Bronkster

For the past thirty or so years I've had my taxes done (for free!) by my parents. As retired aerospace engineers, they wanted something new to do so they started their own little tax/ investment company. But last year was it for them (they pretty old!) and I find myself needing to deal with my taxes on my own this year. Since Social Security is my only source of income (other than selling tidbits on Ebay - but that doesn't count for 2021 filing) I've been told that I don't even need to file anymore. That was true last year also, but I filed anyway so that I would be in the system if any more Stimulus Checks wandered out of D.C.

So, I don't really want to go to a tax preparer due to the cost, and the fact that I'm not getting a refund, and that I may not even need to file and I don't want to pay someone to tell me that. So I'm thinking of tax software, like TurboTax or whatever. I already did a small bit of looking online at reviews and concluded that, as a home-owner, the FREE version wouldn't cut it, probably. I don't mind paying for the higher version, as long as I know it's something I'd actually be able to do on my own (as someone who hasn't done his own taxes since the early 1970s ).

I'm pretty sure a few other otters here have had to file taxes over the years, and wonder if they have any personal experiences with software they might share. Or just discuss filing in general.

Kurt D

Do we have to talk taxes?



I use Turbo Tax and think it's a fantastic service. Just dive in baby! If your only source of income is SS it should be really easy. Even if you're able to deduct Mortgage Interest it should still be really easy.

NB: I've been doing my own taxes since I was 18, so 34 years. I still hate it.

Nick Danger

I download H+R Block Tax Cut Deluxe Plus State. I set an alert at camelcamelcamel, and it's usually about $25 for a few days around Thanksgiving. Turbotax is twice as much.

I can knock it off in an hour or two. I've done it for a long time, except for 2021 and 2022, when things got complicated and I paid an accountant to do my taxes. Next year, I'll be back to home tax software.

LurkerDan

I've used FreeTaxUSA the last few years. Pretty easy.

Kurt D

I understand everything but this: what are you setting an alert for, what is camelcamelcamel, and why do you do this around thanksgiving?

chowderhead

i use the slow ship amazon credits to purchase HR block deluxe software for next to free each year. It does cost 20 to efile for state but you can print it out and send it in the mail for free or it is free to efile in NY.


the program will walk you through each step. Since your situation is straight forward, I even think the online free HR Block version should be sufficient.

OldDude

I also use H&R Block Deluxe plus State. Amazon always has it on sale on Black Friday. $22.50 for the 2021. My taxes are moderately complex, H&R is considerably less expensive than Turbo Tax and works equally well.

PhantomStranger

If you don't have exotic taxes or making rare itemized deductions, FreeTaxUSA is perfectly serviceable for filing taxes and fairly easy to use.

emanon

camelcamelcamel.com is a site that allows you to set alerts for price changes on Amazon. Thanksgiving is both around the time tax software is released, as well as (of course) Black Friday sales.

JasonX

No reason to pay for a higher version if you aren't getting a refund. If you only income is Social Security, you could have $1MM in deductions and you would still pay the exact same amount of tax, $0.

Vibiana

I do my own, my oldest brother's, and SSG Honeylamb's. I use Turbotax.

Kurt D

Thank you. I used my brain a bit more with some of the later posts and sussed it out finally.

I feel stuck with Turbo Tax because they have all my info now and it speeds up the process, but maybe next year I'll make the switch.

Paff

Yeah, TurboTax here too. Maybe it's expensive, but still not much more than the cost of a tank of gas, so it's not like I can't afford it. I just love that it goes through last year's tax form (although I'm sure any tax software does as well), imports everything, and basically just asks for this year's income and withholding. And hell, even that is online now, the amount of entries I make is damn near none.

zyzzle

I always use a CPA. After 40+ years of using a CPA, I still can't understand why the IRS just doesn't send each of us a bill each year. The damn 1099s, K-1s, W-2s, etc are sent to them *as well* as us, so why the fuck can't they calculate the taxes owed, instead of us? They 'know' already. It's such a rigged charade.

Trusts are complicated, which is why I use a CPA. Errors are expensive, which is why I use a CPA. The bastards at the IRS and state franschise tax board are looking for every possibility to charge you extra / penalties / interest, or similar things.

It's this complicated affair with refunds, estimated taxes, itemizations, and all the bullshit.

Thankfully, I've never been audited. The one thing I splurge on in this unfair life is a CPA. I don't need that tax monkey on my back. It's all a damn rigged game, anyway. I pay 3x greater amount in taxes each year than it costs me to live (frugally). It should be the other damn way around, and it pisses me off.

Vibiana

One of my brothers (not the one whose taxes I do now) is a retired CPA. He did all of our taxes for years. Now that he's retired, I do them.

zyzzle

I used the same CPA for 30 years, our dependable, fair, and reasonable in cost family CPA. Finding a good one after that blessing was very difficult, indeed. My current one is good but very expensive and about as friendly as cold ice. He's ALL business with no bedside manner whatsover, whereas our old family CPA was outgoing, kind, and had excellent bedside manner. In other words, of the old-school. I miss the old-school. Everything now is only about making money... Sad. (Our old Estate Attorney was also like that! Old-school charm, tact, personality, and vigor. Something *totally* lacking in modern attorneys which is why I loathe them so much!)

DJariya

I used to use Turbo Tax, but it was a pain in the ass and I sometimes made errors. So I decided to hire a friend of mine who I went to college with and is a CPA. She did my returns for the "friend discount" of $50/year, but the workload to do my return became harder as I have a lot of deductions, so she now asks me for $100, which is fine. I would rather hire someone who I know and trust to do it.

zyzzle

You realize you're getting a very, very good deal?! We should all be so fortunate, indeed! I pay almost as much as you pay for a single lousy 15-minute phone call with my CPA. Let alone the actual prep-fees which are super-expensive. But, for me "necessary" because errors are expensive and IRS is laying in wait... So, I splurge, much to my chagrin.

John Galt

$950 personal, $1650 for my business. And I still spend probably two days putting together all the paperwork, reviewing my annual financials before submitting, and then reviewing the completed taxes before signing off on them.

rexinnih

Turbo Tax, about 10 years running.

Geofferson

The IRS officially kicks off tax season today. I got a reminder the other week that will impact any of you side hustlers/gig economy workers out there. Payment vendors such as Paypal, Venmo, etc. will now need to track sales in excess of $600 sold as goods/services and issue you an income tax statement. This change in tax/reporting policy was part of the American Rescue Plan Act and is effective in 2022.

mndtrp

I used to use TurboTax, but got irritated when they wanted me to pay for a very simple filing. All I have are two W2s, some 1099INTs, and that's pretty much it. The past few years I've used FreeTaxUSA, without issue. I then take those numbers and use my state's free Efile system. No complaints there, either.

Bronkster

I haven't looked into it yet, but I saw a blurb a few weeks ago for irs.gov/freefile. I think it's for seniors (could be wrong), but probably for people with simple filings. I'll look at it if/when I get any 1099s or whatever Social Security sends.

Max Bottomtime

I've used FreeTaxUSA for the past 20 years. I always get a refund quickly.

Kevin Phillips

Argh. I got a letter in the mail today from the IRS. They're saying they didn't get a tax-return for the 2020 tax year. I did submit a tax return for the 2020 tax year, including a check for taxes owed -- which they cashed. Now I've got to make copies of everything and resend it.