Tax Time is Upon Me and I'm Not Ready.
@bagarad (14283)
Paso Robles, California
April 13, 2017 1:11am CST
We missed the deadline for the accountant because of all the medical and dental issues, so I bought Turbotax again today. I hope I can remember all its little quirks since I didn't use it last year. Hubby wants me to get it filed on time even if we have to file an amended return later.
Do you do your own taxes or hire someone to do them? Actually, it's almost as easy to do them with the software as to gather the data to have someone else do them. Getting the data together is the hardest part. We used an accountant last year because we had sold a large commercial property and it appeared to be more complicated that our normal return would be.
12 people like this
10 responses
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
13 Apr 17
I have an accountant whom I pay retainers fee of roughly around 24usd per month and he handles everything, He is also B.I.R. (your equivalent of IRS) accredited so I have a trouble shooter.
I know I could save more if I did it on my own but doing tax, filling forms over and over and doing figures is just not my thing, it gives me a headache, and my time spent doing that is much better spent on figuring out how to make money to pay him
2 people like this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
13 Apr 17
We had an accountant do it last year, but I'm used to Turbotax and I don't like the forms I have to fill out for the accountant since they are different than my regular forms. We like having a bit more control and being able to understand the process.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
13 Apr 17
@bagarad oh I see, glad you have the time, my accountant's messenger just gives forms for me to sign and all other things and I also send him what it is his boss wants from me plus payment or other charges. Then my accoumtant and I would just talk things over the phone.
Sorry I seem so lazy lol but again it's not what I want to do and its not my line, its so different in the Philippines, it's not that computerized and. I hate talking or dealing with tax men so my accountant serves as a good buffer and I am sanitized from having to answer questions that I might not really understand lol.
2 people like this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
14 Apr 17
@louievill I don't think anyone anywhere likes preparing or paying taxes -- especially when we see how politicians spend our money.
2 people like this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
14 Apr 17
@JudyEv Maybe that's a bit like our Social Security which working people have to pay into. It doesn't pay out nearly as much as government employee pension plans. Somehow that doesn't seem fair since taxpayers who can barely make ends meet on Social Security have to pay taxes that cover all the fat government pensions. I'm guessing a lot of those on Social Security worker harder than those getting those cushy government pensions.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
13 Apr 17
No I dont do mine. I do keep up with all the income and out going but since I have this rental business he helps with deductions that I was not aware I could use, so for me its my CPA. Its worth the money to me, to have peace of mind.
2 people like this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
14 Apr 17
I find the CPA's forms harder to use than the tax software. Maybe I'm just used to Turbotax.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
13 Apr 17
When there is real estate involved it is usually good to have professional help, but I use TaxAct myself. For 6 years, thinking one can never be too careful, I used both Tax Act and Turbo tax to learn how to use them as well as to check on my tax professional's work, and 5 of those years the 3 sources matched, but on the 6th year Tax Act caught a mistake that the other 2 didn't, so I've been using it ever since, with their own archiving and audit defense.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
14 Apr 17
@drannhh Just read the comparison reviews of it to the other two I've used. Seems that TurboTax still may be my best option, since it's simpler than ever to use this year. 2014 was a bad year for it, and I didn't use anything last year.
1 person likes this
@dodo19 (48198)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
13 Apr 17
My husband and I did ours ourselves this year. We also did last year. We use UFile, which is an online software that lets us do our taxes. Kind of like Turbo Tax. I know they have an online thing too. Either way, with UFile, you only pay up to a certain amount, depending on your income. Since my husband and I didn't earn much last year, we didn't pay anything. It's cheaper to just do it ourselves. If we can save some money and just do it ourselves, we might as well do it.
1 person likes this
@homebasedbobbie (1080)
•
13 Apr 17
I make sure I get it done on time. I always mark my calendar as to when should I start and when should I be done.
1 person likes this
@homebasedbobbie (1080)
•
15 Apr 17
@bagarad I feel you. Before I came up to organizing myself, I have been always a buzzer beater.
1 person likes this
