# Do You Do Your Own Tax Return Or Pay Someone To Do It For You?



## Lee (Mar 17, 2021)

I go to H&R Block, they are expensive for even a simple return but it is quick and easy.


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## Gary O' (Mar 17, 2021)

Do You Do Your Own Tax Return Or Pay Someone To Do It For You?​

Turbo Tax for this tax payer
Five years and running

I love it

Heh, six years ago I went with H&R (or one like it)
This retired dude was using Turbo to do mine
......and started arguing with me on some obvious (to me) deductions

I said *'Are you using Turbo?'

'Huh, yeah'

'Well, stop, and gimme my tax forms back, I'm outa here'*

If I remember right, I was laying down three or four hundred bucks
......to have someone regurgitate the Turbo Tax questions


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## Glowworm (Mar 17, 2021)

We do our own, they're all online on the Swedish IRS website. All the details about income, savings, mortgages, bank loans etc are already filled in and all you have to do is check that everything's OK or make whatever changes you need to and then sign digitally. Takes us about half an hour and it doesn't cost a penny.


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## hollydolly (Mar 17, 2021)

Our employers do ours... we only do our own in the UK if we're self employed. ...


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## Glowworm (Mar 17, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> Our employers do ours... we only do our own in the UK if we're self employed. ...


How about if you want to claim a tax rebate for interest costs on your mortgage or something like that? And how do pensioners do theirs?


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## hollydolly (Mar 17, 2021)

Glowworm said:


> How about if you want to claim a tax rebate for interest costs on your mortgage or something like that? And how do pensioners do theirs?


Well we have an accountant so if we need to do anything out of the ordinary then we give it to him... as for pensioners I haven't a clue, I'm not a pensioner yet so I don't know, but I would imagine it's as we used to do when we were self employed, and just fill in the online forms.. ( they were paper forms for us back then)


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## Glowworm (Mar 17, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> Well we have an accountant so if we need to do anything out of the ordinary then we give it to him... as for pensioners I haven't a clue, I'm not a pensioner yet so I don't knw, but I would imagine it's as we used to do when we were self employed, and just fill in the online forms.. ( they were paper form for us back then)


OK


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## Lakeland living (Mar 17, 2021)

Have been using Turbo for taxes for years.  Depending on the changes, takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.


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## MarciKS (Mar 17, 2021)

H & R Block. They did away with the EZ form & with all the insurance changes & whatnot...I don't trust myself to not mess it up. We have a place we can take it to get it done free if we make less than $50,000 a yr but the waiting line can be up to 4 hrs long. No way am I sitting there that long.


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## moviequeen1 (Mar 17, 2021)

Years ago when my tax return wasn't so complicated I use to do it myself,at the time I was unemployed
I had H&R Block do my taxes for 30 yrs,for the past 10 yrs I had Rose who was terrific,sadly she passed away,then every yr I would have somebody new,I decided 2 yrs ago to make a switch went with a local accounting firm.I'm very happy with them knowing I'll have the same person do my taxes


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## Happy Joe (Mar 17, 2021)

Up until this year, I have done my own (with forms and a calculator)...
Due in part (mostly) to an excessively complex K-1 form; this year I'm having them done.

Enjoy!


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## bowmore (Mar 17, 2021)

I have been using Turbotax for years and love it.I even used it when I had a rental and it was simple. I used to volunteer doing senior's taxes with the AARP program. I was shocked how much people were paying H & R Block for simple tax returns.


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## DaveA (Mar 17, 2021)

Our daughter's been doing ours for years now and the price is right.  A cup of coffee covers it, sometimes 2 cups if there's been any complications.


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## Aneeda72 (Mar 17, 2021)

Glowworm said:


> How about if you want to claim a tax rebate for interest costs on your mortgage or something like that? And how do pensioners do theirs?


We do not get a tax rebate for mortgage or interest on credit cards etc.  Oh, H&R for me.


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## Glowworm (Mar 17, 2021)

Aneeda72 said:


> We do not get a tax rebate for mortgage or interest on credit cards etc.  Oh, H&R for me.


