Tax preparation?

Tek7

Tek7

CGA President, Tribe of Judah Founder & President
Staff member
Two questions:
  1. What do I need to bring with me when I go to get my taxes prepared? I am currently employed, I graduated with my undergraduate degree last May, and my wife is still a graduate college student.
  2. Where would you all recommend I go to get my taxes prepared? I'm not familiar with local private accounting firms, so if anyone can provide insight (positive or negative) on tax preparation chains, I would greatly appreciate it.
 
phasetim said:
i always enjoy turbotax.com easy, and simple...
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I filed my taxes online using the free TurboTax service last year, but I've earned substantially more money in the last year than when I was in college, so my wife and I want to have a company deal with the IRS in the event we're selected for an audit.

EDIT: But thank you! It's a good suggestion for any other situation. :D
 
My wife and I took ours to a tax attorney last year. She actually took it to H&R Block first with the intent to get a quote. They said that they would have to look at our tax stuff before giving the quote. The lady then proceeded to do our taxes and gave my wife a bill for over $300. My wife was flustered and paid it without thinking, then she called me. I told her to give the money back and saw we weren't going to pay since we asked for a quote and had not authorized them to do the work. They wouldn't budge, so I made some calls and ended up getting the district manager on the phone. She agreed to refund our money after the check cleared (because by this point there was no telling where the check was). We did get our refund, and then we took it to a tax attorney recommende by my wife's boss. It ended up being less than $100 with them.

Unfortunately the two places that I know to recommend are over here in IL. They're familiar with Missouri tax laws, but it's a bit of a drive for you. Get some quotes though. It might be worth the drive to save money. (it's probalby 30-45 min from where you live...i make that drive twice every day)
 
As for what to bring, you want to take anything that you've gotten in the mail in the last month that says "for your tax records" :p Really, any 1099's, 1098-E's, W2's that you have received along with things like your tithing and other donations to non-profit organizations, stock sales, interest paid on student loans or mortgage. This is all that comes to mind this morning, but I know those are pretty substantial when it comes to deductions. You also want to have your last years return if you got one.

As for services...

I've used H&R Block and the past few years, I've gone over to TurboTax instead due to the high fee's they charge. When we lived in Arizona we used a guy who went to our church.

My suggestion is to ask around the church where you and your wife attend and see if there is someone there who is a tax accountant. I always like to give my business to fellow Christians if I am able before turning to big businesses. If not, then you might check into H&R or Hewitt.


Also, with the paid version of TurboTax you can do an audit check that will evaluate your return and see what would potentially flag for an audit by the IRS. I've never used the free version so I don't know if it does this or not.

Cory
 
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I use taxcut and they will help in the event you get audited and I use the home and busines edition
 
I filed my taxes online using the free TurboTax service last year, but I've earned substantially more money in the last year than when I was in college, so my wife and I want to have a company deal with the IRS in the event we're selected for an audit.
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they also offer paid services for different levels of tax filing if you log on there is a questionaire to see which service is best suited for you, and they also offer an option to cover you legally during an audit or whatever..... you can also go through the whole process without paying a dime until you file...
 
Taxes...are frustrating.

I've changed my mind and have decided to file my taxes myself. Thing is, I want to use a software package that includes protection against audits.

Given the new criteria, would you all recommend TaxCut, TurboTax, or another package? My tax return will be quite simple; an EZ form will likely do the job.
 
Strike that, reverse it. :mad:

My wife made the point that we may be eligible for "hidden" deductions since she's a student.

So we're looking at the following chains, since we don't know anyone locally:
  • Liberty Tax
  • H&R Block
  • Jackson-Hewitt
Suggestions?

EDIT: I HATE TAXES SO MUCH!
 
Don't think I'm much help here, my family uses a local tax attorney and I used Taxact.com as mine are fairly simple.
 
I thought I had replied to this. I know I wrote something up. I guess I forgot to his send. :) (i get busy at work)

Skip the tax places and find a good tax attorney! The tax places just make money doing taxes and often employ people that don't specialize in taxes. Tax attorneys make money from setting up businesses, doing taxes, etc. The big advantage with them is that they should be cheaper and they should be up to date on the latest tax laws. I don't know of any in MO to recommend unfortunately. The one I use is in IL about 30-45 min from where you live.
 
A co-worker gave me a copy of TaxCut to try out. If I find that it has what I'm looking for, I'll buy the appropriate edition of TaxCut online and file electronically.

I had asked around at work, hoping to find a local tax attorney, but everyone I spoke with filed their own taxes.

I was originally hoping to file by the beginning of this week, but the awful pain in my right wrist as well as pain in my legs, lower back, shoulder, and neck sidelined me.
 
Tek7 said:
I was originally hoping to file by the beginning of this week, but the awful pain in my right wrist as well as pain in my legs, lower back, shoulder, and neck sidelined me.
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Been playing football?

I wish I could help you out with the Taxes thing... but thankfully I don't do anything like that yet!
 
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