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It's tax time, some advice

lmw

lmw

Member
I'm planning on doing my taxes soon. I figure I could ask a tax professional, but they would probably just tell me to come in and pay to get them done. The last couple years I went to H&R block to the same guy. Since it costs around $200 I have been thinking about doing them myself. I live and work in the same state at one job. 2 years ago I filed as married: joint return, last year we filed separately because we were separated since July 2010 and I claimed my son as a dependent as I had sole custody ( I don't think my husband filed anything because he hasn't worked since 2009). September 2011 my husband died and I started receiving Social Security benefits as did my 3 yr old son, husband was disabled and qualified for social security. So with becoming a widow, and the SSI, I'm leaning towards paying to get them done professionally because with all the changes, I want them done right and I don't know if I trust myself.

Would doing a tax return like this be difficult by myself on my computer with some kind of tax software? I've done my own taxes before before I was married, but I am taxstupid. Thanks for your advice.
 
No, it is fairly easy, but cumbersome. I make sure to give myself plenty of emotional food to keep me going through the tedious process. As a safety net, opt for have H&R speak for you in case the Tax Man lays his eyes on you. It costs a few extra dollars, but is nice to have some extra guns backing you up.
 
I've used Turbo Tax for years, and they've got easier and easier to work with over that time. It has step-by-step questions to pry the information out, even when you forget something. And they have live professional advice if you get stuck. It's pretty intuitive and brainless, IMO. It will also tell you at the end if there is anything that stands out in your return that would flag you for an audit. :thumbsup

turbot.com
 
Thank you both! After I posted I was looking into Turbo Tax and I guess now am leaning towards that. I read bad reviews about the H&R online software... but you can't please everyone. I think I used TurboTax a few years back when life was a bit more simple :lol
 
I did the tax thing last night used Turbo for the first time.... Had a problem kinda a big one.....

Did the on line chat but didnt get too far.... ( i am known for the confusion i cause)

So i got on the phone. Talked with a guy name of Matt! He walked me threw the process, a page at a time.... was pleasant and helpful . He grasped my worries... My taxes were filed within the hour!

We all have some problems how they are handled is what matters to me.....I will use Turbo next year.....
 
im married and my wife is disabled. i will owe this year as i have inheritance from my deceased grandma that come in each month.

i also am self-employed on one job. so i must itemise. so i wont do this by myself.
 
It might be worth making an appointment with a tax accountant for half an hour and get him to explain what forms you will need. There are things like EIC and schedule M that might be overlooked if you try it yourself the first time. A real professional might be worth the price. You wouldn't be using him to do the taxes, just to help you know what you could / should do.
 
I know a few people who had their taxes prepared professionally. They sat across the desk from these people who input all their data. One simply used Turbo Tax. The other used a program by Intuit who makes Turbo Tax. It was just branded in the company's name - but it was Turbo Tax.

Honestly, I have no financial stake in Intuit or Turbo Tax, except that I pay them $70 each year for the software. I just know that the software that accountants and accountant-wannabees use is either Turbo Tax or something no better than it, and they charge a whole lot more! H&R Block keeps their businesses open all year long because of the windfall during this time of year. IMO, it's like giving away a big bag of money to pay someone to do this. I'll bet our 13 year old daughter could get the job done with current software.
 
I had H&R block do my taxes last year on Jan 27th. I needed them done quick because I was separated with a restraining order from my abusive husband, I don't think he filed his but if he would have, I was afraid of him trying to claim our son as a dependent. I didn't know how things worked, being separated, but still being married and filing separately, and I had full custody of our kid. My cousin had an issue with her taxes one time, she had full custody of her daughter, but her ex husband falsely claimed Miya as a dependant so my cousin's taxes were flagged. She got everything worked out and was able to successfully claim her daughter... I didn't need that kind of a headache so I paid someone.

So THIS time around, I did turbo tax. It's been ridiculously slow at work the past two days and I got them done. There were a couple parts I got hung up on but I googled and found my answers. Now my mother is wanting me to do her taxes.

Thanks again for the input, it helped a lot and now my taxes are done. :yes
 
It may be too late for this but at my college both my Accounting and Business Law professors give extra credit to students who volunteer to assist people doing their tax returns. It's free and if there are unusual circumstances there's always at least one certified tax preparer who can be consulted.

It's not easy for the students -- they too need to be certified by the IRS. The program itself is sponsored by the IRS - IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) and it's been around for more than 40 years.

Click either link below to go to the IRS site that tells more about it (and other options too):
Free Tax Return Preparation for You by Volunteers

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=107626,00.html
 
note.

my friend and former irs agent, has arrested many tax preparers at hr. block and elsewhere for stealing ids and using them to get $$
 
for the ignorant , if you owe and your spouses does or did prior to your marriage. you are also liable for their taxes. even if they were in debt prior to your marriage. so if they cheated you could be charged.

when i was going to get my army bonus six years the army goofed it up and fixed it to where i would get it back via taxes. the irs took it and i filed injured spouse.

i have paid my debt, i dont think hr.block would have told me to do that if that occured without me paying for that advise. i can call my accoutant that does that for me and get advice as he is open year round.
 
Haha my tax return was rejected. I put a 0 instead of a 9 for my son's social security number. I fixed it and re-filed them, crossing all fingers and toes. It said there was an issue with an entry of the date of my spouse's death. I went through it and it was right, I would know... so waiting for the email that says whether it went through or not

My spouse only worked one year in the past five and that was 2009. He was mentally ill and he collected social security all last year. Neither of us owe anything, so that's good. You don't pay taxes on social security if you make less than $25,000.

My mother though is still dealing with the mess my Dad left with the IRS. Dad took care of finances but not in a good way, and they didn't file for a few years. Since they were married before he passed away, it's on my Mom's shoulders. She's been filing every year since but it has been just going towards the debt. She really has to get together with a professional, but hasn't yet. My brother said he will help her with that... hopefully.
 
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