OK. We can get tax reduction for interest we pay on all loans, labour costs if we have work done on our home like say electrical or plumbing, having a cleaner come in and even costs for traveling to and from work like gas or train fares if you meet certain requirements


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## Aneeda72 (Mar 17, 2021)

Glowworm said:


> OK. We can get tax reduction for interest we pay on all loans, labour costs if we have work done on our home like say electrical or plumbing, having a cleaner come in and even costs for traveling to and from work like gas or train fares if you meet certain requirements


So jealous with my money pit of a house if I got those credits I’d never have to pay taxes again


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## PamfromTx (Mar 17, 2021)

I prepare our tax return and e-file with H&R Block.


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 17, 2021)

I do a back-of-the-envelope calculation and then send it off to a CPA.

I've been using the same accountant for well over thirty years and we've never met.

I really should do it myself with TurboTax but old habits die hard.


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## digifoss (Mar 17, 2021)

I have always done our own.  I did it manually and mailed it in forever until last year when I started doing it online with TaxSlayer.


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## hollydolly (Mar 17, 2021)

Just looked it up... these are the people who have to file their own Tax returns in the uk..


Self-Assessment tax returns​
More than 11.5 million people in the UK filed a self-assessment tax return for the last tax year. You may need to file a self-assessment return if you:



Are self-employed and earn over £1,000 per year
Are in a business partnership
Earn over £1000,000 per year as an employee or pensioner
Claim child benefit and your income (or your partner’s income) is over £50,000
Earned £2,500 from other untaxed income, for example from tips, property rentals, savings, investments, dividends, or foreign sources


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## Jeweltea (Mar 17, 2021)

Aunt Bea said:


> I do a back-of-the-envelope calculation and then send it off to a CPA.
> 
> I've been using the same accountant for well over thirty years and we've never met.
> 
> I really should do it myself with TurboTax but old habits die hard.


I do it this way too. I have used the same CPA for over 20 years. My taxes are quite complicated since we have a small business, investments and other complications.


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## Don M. (Mar 17, 2021)

I've used H&R Block software, on my computer, for years.  Our taxes are fairly simple, as we have no debt, etc., to deduct, so I can usually do everything in about an hour, and e-file both Fed and State.  For most people H&R, or TurboTax should work quite well.


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## Jules (Mar 17, 2021)

TurboTax.  Not me, he does it.


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## J.B Books (Mar 17, 2021)

I have used the same accounting firm since 1987.
I am a schedule C so I can deduct a lot of things. My wife gets a W2
Also rental income properties and all that tax stuff that goes with those.
I leave it to a pro. Plus I ALWAYS file an extension so I don't have to fine tune it until October.


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## Knight (Mar 17, 2021)

I do ours with Turbo Tax 8 yrs. now @ a tenth of the price were were paying a tax preparer.


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## UpRider (Mar 17, 2021)

Nice thing about TurboTax is that if you use the same computer year after year, the history of past years returns are automatically known to the TurboTax program for the current year.  Sometimes the IRS wants you to enter information from previous years' taxes. That can be a pain to dig out from filed paperwork, but not for TurboTax.  Also, capital gains carryforward losses are automatically remembered.


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## jujube (Mar 17, 2021)

I just did mine today.  Easy-peasy.


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## SetWave (Mar 17, 2021)

There's a group that does it for seniors which I used for a few years until now with the pandemic they will not meet face-to-face and it's more complicated than just doing it myself.


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## SetWave (Mar 17, 2021)

jujube said:


> I just did mine today.  Easy-peasy.


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## Gary O' (Mar 17, 2021)

SetWave beat me to it


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## Murrmurr (Mar 17, 2021)

I haven't filed a tax form since I had to go on SSI but someone told me that for the three years I had my foster son I was eligible for a refund so I went on TurboTax and filed for 2020. Then I went to file for 2019 and 2018, but apparently I should have amended the 2020 one instead. That got complicated so I went to H&R Block and the lady there said I already got all I was going to get. I didn't believe her, so I called the IRS. 

A nice lady at the IRS went over the whole 3 years with me in about 15 minutes, and not more than a week later, well over $3000 went into my account.


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## Murrmurr (Mar 17, 2021)

Gary O' said:


> Back when I worked for a living, I did the short form;
> 
> 1) What did you make last year
> 
> 2) Send it in


Plus mine was - 
Form: How many kids you got? 
Me: 3. 
Form: Name one ...and please affix a stamp.


