Do you pay to have your taxes done and how much do you pay?

[alien_host]

I've been doing mine/DH's for as long as I can remember....I usually use Turbo Tax but I wonder if I'm missing stuff that could be deducted etc. Over the years they seem to have gotten more complicated too.

So I'm curious how much people pay to have their taxes done and if you use an HR Block type place or a CPA to do them. I personally "don't trust" those HR Block places after seeing a news piece how some of those places disposed of people's information in a dumpster - Social security numbers and all personal info for anyone to see/take. Also for those places it seems like they hire so many "seasonal workers" I wonder how accurate they really are (i.e. much better than I would do?)

So if you don't mind posting the cost of filing your federal and state tax returns that would be great. Well I'm planning for next year at least.

[Twoboos]

We used to do Turbo Tax when we were both employed at a regular company. Everything was pretty straightforward.

When I changed to Real Estate, I was nervous about doing our own & missing something so we started going to a CPA, who we still use even though I'm not working in any income related-sense. :)

I think this year we paid $450 which was way up from last year ($380).

[boolady]

We pay $130 for a CPA who comes to our house.

[SM23Mama21]

I work for a CPA firm and we charge anywhere from $250 to $550 depending on how long you have been a client and how complicated your taxes are. (The new client usually are charged $550.)

[craftysierra]

$250 cpa, brfore we had a rental I just did it.

Sierra

[BabyMine]

There has only been 1 year that I haven't done our taxes and that bill was $230.

My mom, who was a realtor, pays between $350 and $450

[pomegranate]

I use Turbo Tax on the web. I usually only do the deluxe version but a couple of years ago DH had exercised stock options and it got a little more complicated, so I upgraded to Turbo Tax premier and it was really easy. I already deduct a lot (and use Turbo Tax's built-in ItsDeductible for donated items), but am wondering if a CPA could find more deductions for us too.

[c&j04]

We use a CPA at $250.00 a year. DH started going there about 10 years ago so they understand how/why we do stuff which is invaluable when you have your own business. Last year I took in some records, had a 10 min phone conversation with CPA later and papers were ready to sign. Worth every penny!!!!!!

[AnnieW625]

Turbo Tax Deluxe, $49.95 (missed the Costco coupon!). I thought about getting a CPA to do ours when we bought our house and my co worker who has a degree in accountancy and has owned his own business said he still just uses Turbo Tax so I thought why not just continue doing that. It's always worked.

[jgenie]

We pay $500.

[JBaxter]

We us a CPA and pay I think $330. It has been so worth it for us.

[Indianamom2]

Too much, I'm thinking, for H&R Block.

We paid $290 this year, which was higher than what we've paid before, even though the guy kept making a point that they hadn't raised their prices.

We used to do it ourselves (well, DH did it because he actually does some tax controversy work as an attorney) but it was just one more thing and more stress, so having someone else do the taxes is worth paying for....just maybe not that much to H&R Block!

[jacksmomtobe]

The last few years we have paid $1k. This year we switched CPAs and will be paying no more than $800. Due to my husbands investments and other items ours are fairly complex. Just talked to a friend yesterday who has somewhat of a complicated tax situation and they pay about $450.

[daniele_ut]

We pay around $250 to a licensed CPA and it is totally worth it for us. We have a complicated tax situation and it got too frustrating for me to try to puzzle it out.

[wellyes]

I have a family member who works at "Block" and I'd advise against it for most people if they can avoid it. It's not that it's corrupt, he is a very honest person. Just that the majority of his customers are there for loans against thier return. It's really more a lending place than a tax place. Many customers coming in at this time of year are simply not functionally literate enough to fill out the 1040EZ - elderly, immigrants, etc.

[kdeunc]

We use a CPA who does taxes on the side. He is a director for a nonprofit as his "regular" job. He charges us between $150-$250 depending on how long it takes. I do some 1099 work that varies from year to year which impacts the amount of time. We have used him for 9 years.

[jse107]

CPA for $300. Totally worth it and we don't have complicating issues.

[catpagmo]

We paid $320 last year to our CPA. I agree...I'd much rather pay someone I trust than trying to figure out all the tax law changes, etc... What a headache!

[kmillini]

We also use a CPA. Our taxes are complicated because my husband is a farmer. There is a lot of depreciation stuff that I could never figure out. It seems like our tax bill goes up by $10-20 bucks every year. Last year it was $290. I haven't gotten the bill for this year yet.

[niccig]

We pay more, but we also get financial advice along with the taxes. He'll see us for 1-2 appointments throughout the year without charging us for those. I don't know if he does that for everyone or just for clients who have been with him for some time, DH has been seeing him for 15+ years. I'm going to work in his office for the Oct. 15 filing, and he''s going to be paying me, and we'll get discount on next year's taxes.

[BabyBearsMom]

I am a CPA, and really if you don't have complicated taxes (you are both citizens, work for a "regular" company etc.) Turbo Tax is your best bet. The software has every deduction and credit from the Internal Revenue Code built into it. In fact, most CPAs will use some sort of tax software when they prepare your filing. When I do my own taxes, I use Turbo Tax:bag which is a little embarassing given my profession.

[vonfirmath]

Too much, I'm thinking, for H&R Block.

We paid $290 this year, which was higher than what we've paid before, even though the guy kept making a point that they hadn't raised their prices.

We used to do it ourselves (well, DH did it because he actually does some tax controversy work as an attorney) but it was just one more thing and more stress, so having someone else do the taxes is worth paying for....just maybe not that much to H&R Block!

