2008 tax returns

irvinesinglemom_IHB

irvinesinglemom_IHB

New member
My long-time accountant passed away this year. I had planned on using him to do my taxes for many years and now I'm flailing around a bit. I will probably end up using the company that he referred all his clients to before he died (cancer, so he had time to plan), but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? I might even go it alone this year since my finances are embarrassingly simple. No property, no investments other than come CDs, Scholarshare, and my 401k which doesn't count. Minimal deductions, in other words. I read an article somewhere recently about <a href="http://icanefile.org">efiling</a> for free and the web site looks pretty decent. Or I can buy software at Costco...



Suggestions, my financially gifted IHB friends?



Thanks!
 
Do you have past years' returns? If nothing's different, maybe you can refer to them while inputting 08's numbers on your own.
 
[quote author="Daedalus" date=1231683118]Do you have past years' returns? If nothing's different, maybe you can refer to them while inputting 08's numbers on your own.</blockquote>


That thought had actually crossed my mind...
 
I've been doing my own taxes for years (mortgage, tuition payments, kids, 401K, itemized deductions, capital gains/losses,), so if your tax situation is not more complicated than that, you can do it yourself with the right software. I've been using Taxslayer for years, and I hear good things about Turbotax, but I've never tried it before. It all comes down to just being detail oriented and imputing the numbers you have on your W2s and other forms correctly into the program.

Take a stab at it, and if that doesn't work out, you can always find somebody, but if it works, you will save yourself some money.
 
I would recommend Turbotax Deluxe, ive been using that for years. Just go to turbotax.com, its $30.00, you dont have to pay until you file. Its very straightforward.
 
If your finances really are that simple, you should be fine without any software.



Just use last year's as a template, and fill in the old 1040!
 
[quote author="irvinesinglemom" date=1231681853]My long-time accountant passed away this year. I had planned on using him to do my taxes for many years and now I'm flailing around a bit. I will probably end up using the company that he referred all his clients to before he died (cancer, so he had time to plan), but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? I might even go it alone this year since my finances are embarrassingly simple. No property, no investments other than come CDs, Scholarshare, and my 401k which doesn't count. Minimal deductions, in other words. I read an article somewhere recently about <a href="http://icanefile.org">efiling</a> for free and the web site looks pretty decent. Or I can buy software at Costco...



Suggestions, my financially gifted IHB friends?



Thanks!</blockquote>


I have been using Turbo Tax forever and find it very easy. It will literally step you through your tax return with questions. You'll just end up selecting "no" many many times. It can be purchased at Costco or online via download. While I have never used it, their online product, i.e. you don't have to buy and install software, is supposed to be good. I already have 90% of my return done and I haven't received a single W-2 or 1099 yet. Gotta love the internet!
 
TurboTax is good. Major exceptions are if you have foreign income, rental property, like-kind exchange, some business property sales, excessive mortgage interest deductions, sale of livestock, timber, or depleted assets, K-1s, and complicated depreciation issues. The main problem is not the software, but the users. Many folks answer the questions with the outcome in mind rather than just answering the questions simply. Some try to answer for specific results. If you are subject to AMT, just answer the questions and do not try to manipulate the outcome. If you have any questions about some of the questions, pm me.

And you can spend an extra $30 or $40 or so and have a tax professional review your retrun online through the TurboTax site. Emphatically, that $30 is well spent for some folks.
 
I always seem to have trouble with depreciation on our rental property with Turbo Tax. It just never seems right, otherwise it's all good.
 
[quote author="tmare" date=1231823375]I always seem to have trouble with depreciation on our rental property with Turbo Tax. It just never seems right, otherwise it's all good.</blockquote>


If you have rental property and depreciation, I would recommend using an Enrolled Agent to prepare your taxes.
 
[quote author="awgee" date=1231821413]TurboTax is good. Major exceptions are if you have foreign income, rental property, like-kind exchange, some business property sales, excessive mortgage interest deductions, <strong>sale of livestock</strong>, timber, or depleted assets, K-1s, and complicated depreciation issues. </blockquote>


Yeah, when I sold my cow in 2006, Turbo Tax totally f'ed up my return...



:)
 
[quote author="ipoplaya" date=1231831887][quote author="awgee" date=1231821413]TurboTax is good. Major exceptions are if you have foreign income, rental property, like-kind exchange, some business property sales, excessive mortgage interest deductions, <strong>sale of livestock</strong>, timber, or depleted assets, K-1s, and complicated depreciation issues. </blockquote>


Yeah, when I sold my cow in 2006, Turbo Tax totally f'ed up my return...



:)</blockquote>


Oddly enough, I have had to negotiate settlement for an alpaca rancher/dog breeder who used TurboTax.

More advice: don't become an alpaca rancher. It does not appear to be very profitable.
 
[quote author="awgee" date=1231837992]



Oddly enough, I have had to negotiate settlement for an alpaca rancher/dog breeder who used TurboTax.

More advice: don't become an alpaca rancher. It does not appear to be very profitable.</blockquote>


I think one of the owners of my company does the alpaca thing. No wonder we are going under...
 
[quote author="ipoplaya" date=1231845259]I think one of the owners of my company does the alpaca thing...</blockquote>


<img src="http://einsiders.com/features/columns/images/napoleondynamite.jpg" alt="" />
 
[quote author="awgee" date=1231837992]

More advice: don't become an alpaca rancher. It does not appear to be very profitable.</blockquote>


The dead giveaway is it is advertised on TV, and is not the topic of a reality TV show. Real farming for real money is real work and real miserable.



"The Real Dairymen of Tulare County" follows Manual Santos at 2 am in the pouring rain wading around knee deep in cow sh*t moving cows into the parlor to be milked."
 
[quote author="ipoplaya" date=1231831887][quote author="awgee" date=1231821413]TurboTax is good. Major exceptions are if you have foreign income, rental property, like-kind exchange, some business property sales, excessive mortgage interest deductions, <strong>sale of livestock</strong>, timber, or depleted assets, K-1s, and complicated depreciation issues. </blockquote>


Yeah, when I sold my cow in 2006, Turbo Tax totally f'ed up my return...



:)</blockquote>


Sheesh... not only are you a bully on IHB, but damn... you treat your livestock even worse.



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