@kw_planner I very respectfully disagree. I think tax accountats are affordable and provide great peace of mind. They will pay for themselves by catching one single mistake in your reteurn and they will answer any questions or even respond on your behalf in case of any issues. I pay my accountant $400 for my return and I know for a fact that he saved me close to $1000 a few yers ago. I had used turbotax but didn't file. I gave my information to the accountant and he found over $1200 in my favor. No funny business or anything shady, just stuff that I missed. I have been using him ever since, so I don't know if that has happened again, but once was enough for me. My taxes are simple enough, but a professional is always a good idea.Â
@notfromhere: I can't argue at all about anything you mention above. The point I was trying to make is that, given the same information being used to calculate one's tax, TurboTax will give you the same result as the programs CPAs use - and I'm basing that statement on what other CPAs have told me personally. TurboTax walks you through the exact list of deductions, credits, etc. as accounting firm's programs. If you're a numbers person (which I am, obviously) and have a high level of organization in your records then paying $50 for TurboTax could make more sense than using a CPA.That being said, if you're not a numbers person or simply do not want to deal with the preparation process, then using a CPA makes total sense. And $400 for a standard 1040 return is your average rate these days. So if anyone is looking to hire a CPA, keep that in mind.
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