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tax prep software


wnysteel

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getting ready to do taxes for GF. (i have mine done as i'm a bit more complicated). she's pretty straightforward, standard deduction, no dependents, no 1099 or other income (just W2). just need federal and NYS. i've used tax cut (online) in the past. would like to submit electronically of course. 

 

just wondering what other's experiences are. seems like there are plenty of free ones now. input appreciated.

Edited by wnysteel
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I use the H&R Block free version, but be careful - they try to trick you into buying the paid version. Other than that, I've been happy with it. I think I've used it for three years now.

 

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If you made $54,000 or less you might be able to get them done for free through United Way, 855-698-9435 to make an appointment.

 

If you are an AARP member you can get them done for free, just call  them and ask where in your area to go. You only have to be over 50 years old to belong to AARP lol.

 

If you earned $66,000 or less you can use MyFreeTaxes.com , lets you file both federal and state taxes.

 

Hope this helps out some people here...

Edited by T&C
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I did my taxes earlier today.

 

What I do is I sit down and do my taxes on the all four of the big online tax prep sites.  HR Block, Turbo Tax, Tax Act, and Tax Slayer. 

Then I compare the numbers and make sure all four returns are consistent.  

Then I compare how much each site charges to file.

 

This year I got my taxes won with HR Block, free Federal and State.  They slip in upgrade offers that look like you have to pay but just pay attention and you can opt out.

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On 2/6/2018 at 7:02 PM, ShadyBillsFan said:

After H&R screwed me over and cost me over $5k.      

 

 :censored: them.  

 

I use Turbo Tax.   

 

My wife just showed my son how to use Turbo Tax. Put in how much you made, the employers tax ID and everything autopopulates apparently. BOOM! Taxes are done. He’s a pretty simple case. He’s also a CPA. I’m glad he doesn’t rely on doing simple returns for a living, or sell slide rules for that matter. 

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17 hours ago, /dev/null said:

This year I got my taxes won with HR Block, free Federal and State.  They slip in upgrade offers that look like you have to pay but just pay attention and you can opt out.

 

Those things are so damn annoying.  They pushed all of those add ons pretty hard this year.  I don't remember in previous years getting even half of the prompts for add ons that I did this time around.

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Just use "freefillableforms" that are provided by the IRS. You get a nice interface to fill out the forms, it does auto calculations for most steps to prevent any user error, and you can submit electronically at the end. 100% free and a lot faster than using the software which asks you 1000 unnecessary questions.

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18 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

Tax cut isn't in effect until 2018.

 

"But it IS 2018!"

On 2/6/2018 at 9:52 AM, wnysteel said:

getting ready to do taxes for GF. (i have mine done as i'm a bit more complicated). she's pretty straightforward, standard deduction, no dependents, no 1099 or other income (just W2). just need federal and NYS. i've used tax cut (online) in the past. would like to submit electronically of course. 

 

just wondering what other's experiences are. seems like there are plenty of free ones now. input appreciated.

 

Is there a reason not to fill out a 1040EZ by hand?  That's easier than any tax software I've ever seen.

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22 minutes ago, Fetou said:

Just use "freefillableforms" that are provided by the IRS. You get a nice interface to fill out the forms, it does auto calculations for most steps to prevent any user error, and you can submit electronically at the end. 100% free and a lot faster than using the software which asks you 1000 unnecessary questions.

 

This is what I do, too.  IMO, Americans have been completely brainwashed into believing doing their taxes is complicated, but the reality is that most taxpayers don't have much more than jobs, house mortgages, and retirement savings/retirements and so should be able to do their own taxes, even if they itemize deductions.  It's not hard ... you need to be able read English and do math at an 8th grade level, and that's true even if you qualify for EIC.  The hardest part of doing taxes is keeping records and collecting all your tax data in one place ... and you have to do that whether you do it yourself, use tax software or a tax preparer.

 

If you own a business, rental properties or have investments that you actively manage then you probably need professional assistance, but I would use an accountant not one of the tax prep firms.  Those are just rip offs, especially when their fees are a percentage of your tax refund.  The fees should be based on how long it takes to do your taxes (usually related to how many forms you need).

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We hired an accountant about 14 years ago when my ex ran a daycare out of our house.  She only ran the daycare for about 5 years, but we kept bringing our taxes to the accountant every year.  It's a couple hundred bucks, but worth every penny to me.

 

My 2014 state returns were audited last year and they said I owed them $530.  I called the accountant and faxed over the letter.  He drafted a response letter "from me," and mailed it to me so I could, in turn, mail it to the state.

 

In the end, I did owe the money (due to a !@#$ up by Vanguard - which they never owned up to, the bastards).  But it was nice knowing I had an expert to turn to and he didn't charge me for the research/letter/guidance.

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