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## cookiei (Mar 17, 2021)

I don't feel comfortable giving out my personal/financial info so I do my own even when I have to include additional forms for sold house or capital gain from investment.  A few times I tried both the 1040 and the EZ forms to see which one give more refunds.  It turned out that 1040 was the best for me even when my tax was simple. A couple decades earlier I volunteered at a computer warehouse to rebuild computers.  One of the machines I worked on had lots of personal info including SSN, DOB, address and financial info in a database.  It could be from an accounting office but they didn't wipe out the hard drive before donating it.  As long as I can do it myself I'll continue doing it to stimulate my brain.


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## SetWave (Mar 17, 2021)

Heard on the noon news that the deadline has been extended to 5/15. YAY!


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## horseless carriage (Mar 17, 2021)

Glowworm said:


> How about if you want to claim a tax rebate for interest costs on your mortgage or something like that? And how do pensioners do theirs?


We used to have a tax scheme known as MIRAS meaning mortgage interest relief at source. Instead of a tax rebate the mortgage payment was lower but it was scrapped in April 2000 by The Labour Party government's, Gordon Brown, who dubbed it a middle class perk.

The UK income tax system is known as PAYE or pay as you earn. We receive a form from the tax office on which we declare our income. The self employed will have a professional to do theirs but employed people just need to put down their employer, if they have one, and other sources of income. The tax office already know those sources because employers, pension funds and anyone who pays an income to someone has to declare it to their tax office.

An employee will get a tax code, and your tax threshold will be £12,500. That's how much you can earn tax free. After that we pay 20% on income £12,501 to £50,000 it the rises to 40% on income £50,001 to £150,000 and any income after that is taxed at 45%. If it interests you the UK tax office explains it in detail on their website. https://www.gov.uk/income-tax-rates


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## IrisSenior (Mar 17, 2021)

I used to use H & R Block but a few years ago my daughter showed me how to use the Turbo Tax and now I do it myself.


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## tbeltrans (Mar 17, 2021)

We go to a tax person.  I figure the value by how long it would take me to figure it all out, consider the cost per hour at my current earning capacity when I do engineering contract work, and it turns out that the tax guy is a bargain by comparison.  Whenever I am planning a purchase, whether it is somebody's labor as with the tax guy, or other goods or services, I figure it out by how many hours I am willing to work to purchase the thing.  That usually makes these decisions very clear.  I wouldn't go to one of those tax mills because they always seem to leave money on the table as another poster a bit earlier in this thread made abundantly clear, and my own experience in the past reflects similar results.

Tony


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## Robert59 (Mar 17, 2021)

I'm glad to pay 30.00 dollars to have someone local do mine.


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 17, 2021)

I started using H & R Block Tax Cut a decade or more ago. It provides the opportunity to e-file rather than dealing with all that paperwork The program is easy to use, it's efficient and for between $30 - $35 five people can use the program to file. My grandson uses my program and we split the cost. I've been satisfied. I use the print feature to generate PDF "copies" which I save in iDrive.com (not affiliated with Apple).


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## Chet (Mar 17, 2021)

I have always done my own taxes on the paper form and mailed them in.  I'm fully retired and my income is low and solely from interest, SS and pension so I fall below the level of having to pay federal tax and the need to file a form. I owe no tax to the state either, but they require me to submit a form anyway.


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## Kathleen’s Place (Mar 17, 2021)

Turbo Tax for years now.


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## dobielvr (Mar 17, 2021)

Lee said:


> I go to H&R Block, they are expensive for even a simple return but it is quick and easy.


I had to use them last year.  Not happy about that.

But today I went to my job sight to fill out some retirement ppwk, and I was able to do it there, for free.
Just have to go back and pick it up.

BTW...i just read somewhere that they're extending the deadline for filing till May.

