Usually my DH is in charge of doing taxes but since I am the chief financial-officer here anymore, I am taking over.

Would you recommend going to a private accountant (mainly because of the tips that they can offer for next year), a place like H&R Block, or software program?

If software program, which is best in your opinion?

I know that I am asking a lot but want to make an informed decision then just doing it the way that we always do it (TaxCut software!) if there is a better way.

Thanks in advance!

We use taxAct.com. It is free for anyone . Gotta love that! I do pay 9.95 for ours though because it imports all the info from the year before for me and makes it a little easier. This is the second year I have used them but I do them without submitting them on the h&r site to compare and get the exact same amount for our return on both.

I have used Turbo Tax and been happy with that.

Not sure what types of income you need to report or what deductions. If it's pretty much the usual type stuff, I would go with Turbo Tax. I don't think tax filing is that difficult.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

My Dad buys TurboTax every year and he, my sister, my brother, myself and my Grandma all use it. We schedule appointments with him to come over !! It is very easy, just plug in your numbers when it asks and presto, your done.

I am a tax accountant and would not recommend you use H&R block. Their people have had an 8 week crash course in taxes, I went to school for four years plus my masters! Who would you trust??

That also doesn't mean you need to spend $200 to go to an accountant either. If you don't have your own home business, aren't buying and selling significant amounts of stock and don't have kids with trust funds I would tell you to use a software program like TaxCut, TurboTax, etc.

They are all relatively the same these days and will give you advice on what to do. They are VERY easy to follow and inexpensive. I tell my smaller clients that if they are not intimated to try it themselves, they can always come back. There is no reason for anyone to spend $200+ on something you can do yourself.

Don't be afraid of the IRS, if you complete your return honestly and save all of your documentation you will be fine. 90% of my small clients come to me out of fear of the IRS not because they can't handle their own returns.

PS the IRS does have an 800 # you can call and ask your tax questions confidentially. Although the IRS will accept any advice given by this help line as fact, they can steer you in the general direction and help you find what you may be looking for.

Hope this helps you all!

Michelle

Thanks for all of the replies! It was very helpful. Must not fear the IRS... Got it!

Yeah, ditto about H & R Block, my dad( retired chemist) took that class and passed, but felt it did not teach you much and he did not feel comfortable doing people's taxes, so he is not going to work for them!

I had a great guy on the other hand, at H & R block who knew his stuff and had been doing it for years, he moved away, so I found a private accountant for less money through a friend. He found two thing we were not deducting.

I vote private firm all the way!

Paulette