandi Well-Known Member
    Baltimore Ravens

    FIL is a CPA. Highly recommend that route.
     
    bigred77 likes this.
  23. Merica

    Merica Devine pls stop pointing out my demise. :(
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    I clicked something earlier that made it say I owed $5k and I about shat myself. :donotwant:

    It went away a minute later, but that’s when I basically said fuck it I might let someone else handle this.
     
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  24. HatterasJack

    HatterasJack Is your refrigerator running? It's Mike Hunt.
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    Is that how your wife describes it?
     
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  25. DriveByBBQ

    DriveByBBQ Well-Known Member
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    Begrudgingly
     
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  26. Boo MFer!

    Boo MFer! No longer a cog in some powerhouse machine
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    Father-in-law is a CPA, so he does it for us. In exchange, I sex his daughter regularly.
     
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  27. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
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    Electronically.
     
  28. Fancy

    Fancy thanks, i hate it
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    i'm sure my guy is shady but he's been doing it for 5 years so i'm gonna keep doing it
     
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  29. Nelson

    Nelson Can somebody please get Ja Rhule on the phone
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    Usually write it all out by hand on the back of a white XXXL t-shirt then mail it in
     
  30. dukebuckeye

    dukebuckeye I’m OK with your low opinion of me.
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    I have a CPA because I'm #rich
     
  31. buckwild

    buckwild #BucketsGetsBuckets
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    Samesies
     
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  32. Dudley Dawson2

    Dudley Dawson2 Well-Known Member
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    CPA. Pay about 1g for the taxes but his availability to answer investment/trust questions throughout the year is more than worth it.
     
  33. Boo MFer!

    Boo MFer! No longer a cog in some powerhouse machine
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    You sex my father-in-law’s daughter regularly too? :ohdear:
     
  34. Beachy Toast

    Beachy Toast He wants you too, Malachi.
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    Use TurboTax.
     
  35. tmbrules

    tmbrules Make America Great Again!
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    I use a CPA and he charged me about $600 a year originally. Now that things are a little more complicated i think it maybe $1k a year. I can call and ask him questions at any time and its included in the price.
     
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  36. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    Guys chan and gfa have asked us not to use the names of particular products unless they've paid for TMB sponsorship
     
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  37. MoJo

    MoJo It bees that way sometimes...
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    I'm in roughly the same situation (minus almost having my house paid off :lolsadface:) plus a rental property and claiming my dad as a dependent, H&R block online seems to handle all that pretty easily or I'm going to be audited in the near future.
     
    bigred77 likes this.
  38. TYdeFan05

    TYdeFan05 gOATS ™
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    The sad part is i usually cut a check for close to $10k every April because the practice where my wife works is small and they let a lady with a high school education handle the W4’s and she doesn’t withhold enough.
     
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  39. tmbrules

    tmbrules Make America Great Again!
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    Can you not tell her to adjust your deductions?
     
  40. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    I'm trying this new sovereign citizen thing so I'm not doing them this year
     
  41. tmbrules

    tmbrules Make America Great Again!
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    Hope that works out for you. Good luck
     
  42. Taques

    Taques sometimes maybe good sometimes maybe shit
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    its like secret coupons
     
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  43. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    "File Form 8824 to elect to treat the purchase of beer as bananas"
     
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  44. TYdeFan05

    TYdeFan05 gOATS ™
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    Yes. Will she listen and do it? Apparently not the past two years in a row. The problem is my wife was a part time RN for them while she was finishing her nurse practitioner graduate studies. Same company, but now she makes 5x the amount of money. It should adjust according to scale but it didn’t/hasn’t and the HR person refuses to listen and comply. Probably because it requires effort.
     
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  45. Doug

    Doug Skeptical Doug-o
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    When I did them the average ‘easy’ return was $150-200. Depends on the schedules used, multiple states. An easy return could be knocked out in a few minutes if our intern pre-copied everything.

    Do them yourself unless you get k1s with a little bit of complexity.
     
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  46. skiedfrillet

    skiedfrillet It's not a lie if you believe it.
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    My accountant charges me $300

    It’s nice and convenient
     
  47. TLAU

    TLAU Dog Crew
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    pro tip you can make quarterly estimated tax payments on the IRS website through electronic checks. Prob help you avoid the underpayment penalties and interest you have for withholding so much less than what's necessary. Same thing people do that don't get W-2s at all to be able to do federal withholding.
     
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  48. TLAU

    TLAU Dog Crew
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    this.
    no idea if turbo/H&R ask for/track basis schedules and not all firms give you those to factor in disallowed loses with your K-1 package. same with passive activity loss carryovers for offsetting other passive income. curious if people have to keep up with those themselves to type in Turbotax or if it remembers

    I do my friends returns that just have W-2s / few itemized things for a bottle of liquor. takes 15 minutes to do no reason for people to pay money for that on a CPA that's gonna charge them a minimum of an hour of time.
     
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  49. Houndster

    Houndster Well-Known Member
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    I file my own because I’m rich like lechnerd
     
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