Hadn't raised their prices, no. But this year's taxes had more forms than last year and they charge per form.

[wencit]

We used H&R Block for a few times until the year they screwed up our taxes, TWICE on the same return. Holy cow, was it next to impossible to find someone who would work on our taxes in September! From then on, we used a professional CPA, who was worth every penny. I think we paid $350 for her services last year. Anyways, in the years when our taxes have been simple, we've used TurboTax, but any time we have complicated returns (rental properties, stock options exercised, contracting work), we've used the professional CPA.

[Penny's Pappa]

I use H&R Block's free online Federal filing and then do my State and Local taxes myself. We don't have a complicated tax situation so I feel pretty comfortable doing them myself, but if I were to seek professional help, I'd go to a CPA and skip H&R Block entirely. I've known people who have taken temporary jobs with the Block during tax season as a supplemental form of income. Suffice it to say, those people were not what I would call "tax professionals."

[lovin2shop]

I'm a CPA and I also agree that most people should just be using Turbotax. The most time consuming part is just getting the records together, and you have to do that for the firm anyway. I can't see missing out on any deductions at all, and the firms will not generally have any better recommendations. I think that TT can easily handle fairly complex investments and side businesses as well. The firms are really only getting paid to input the info into their software for you.

[Kymberley]

$325 for a CPA. My parents used TT and got audited and owed a lot of money due to user error. I'd rather have them done by someone that knows what they are doing. I don't trust this flakey brain of mine anymore.

[mommylamb]

Our's is in the $400-$450 range. We have a CPA. But, our taxes are a bit complicated because DH works for a foreign govt and they don't take taxes out of his check, so we have to pay quarterly. On top of that, he's not a U.S. citizen (greencard holder), so that coupled with the fact that he works for a foreign govt impacts what he pays for payroll taxes-- technically they guy isn't America and doesn't work in America (he works in an Embassy), he just lives here.

It is worth every penny. I hate doing taxes.

[TonFirst]

We pay about $800 to a CPA and now I'm wondering if we pay too much! I'd say our return is complicated - my husband has a K-1, I have a W-2, we file a W-3 and W-2 forms for multiple babysitters, we have our residence as well as a rental property, we have investments, we have to provide our quarterly income info to the IRS in order to avoid penalties (the first two quarters are lighter than the second two quarters, so we pay less than the IRS thinks we should in April and July, and we have to file not only with the IRS and with the state where we live, but also with the two other states where my husband's firm has offices. I cannot fathom doing all that ourselves with Turbotax.

But reading what y'all pay, I can't help but wonder if we overpay. Our CPA doesn't give us financial advice, but she does answer any tax questions we have that pop up over the year - usually 4-3 times a year I call her with a question and she always gets me an answer within 24 hours or less. She's an Enrolled Agent - would that make any difference in the cost?

My dad always used Turbotax for all his stuff until he and my mom moved overseas for a few years - then, he gladly handed it off to the CPA his company provided and paid for!

[tmphilo]

I'm a CPA and based on what my firm would charge, it seems everyone is paying significantly less. I will say that we do complex returns not the straightforward ones. We also do tax planning throughout the year as well as needed. It really depends on what you have going on as to what you should expect to pay and the level of service you want. The more complicated return, the more expensive you can expect it to be. Also, some places charge by form, but I would expect with most CPAs at CPAs firm that you will find they charge by the hour.

[TonFirst]

I am guessing that ours would be considered somewhat complex, but I honestly have no idea. I do know that our preparer charges by the form - and there are a lot of forms!

[kijip]

HR Block and the tax prep places do not do anything more than Turbo Tax. If you need a CPA, go to an accounting firm or a CPA with a shingle out.

I do my own taxes and a bunch of other people's, including self employed and a small business.

[kijip]

I have a family member who works at "Block" and I'd advise against it for most people if they can avoid it. It's not that it's corrupt, he is a very honest person. Just that the majority of his customers are there for loans against thier return. It's really more a lending place than a tax place. Many customers coming in at this time of year are simply not functionally literate enough to fill out the 1040EZ - elderly, immigrants, etc.

At work last week I met a homeless person, with barely enough income to even need to file at all, who was scammed by HR Block into paying $250! Includes "audit defense". Like the IRS is going to audit single people with no dependents who file on the 1040EZ with 1 pt job. When he could have gone to a free clinic and done the same, and kept his $250 places like HR Block make me mad.

[tmarie]

We pay a CPA to do our taxes...she charges about $200. She used to work at a firm, now she works PT out of her house and just does taxes on the side. Her husband actually works at dh's firm, so that's how we found her. She has a great gig! :)

tmarie

[squimp]

Wow I feel lucky. We pay between $80-100, depending on whether we have nanny taxes to deal with. It is worth every penny.

[luza]

There was a story in today's NYTimes on a class action suit against H&R Block over recurring cases of H&R employees using clients' records to claim their tax refunds: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/nyregion/09hrblock.html?ref=nyregion
Apparently it is a problem with independent tax preparers too.

[army_mom]

The firm we used for our investments include our tax preparation in their fee. It is pretty convenient in they track all of our income, investments, and stocks throughout the year and at tax time they send us a packet to fill out and we have a teleconference with them once they have completed our taxes so we can go over them together. I think now that we have a family we pay about $700 a year, but it includes a lot of financial planning and management as well. For us, it is very worth it and our agency is run by an ex-military guy so he knows all the compliacations/benefits that come with our finances and taxes.