***SetWave beat me to it ^^^^^


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## HoneyNut (Mar 17, 2021)

I used to use TaxAct-Online, but some years ago they made changes and it got hard to use and they were trying to charge money to use it, so I switched to Express1040.com.   My daughter uses TurboTax, my mom used to have an accountant.  My dad was very pro H&R but that's because he owned stock in it and did very well for him.
This year was a little hard because I sold a hay crop for the first time ever (which turned out to be "rent" income - which is what the kid that cut it told me, but I was hoping it would turn out to be 'farming' so I could get reduced property taxes, but oh well).


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 17, 2021)

HoneyNut said:


> I used to use TaxAct-Online, but some years ago they made changes and it got hard to use and they were trying to charge money to use it, so I switched to Express1040.com.   My daughter uses TurboTax, my mom used to have an accountant.  My dad was very pro H&R but that's because he owned stock in it and did very well for him.
> This year was a little hard because I sold a hay crop for the first time ever (which turned out to be "rent" income - which is what the kid that cut it told me, but I was hoping it would turn out to be 'farming' so I could get reduced property taxes, but oh well).


I never used the online version, never trusted it. Plus I had to use the Deluxe due to investments (also good for home and business owners). This is the first year I trusted to download the program. I usually buy the DVD but Amazon didn't have it available when I was ready to get started.


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## Warrigal (Mar 17, 2021)

In Australia we don't have state income tax and haven't since I was born. We do pay federal income tax. State revenue comes from allocations from the federal purse and from the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The states also levy stamp duty on property transactions, road tolls and other fees.

My income comes in the form of a part aged pension (means tested) from the Federal Government and from my allocated pension, which contains money contributed during my working life. Taxes were paid on money as it was invested so now that money is tax exempt. Income wise, with some concessions, I don't pay any income tax at all and have no need to submit a tax return anymore.

Before retirement we went to a local accountant because we had an investment property, now part of my allocated pension fund,  and taxation law kept changing all the time. It was worth the money to engage the services of someone who kept up to date.


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## Glowworm (Mar 18, 2021)

horseless carriage said:


> We used to have a tax scheme known as MIRAS meaning mortgage interest relief at source. Instead of a tax rebate the mortgage payment was lower but it was scrapped in April 2000 by The Labour Party government's, Gordon Brown, who dubbed it a middle class perk.
> 
> The UK income tax system is known as PAYE or pay as you earn. We receive a form from the tax office on which we declare our income. The self employed will have a professional to do theirs but employed people just need to put down their employer, if they have one, and other sources of income. The tax office already know those sources because employers, pension funds and anyone who pays an income to someone has to declare it to their tax office.
> 
> An employee will get a tax code, and your tax threshold will be £12,500. That's how much you can earn tax free. After that we pay 20% on income £12,501 to £50,000 it the rises to 40% on income £50,001 to £150,000 and any income after that is taxed at 45%. If it interests you the UK tax office explains it in detail on their website. https://www.gov.uk/income-tax-rates


Thanks for the information. Sounds something like our system. We get a form with all that already filled in and just sign it and send it in


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## Glowworm (Mar 18, 2021)

Warrigal said:


> In Australia we don't have state income tax and haven't since I was born. We do pay federal income tax. State revenue comes from allocations from the federal purse and from the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The states also levy stamp duty on property transactions, road tolls and other fees.
> 
> My income comes in the form of a part aged pension (means tested) from the Federal Government and from my allocated pension, which contains money contributed during my working life. Taxes were paid on money as it was invested so now that money is tax exempt. Income wise, with some concessions, I don't pay any income tax at all and have no need to submit a tax return anymore.
> 
> Before retirement we went to a local accountant because we had an investment property, now part of my allocated pension fund,  and taxation law kept changing all the time. It was worth the money to engage the services of someone who kept up to date.


Our income tax is local up to a certain income. After that limit we pay national but no local income tax on the excess.

Your pension is means tested? Here everyone gets a national pension no matter how much or little you earn. Then we have supplements that are paid in by your employer but the supplement isn't deducted from your salary. And of course you can take out a private pension insurance


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## Warrigal (Mar 18, 2021)

The aged pension is means tested, taking into consideration both assets and income. The eligibility  and pension payments depend on whichever test qualifies for the least payment. Hubby and I are assessed on the level of assets. The family home is exempt but all other assets are quantified and taken into consideration when determining payments.

How does the Age Pension assets test work? (in Australia)​The market value of any assets you or your partner own will be assessed by the Centrelink to determine your potential eligibility for the Age Pension.


