Turbo tax or...?

[ronn38]

I'm walking away from my tax accountant. As my father was a CPA, I got all my taxes done for free until he passed away about 6 years ago. The first fellow I hired was great--even reminded me a little of Dad--and then he retired (selling the firm). I've been through 3 accountants there since then (they keep quitting) in as many years. And the price vs. service is at such a wide divergence as to warrant action.
 
Therefore, I'm going to give automation a try (seeing as must brokerages, banks, etc will download directly to one or more of the tax platforms). Turbo Tax seems the no-brainer here, but I thought I'd ask you all what you prefer.

Just for some background: I have a considerable income from CA-Muni's and corporate bonds, the rest comes from RIETS, MLP's and C Corp equities.

I earn about $10,000 from property rentals, and a bit more from part-time teaching, with a little independent contractor work here and there.

Obviously, the W-2, 1099's, etc are not the challenge, but rather K-1's and access to guidance.

So, what do you all use?

Ronn

[Kerim]

Hey Ronn,

I feel your pain. I've had a really hard time finding an accountant I like and trust. I've been tempted to do it myself. I figure most of us on here have the drive and aptitude. But I haven't had the nerve to go it alone myself (yet). Just too many moving parts (I also have some K-1s to deal with, not to mention new life as a divorced person for the first time). So even though I end up doing much of the work anyway, I still prefer to have someone to confer with.

So all of that to say that I guess I have no wisdom to offer, but applaud and wish you luck.

To answer your question more directly, I'd assume that you wouldn't use any particular software or other product, and would just do your return manually?

Kerim

[ChadR]

I'm a CPA and I get a lot of new clients that did Turbo Tax, H&R Block, etc and the returns are riddled with errors. This is some bias here, but unless you have a W-2 and nothing else, the chances of errors are pretty high. You have a higher chance of missing deductions since you have rentals and a Schedule C. A plug for my business, but I can help you if you decide to go the CPA route one more year. Good luck in your decision.

[Dividend Watcher]

(02-05-2018, 09:54 AM)ChadR Wrote: I'm a CPA and I get a lot of new clients that did Turbo Tax, H&R Block, etc and the returns are riddled with errors.  This is some bias here, but unless you have a W-2 and nothing else, the chances of errors are pretty high.  You have a higher chance of missing deductions since you have rentals and a Schedule C.  A plug for my business, but I can help you if you decide to go the CPA route one more year.  Good luck in your decision.

No bias in my opinion. I shared office space with an Enrolled Agent for over 10 years. She was constantly dealing with IRS inquiry letters, penalty & interest letters, forfeitures and audit results from people who had H&R Block / Jackson & Hewitt / Turbo Tax/ unlicensed preparer /self-prepared returns. In fact, my daughter ended up paying back taxes & interest (my EA got her off on the penalties) after an RIA took her maternal grandmother's inheritance and re-characterized it into a fully taxable amount versus a tax free inheritance. H&R Block never caught it and when she went back to them they didn't know how to handle it.

So, if you want someone who is required to stay current and can represent you before the IRA, an Enrolled Agent is also an alternative. CPAs are also worth the trouble. Not familiar with tax attorneys.

I would also ask them if they are available 12 months a year. I heard lots of stories of tax preparers who, once tax season is over, take an extended vacation (read: weeks to months) and are hard to contact for anything.

[ChadR]

The H&R Blocks, Jackson Hewitt, and some of the other preparers shut down right after April 15th and don't reopen their offices until January 2nd. Nearly all CPAs and EAs will shut down after the April 15th deadline (April 17th this year) for about a week.