Anyone use a CPA for taxes?

[Glenn Quagmire]

If it is not a complicated return, you'll propbably be looking at around $150 - $200, plus it will be deductible the following year..... :SIB

Thanks, that helps. I guess 'complicated' is a relative term. To be honest, my return is probably not that complicated to most people. And I'm sure I could do them myself. It's just that this year they will be a lot more complicated than my past returns. I remember being able to do taxes on a 1040 in about 5-10 minutes -- this year it will probably take a few hours.

And I should clarify that when I say "do them myself," I would probably use TurboTax again, or something similar. If TurboTax includes all the same deductions that CPAs use (I know they list a ton on their site), I think I would rather just go that route.

 

[BobbyBlueChip]

Now I know why I don't do taxes. . . too many cheap fucks.

At the very least, figure out how long it takes you to do your taxes, multiply it by whatever rate your time is worth, and if it's less than $400 :shrug: , $250 , or $100 :scared , then have a professional do them.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Now I know why I don't do taxes. . . too many cheap fucks.

At the very least, figure out how long it takes you to do your taxes, multiply it by whatever rate your time is worth, and if it's less than $400 :shrug: , $250 , or $100 :scared , then have a professional do them.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm not cheap at all. I'm just trying to weigh my options. If I went the CPA route it wouldn't be for convenience, it would be because I figured he/she would be able to find me more money than if I did it myself. I'm not worried about shelling out a few hundred bucks if it means I would recoup that, or at least close to that, in deductions. If I won't, it isn't cost-effective and I would rather just do it myself.

Trust me, there are an assload of things I know nothing about, and in those instances, I'll gladly pay someone to do something for me. I guess I just view this a little differently since I could do this myself.

 

[Mully]

get a cpa. A good one charges atleast $200 and will WORK FOR YOU to squeeze every dollar. Ask Lots of question's and google What can I write off on my taxes , so even if your man misses something, you can call him on it. The outfit I found saved my 3k last year that I would have had to pay if I did my own.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

get a cpa. A good one charges atleast $200 and will WORK FOR YOU to squeeze every dollar. Ask Lots of question's and google What can I write off on my taxes , so even if your man misses something, you can call him on it. The outfit I found saved my 3k last year that I would have had to pay if I did my own.

Thanks, Mully. Damn... $3K? You owe that CPA an alcoholic beverage!

 

[hedgehog]

maybe I'm out of touch with this been doing mine since we moved here in 01 had a cpa freind do mine before that for $100

considering he did them for free for ten years, 265 is a bargain, I dont mind paying the fee at all, money well spent, plus any errors he has to answer the questions, not me.

 

[TAZ]

CPA here, I do not work for a CPA nor do I work for an audit firm but I do everything necessary to keep my license current and do about a dozen or so friends/neighbors/parents returns every year. The comments above are correct, a straight forward return should be 100-200, if you own your own business and keep all your records in a shoebox expect to pay me about $50 an hour to transfer all that $hit to a spreadsheet and then it will be ~$200 or so to do the work you should be paying for.

If you want a ballpark get my e-mail from Jack and send me generally what is making your return different this year.

 

[ferdville]

I have used a CPA for past several years and ever since I started an LLC. He charges me $400 for personal and $400 for business. He is also an attorney so I am confident that I will never be audited. With a house and a business I have a lot of deductions so I want it right. Many guys charge for number of pages they have to do which means various investments and deductions.

But.....he isn't overly generous with my deductions. He is conservative but I have always had money returned, but that may be stupidity in my part of not increasing dependents.

I'm stuck this year. I have several friends who go to a guy who has been doing this for 12 years. They are always getting back far more than they should so the guy must be playing fast and loose. I'm tempted to try him, but am also worried. I don't mind coughing up money if I don't have receipts to back up deductions and get audited, but obviously don't want it to turn in to fraud.

Would be happy to hear what othrs have to say since I am sure we all know of this type of situation.

 

[DOGS THAT BARK]

Ferd If IRS ever find a pattern of people with "generous" deductions from same accountant--you can rest assured they will audit every client he has.

I believe peace of mind will trump saving a few questionable $$$'s on taxes.

However $800 your paying seems quite high unless you have very complex tax situation.

 

[dawgball]

But.....he isn't overly generous with my deductions.

Effective tax returns are about utilizing the current rules. Not bending (or breaking) them.

If there is a deduction or adjustment that you qualify for, your accountant/CPA should know about it or find it and apply it to your returns.

Why would someone not do this? You give the government enough of your money. Don't give them any more than you have to. Send your extra money to a more worthy charity.

Our bill was about $550 last year but that was for 4 separate filings with our personal plus some LLCs.

 

[Axle]

I believe peace of mind will trump saving a few questionable $$$'s on taxes.

That covers the whole damn issue......I've had problems in the past with the IRS.....that's why I started using a CPA about 15 years ago....

Remember that Seinfeld episode, Jerry says, "The IRS, they're like the Mafia, then can taken anything they want!"

You will be paying for peace of mind...... :SIB

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Thanks again to everyone offering advice. Without going into too much detail because I don't want to bore the hell out of you guys, the main reason for my post was because I purchased a house and started a business last year, on top of the standard W-2 income I received. I should note that the business is pretty straightforward and I don't have any employees, so it's pretty easy to fill out the paperwork for it.

I haven't actually submitted my taxes, but I ran my numbers through TurboTax and saved the information. It wasn't too hard, and they have a ridiculous amount of deductions on the site that you can claim (short answer -- I don't qualify for most of them). I guess my only question now is if CPAs are more creative than TurboTax, or if TurboTax pretty much covers all bases when it comes to deductions. Like I said, I haven't submitted my taxes with them, I was just curious what the ballpark return number would be using their system.

TAZ - I appreciate the offer. I may just take you up on that.

 

[ferdville]

It is hard to disagree with the advice you guys have given me. Much appreciated

 

[MadJack]

Mine charges me in the neighborhood of $700 for personal and business taxes. I pay him about $1500 a year total but he does everything. If I get mail that has IRS or Indiana written on it, it gets put into a bigger envelope and gets mailed to him. I don't want anything to do with taxes, period. :sadwave:

 

[Axle]

Amen MJ...... :SIB