It's tax time

[JeffKeryk]

I wanted to do TurboTax but that started a heated argument with my folks so I guess I’ll just pay someone to do them. I’ve never done them on my own before. Hopefully they don’t need any receipts cause if so I’m in trouble lol. Hopefully they won’t cost a lot of money either cause I don’t have a lot of money. I’m still waiting on my 1099 from eBay since I made over $600 on eBay in 2022 I have to do a 1099 for them too according to what they told me. I already got the one from my employer. I don’t know anything about this stuff and when I try to talk to my parents about it my dad gets upset cause I won’t let him claim me anymore so he loses money. Hopefully I can find someone to do it who won’t mess me over. The place we had doing it the last few years didn’t seem interested in us anymore. Hopefully I get some money back. I just don’t know how anything like that works.

Edit to correct eBay is a 1099 not W2.

AM you really need to learn about taxes and personal finance. Otherwise you are driving while blind.

 

[fisher83]

I've done my own for at least the last 10 years. Some years I used Tax Act and some years I used Turbo Tax. We have a very simple tax return and we take the standard deduction so it takes me maybe 30-45 minutes.

 

[Nick1994]

I've always used Turbo Tax. But this year there's some more complicated things for my taxes so I'll have to use an accountant. Don't want to get in trouble with Uncle Sam.

 

[Dave Hess]

I’m a small business owner so I pay a CPA to do it.

I have a few streams of income and want everything done correctly, big taxes to be paid.

I don’t want to end up like Willie Nelson or Wesley Snipes.

 

[miden851]

I work as a seasonal associate at a local HR Block

I did mine last weekend, so we will get a refund such as any other year before

The fee was $190 for two of us with house and some investments, my cost out of pocket for prep $0

 

[ctechbob]

If I could only change one thing about the whole tax discussion, especially from some of the young people that I supervise. They'll happily tell you how much they 'got back' but not one of them could tell you what they paid.

Sure, I 'got back' $1200 this year, but uncle sam took a 13k bite out of me, and my $1200 didn't even earn me any interest.

Tax time makes me old and grumpy...I don't mind paying, but......well, I'll just leave it there.

--Edit--

Thanks to those that recommended FreeTax USA. So much more economical than Taxact (Who I'd been using and was near $80 to file state and fed)

 

[michaelluscher]

If I could only change one thing about the whole tax discussion, especially from some of the young people that I supervise. They'll happily tell you how much they 'got back' but not one of them could tell you what they paid.

Resident young person here 👋
They do need some education...
$4,040 federal, $4,038 to NYS
$763 coming back to me 🙂
I'm not the biggest fan of giving people a 0% interest loan on my money, but I don't like being told I owe multiple thousands either 😳

I wonder how much cheaper my taxes would be if I was married, children, owned a home, bought an EV

The first two I hear are mighty expensive 😂

 

[Vil_Riker]

You would be very fortunate to be a person those men are after.

Small businesses and middle class?

 

[Dave Hess]

Still waiting on investment statements, hopefully by end of February. I use H&R Block software and take the standard deduction since property tax is capped at $10k. I think the majority of people (W2, homeowner or renter) should do their own taxes or at least look over the forms to get an understanding of how everything is calculated. It’s a good exercise to go through the steps and can save you hundreds or more vs paying to have them done.

All married women need to be involved in the family finances and have an understanding of filing taxes.

Too many women are in the dark and when husband dies suddenly they are completely lost dealing with all the finances, taxes, bills, debt, investments, etc…

 

[dishdude]

Small businesses and middle class?

Whose income is mainly W-2s and 1099s - nearly impossible to cheat on and automatically flagged by the system. It's the ultra rich fat cats cheating on their taxes with all kinds of obscure deductions they're abusing that need to be looked at.

 

[ATex7239]

Why have an accountant? The same reason you have lawyer. Or doctor. Or mechanic. Or electrician. Or whatever. It’s cause they know things you don’t. Turbo Tax is fine. But it’s not better than a professional who knows what they doing. It’s just cheaper.

 

[Dave Hess]

Whose income is mainly W-2s and 1099s - nearly impossible to cheat on and automatically flagged by the system. It's the ultra rich fat cats cheating on their taxes with all kinds of obscure deductions they're abusing that need to be looked at.

I agree.

 

[Vil_Riker]

Whose income is mainly W-2s and 1099s - nearly impossible to cheat on and automatically flagged by the system. It's the ultra rich fat cats cheating on their taxes with all kinds of obscure deductions they're abusing that need to be looked at.

They don't cheat, theirs is "tax avoidance" which is perfectly legal means of avoiding taxes. You don't need armed IRS agents for that. Armed agents are for "tax evasion" which is what the small businesses and individuals normally do but on a much smaller scale than what the tax avoidance costs the country.

You think an army of armed agents is going to change the taxes Warren Buffet pays?

 

[dishdude]

You think an army of armed agents is going to change the taxes Warren Buffet pays?

Yes, he exactly the type that needs a manual audit. I pay my fair share and I have no problem with the IRS ensuring others do as well. Why should they get to mooch while W-2 workers pay more than their fair share?

 

[tbm5690]

Yes, he exactly the type that needs a manual audit. I pay my fair share and I have no problem with the IRS ensuring others do as well. Why should they get to mooch while W-2 workers pay more than their fair share?

How are W-2 employees paying more than their fair share? If that's the case they get a refund when they file.

 

[andrew_j]

Gladly pay an account $550 to file state business , Federal with schedules for business and other state tax return.

I believe software is around $300+ yearly to do same thing .

 

[ZZman]

Free Tax USA user here. Submitted today. There is no way I can even come close to itemizing even with over 10,000 in medical expenses!.....😞

 

[csandste]

My taxes are fairly complex, though repetitive. Couple of rental properties and slices of a couple of racehorses. Freetax USA replaced TaxAct when the latter costs got out of hand. Unlike TaxAct I'm not plagued with repetitive non applicable questions. Straight, to the point. Can't say enough good about FTUSA.

 

[csandste]

If I could only change one thing about the whole tax discussion, especially from some of the young people that I supervise. They'll happily tell you how much they 'got back' but not one of them could tell you what they paid.

Sure, I 'got back' $1200 this year, but uncle sam took a 13k bite out of me, and my $1200 didn't even earn me any interest.

Tax time makes me old and grumpy...I don't mind paying, but......well, I'll just leave it there.

--Edit--

Thanks to those that recommended FreeTax USA. So much more economical than Taxact (Who I'd been using and was near $80 to file state and fed)

Nothing good about getting money back. Just allows people to hack your account and steal from you.

 

[michaelluscher]

Got my Federal refund Tuesday 🙂
Quick this year 👍