*Important: *Your residential home is not included in the Age Pension assets test.
According to recent research by the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, 73% of households with at least one Age Pensioner are homeowners and 17.6% of these households have a home worth more than $1 million.


Any debts owing on assets other than your home is subtracted from their market value for the purposes of your assets test assessment. For example, if you have an investment property valued at $600,000 and you still owe $200,000 to the bank for the loan you obtained to buy it, the value of your investment property asset will be assessed at $400,000.

To be eligible for either a full or part pension, there are limits on the value of the assets you (and your partner combined) can own. The limits depend on whether you own your own home, as well as your living arrangements (including if you have a partner and whether they are age-eligible for the pension or not). The assets limits are higher for non-homeowners in recognition of the higher cost of housing for pensioners who rent their home.

Any debts owing on assets other than your home is subtracted from their market value for the purposes of your assets test assessment. For example, if you have an investment property valued at $600,000 and you still owe $200,000 to the bank for the loan you obtained to buy it, the value of your investment property asset will be assessed at $400,000.

To be eligible for either a full or part pension, there are limits on the value of the assets you (and your partner combined) can own. The limits depend on whether you own your own home, as well as your living arrangements (including if you have a partner and whether they are age-eligible for the pension or not). The assets limits are higher for non-homeowners in recognition of the higher cost of housing for pensioners who rent their home.

The current asset limits are itemised in the tables below. To be eligible for a full Age Pension the value of your assets must be below the following thresholds.





If the value of our assets is above the thresholds in the above table, you may still be eligible for a part Age Pension. The table below shows the maximum values of assets you can hold to still be eligible to receive any part pension payment.

The amount of Age Pension you are eligible for reduces by $3 per fortnight per $1000 of assets until it cuts off completely when the value of your assets exceeds the figures below.

Below is the table that applies to us.





We own our home and our combined assets, not including the value of our home, are less that A$880,500 so we are each eligible for a fortnightly government payment of $572.78 per fortnight. I have two other income streams from two allocated pension accounts that contain our savings. They are included in the assets test but the income from them is tax free. From the larger one I draw down $1,346.67 per month and from the smaller one A$402 per month. Hubby has similar income from his pension account. Between the means tested government payment (which is indexed every 6 months) and our own savings investments, we are quite comfortable. Currently all workers have about 9% on top of their wages paid into compulsory superannuation accounts by their employer that cannot be accessed until retirement age. By now, Australia has built up a very large level of savings that can be accessed in retirement and available for investment throughout our working lives. Withdrawal can occur earlier for hardship reasons.



​


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## Butterfly (Mar 19, 2021)

After a very unpleasant run-in with the IRS about 40 years ago (which I finally won, but had to hire a tax attorney to do so), I swore I would never again do my own tax return.  It's a promise I've kept.  Running afoul of the IRS is an experience you'll never forget.


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## funsearcher! (Mar 19, 2021)

Went to a free tax clinic at the senior center this year--they take your info one week and have someone do the taxes and 2 people check it then you come back to sign the next week. Zero cost and it is DONE.


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## Keesha (Mar 19, 2021)

Pay someone to do it! 
We have a regular accountant who has been doing our taxes for about the last 10 or 12 years now.


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## Remy (Mar 19, 2021)

I've had mine done with the same tax service company for the last 20-ish years. Two tax preparers (the first one moved out of the area), they have both been great and I think they are rather reasonable.

My stepfather went to some senior free place but they don't seem to be doing it this year due to Covid. He'll have to find a place. They did extend tax filing into May I think.


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## Jules (Mar 19, 2021)

If I were paying, it would be to an accountant rather than to HR.  An American friend is extremely qualified.  She said that there’re many who are hired & given quick training.  That’s not good if you have anything more than simple taxes.


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## Keesha (Mar 31, 2021)

We just got our income tax claims back after 4 years of not doing it and were pleasantly surprised.
Yayyyy! It’s definitely worth having a professional do it. Our accountant moved away but we tracked her down and finally got it done.


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## garyt1957 (Apr 4, 2021)

I do my own. It's pretty easy if you don't have any complicated situations. The last couple years I've gone to online services (TurboTax), makes it even easier.


