It's tax time again

Narrock · Post by **Narrock** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:04 pm

Anybody here ever use "TurboTax" from Intuit? I used it last year and it worked pretty good overall. I'm wondering if I can use the same CD as last year and just download updates, or if I have to shell out the bucks for the 2006 tax year CD.

:dunno:

Post by **Lyion** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:03 pm

Try to nab a deal on fatwallet.com or another Internet site.

Post by **Martrae** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 12:38 am

You have to shell out every year.

That being said...I love TurboTax and have used it every year since 2000.

Eziekial · Post by **Eziekial** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:07 am

Turbo tax is great if you have single source of income, no businesses and don't make over 100k. Once you get to that point, you're better off spending a few hundred and getting them done professionally.

Narrock · Post by **Narrock** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 10:24 am

Thank you all.

Evermore · Post by **Evermore** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:35 am

2 years ago i used Turbotax. Then for comparison i went to H & R Block. My refund from H&R was much bigger.

Post by **Lyion** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:40 am

Eziekial wrote:Turbo tax is great if you have single source of income, no businesses and don't make over 100k. Once you get to that point, you're better off spending a few hundred and getting them done professionally.

Hmm, I generally do mine myself, but I'm wondering if I should get them professionally done.

Eziekial · Post by **Eziekial** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:32 am

It's worth it, seriously; if only for the signature on the submittal (a good accountant signs it for you).

Gargamellow · Post by **Gargamellow** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:51 am

Enjoy your money, guys. Every year I sign a paper for my ex which allows him to claim my children.

YES...I know I am giving him back 2/3 of what he pays in child support. But it keeps harmony in the relationship to give people free money. And my children need that harmony.

Evermore · Post by **Evermore** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:01 pm

Gargamellow wrote:Enjoy your money, guys. Every year I sign a paper for my ex which allows him to claim my children.

YES...I know I am giving him back 2/3 of what he pays in child support. But it keeps harmony in the relationship to give people free money. And my children need that harmony.

dont mean to start a fire but dont you need the money?

Menlaan · Post by **Menlaan** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:31 pm

Eziekial wrote:It's worth it, seriously; if only for the signature on the submittal (a good accountant signs it for you).

Is it just b/c of that or, like Evermore, you got a bigger refund? What tweaks did you find them making?

I do them myself b/c it's so easy, but I don't want to leave a lot of money on the table. Maybe this year I'll try it both ways and see if there is any difference.

Evermore · Post by **Evermore** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:37 pm

well you do get the added assistance of the tax preparer if you are audited

Menlaan · Post by **Menlaan** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:48 pm

Evermore wrote:well you do get the added assistance of the tax preparer if you are audited

I'm not worried about an audit b/c I only record things that I have receipts for, and I keep everything for years. It takes me about a half hour to file my taxes b/c it's so simple. I doubt that I'll ever be audited the way I do taxes, but, if I did, it would be very quick to provide the information that would verify them.

Post by **Martrae** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:55 pm

Evermore wrote:2 years ago i used Turbotax. Then for comparison i went to H & R Block. My refund from H&R was much bigger.

Didn't H & R Block get into trouble for fudging returns?

Phlegm · Post by **Phlegm** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:56 pm

Martrae wrote:
Evermore wrote:2 years ago i used Turbotax. Then for comparison i went to H & R Block. My refund from H&R was much bigger.

Didn't H & R Block get into trouble for fudging returns?

For their own return, not their customers.

Evermore · Post by **Evermore** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:07 pm

Menlaan wrote:
Evermore wrote:well you do get the added assistance of the tax preparer if you are audited

I'm not worried about an audit b/c I only record things that I have receipts for, and I keep everything for years. It takes me about a half hour to file my taxes b/c it's so simple. I doubt that I'll ever be audited the way I do taxes, but, if I did, it would be very quick to provide the information that would verify them.

filing a 1040a?

my advice would be to try it for 1 year and then compare it to what you get when you fill out your expenses.

Menlaan · Post by **Menlaan** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:08 pm

I've used TaxCut in the past. I'm not sure what forms they used for it. I'll take your advice and post the impact when I get their results.

Lionking · Post by **Lionking** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:22 pm

I've used TurboTax for the past few years and really liked it, but when a free premium version of Tax Cut by H&R Block arrived in the mail, that made up my mind to switch this year.

Jay · Post by **Jay** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:23 pm

Tax time will pay for my new TV ^^.

Narrock · Post by **Narrock** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:16 am

Evermore wrote:2 years ago i used Turbotax. Then for comparison i went to H & R Block. My refund from H&R was much bigger.

I went to H&R Block for years. Two years ago was the last time I went there, and they charged me $157 to file. The TurboTax program costs about 16 bucks. My refunds were about the same whether I went to H&R Block or when I used the TurboTax last year. So, I came out ahead using the software.

Evermore · Post by **Evermore** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:49 am

Narrock wrote:
Evermore wrote:2 years ago i used Turbotax. Then for comparison i went to H & R Block. My refund from H&R was much bigger.

I went to H&R Block for years. Two years ago was the last time I went there, and they charged me $157 to file. The TurboTax program costs about 16 bucks. My refunds were about the same whether I went to H&R Block or when I used the TurboTax last year. So, I came out ahead using the software.

hmm maybe i should look at this again.

Eziekial · Post by **Eziekial** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:51 am

[quote="Menlaan"][quote="Eziekial"]It's worth it, seriously; if only for the signature on the submittal (a good accountant signs it for you).[/quote]

Is it just b/c of that or, like Evermore, you got a bigger refund? What tweaks did you find them making?

I do them myself b/c it's so easy, but I don't want to leave a lot of money on the table. Maybe this year I'll try it both ways and see if there is any difference.[/quote]

I always do my own with turbotax then take everything in to my accountant for their calculation. Last year I had a 3k rebate then he tweaked it and i ended up with a 4.8k rebate. Even if you get the same figure, it's reassurance of your calculation and the support if you get flagged for audit (which a very small percent is random BTW) is priceless. Trust me, I had a friend get auditted and he had filed a simple 1040 return with no itemization and it was a painful process. An IRS audit is not limited to what you put on your return. It looks at your entire financial portfolio to find if you missed something to begin with. Good luck!