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## Buckeye (Apr 4, 2021)

I do my own with TurboTax.  They are now pretty simple.  

Buckeye,  MBA, CPA


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## SetWave (Apr 4, 2021)

Was just mentioning on the "What are you doing today" thread that there's a volunteer group of accountants doing taxes for seniors every year and they are great. But, thanks to the goddamned virus they're doing it online this year and that's more confusing than just slogging through it myself.


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## SetWave (Apr 4, 2021)

Keesha said:


> Pay someone to do it!
> We have a regular accountant who has been doing our taxes for about the last 10 or 12 years now.


I paid a guy who came highly recommended. HA! He and his staff were extremely rude and inefficient. What a mistake.


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## Keesha (Apr 4, 2021)

SetWave said:


> I paid a guy who came highly recommended. HA! He and his staff were extremely rude and inefficient. What a mistake.


I’m sorry this happened to you. We lucked out by getting a very shy, introverted accountant who we found in the area when we moved here and she’s been doing our taxes since. 

I’ve got a disability which has been claimed for years and she makes sure it goes through so we get the extra tax break. When we had a small business she gave us lots of tips so we’d get a better return. Very well worth the cost.

My in-laws used to do their taxes every year and  ended up paying about $800 every year. This year they got an account and are getting between two and three thousand dollars.

I don’t know enough about taxes to do our own accounting. It’s not something I’m good at but my mom was an accountant by trade and she was a math whiz. From ‘our’ accountant experience, it’s been worthwhile. I hope you find a better one next time.


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## oldmontana (Apr 4, 2021)

I do my own.  Have used H & R Block software for 4 years.


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## Lethe200 (Apr 12, 2021)

SetWave said:


> Heard on the noon news that the deadline has been extended to 5/15. YAY!


If you have to file state tax, be sure to check your specific state for filing deadlines. Some states did not match the federal deadline extension, although most states did so automatically.


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## Lethe200 (Apr 12, 2021)

We use a tax professional. I did our taxes myself while we were working; it was usually the EZ1040 form. But once we took retirement, I was tired of both managing the asset portfolio and doing the taxes, so we now use an independent CFP firm and are on our second tax pro. 

Our first tax adviser was a family friend - very good but he was elderly. After a bout with skin cancer, he became noticeably frailer. I finally decided to find someone closer to us and was referred to the woman we now use. She mostly does work for small businesses so she considers us one of her "easy" clients. This is our second year with her.

As we take regular distributions from our taxable portfolio, it's worthwhile for us having pros for both asset management and tax filing. Our distributions are managed with an eye towards taxes, which definitely helps keep our effective tax rates lower. 

This is important as Spouse's pension is fully taxable which thus bumps my SocSec into the highest taxable bracket.

Our federal and state tax forms totaled 42 pages this year. We figure our CPA is worth every penny of her cost.


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## dobielvr (Apr 12, 2021)

Well, I just went today and picked up my completed taxes, and I'm getting $$ back!

I mentioned earlier that I get them done at my job for free,


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## retiredtraveler (Apr 12, 2021)

*We do our own sans software. Wife enjoys doing them. She is an AARP tax volunteer so she keeps up with the tax changes.*


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## Gary O' (Jul 14, 2021)

Bejjks said:


> how was the issue resolved?


I thanked him for his effort

Went home

Fired up Turbo Tax

Listed everything he didn't
including the obvious (to me) deductions

Got a refund

Turbo made it so easy (for me)
Their program asked questions I hadn't considered 
and found places I'd omitted

Last year I had an issue with them
Went live with one of their guys
Either I wasn't making myself clear, or he just wasn't getting it
Went a couple rungs up their tech ladder
Got the issue resolved
No refund, but didn't have to pay anything in


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## Liberty (Jul 14, 2021)

We've had an account do it for many years since we were in business.  Now, being retired its much easier for them and us...lol. 

This is an interesting projection on 2022 Cola Benefits, by the way:

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/07/13/social-security-cola-estimate-for-2022-raised-to-6-1/


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## win231 (Jul 14, 2021)

I have a whole team of accountants & CPA's.  A big hassle for someone as wealthy as I am.


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