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aristotelian
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« Reply #15 on: December 13, 2010, 01:07:31 PM » |
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Sounds like your taxes are fairly straightforward. Try it with Turbotax. You will almost surely be able to figure it out. If you run into trouble, then go to an accountant. Unless you have reason to believe that an accountant will be able to find deductions for you, I don't see any reason to pay a professional.
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venerable_bede
Ain't nothin' but a
Senior member
Posts: 426
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« Reply #16 on: December 13, 2010, 01:30:56 PM » |
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Maybe I'm tax-averse because I once got audited by the IRS (as a graduate student, for god's sake), but I've always thought of doing my own taxes as akin to deciding to represent myself in court. Which is to say, not worth the time and money. And fear.
I mean really, how much does a CPA cost? In our large metropolitan area, we pay our CPA $200 for fairly complicated dual-income, multi-schedule, married-filing-jointly federal and state returns. It takes us about 30 minutes in his office, most of it casual chatting. I know $200 isn't nothing, but it would be (for us) a bargain at twice the price.
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Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats. --H. L. Mencken
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aristotelian
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« Reply #17 on: December 13, 2010, 02:21:18 PM » |
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As an adjunct with a small amount of freelance work, I am guessing that $200 is in fact quite a lot of money to the OP. It is to me!
Regarding all the different credits that people have mentioned, Turbotax will find all of these for you. All you have to do is answer its questions and put the right number in the right box.
Also, a question I would ask of those who use accountants is whether this provides you any protection in the event of getting audited. It may give you peace of mind that your taxes were done correctly, but you may still get audited. In that case, you may need to pay more money to the accountant.
In any case, it can't hurt to try Turbotax first.
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dolljepopp
a "liberal neo-monarchist"
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 3,900
So 'ne Driss...
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« Reply #18 on: December 13, 2010, 06:15:54 PM » |
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I have done my own taxes exactly once in 30-odd years (about half of which involved independent contractor income).
The errors I made cost me more than I have ever paid to someone who knew what he or she was doing.
My mind does not naturally embrace tax thought.
I prefer not to go in search of more stress.
I pay an expert.
This also applies to my policies for anything car-related that is more complicated or dirtier than checking tyre air levels, home improvement, yard work (if I ever have a yard), and portraits.
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« Last Edit: December 13, 2010, 06:16:35 PM by dolljepopp »
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"Double standards are the warning signals of a free society." - Timothy Garton Ash
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prytania3
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« Reply #19 on: December 13, 2010, 06:22:19 PM » |
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I have done my own taxes exactly once in 30-odd years (about half of which involved independent contractor income).
The errors I made cost me more than I have ever paid to someone who knew what he or she was doing.
My mind does not naturally embrace tax thought.
I prefer not to go in search of more stress.
I pay an expert.
This also applies to my policies for anything car-related that is more complicated or dirtier than checking tyre air levels, home improvement, yard work (if I ever have a yard), and portraits.
This is the case for most people. |
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Clowns, I tell you. Clowns.
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ahsonek
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« Reply #20 on: December 13, 2010, 06:24:11 PM » |
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Um....
We did our own taxes with Turbotax last year based upon the previous year's accountant version. We ended up having to force turbotax to do things - and put up with alot of "are you sure?" followed by "while tax code (gibberish) allows certain people to (describe action here) to do this, it is not recommended for the majority of the tax payers....." repeat 4 - 6 times each time we did an override....
Turbo tax is written for the AVERAGE person, and from what I understand, each freelancing situation is different. that is why it might be better for them to get a CPA for a year, especially if this freelancing is going to continue.......
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prytania3
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« Reply #21 on: December 13, 2010, 06:57:00 PM » |
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Um....
We did our own taxes with Turbotax last year based upon the previous year's accountant version. We ended up having to force turbotax to do things - and put up with alot of "are you sure?" followed by "while tax code (gibberish) allows certain people to (describe action here) to do this, it is not recommended for the majority of the tax payers....." repeat 4 - 6 times each time we did an override....
Turbo tax is written for the AVERAGE person, and from what I understand, each freelancing situation is different. that is why it might be better for them to get a CPA for a year, especially if this freelancing is going to continue.......
That is why I prefer H&R Block software. You don't have to go through hoops to do what you want. Its only weakness is AMT, which is probably not a problem for an adjunct. |
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Clowns, I tell you. Clowns.
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prytania3
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« Reply #22 on: December 15, 2010, 07:34:29 AM » |
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Um....
We did our own taxes with Turbotax last year based upon the previous year's accountant version. We ended up having to force turbotax to do things - and put up with alot of "are you sure?" followed by "while tax code (gibberish) allows certain people to (describe action here) to do this, it is not recommended for the majority of the tax payers....." repeat 4 - 6 times each time we did an override....
Turbo tax is written for the AVERAGE person, and from what I understand, each freelancing situation is different. that is why it might be better for them to get a CPA for a year, especially if this freelancing is going to continue.......
That is why I prefer H&R Block software. You don't have to go through hoops to do what you want. Its only weakness is AMT, which is probably not a problem for an adjunct. An amendment: the H&R Block is fine with AMT, you just have to put the muni bonds in the right box. Oops. |
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Clowns, I tell you. Clowns.
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wakingtime
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« Reply #23 on: December 15, 2010, 10:59:49 AM » |
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I'm not against going to a professional for year-end filing, but I don't want to go now, before my spouse and I have our W2's. This thread leads me to lean toward going to a pro, definitely. But at the same I believe I owe quarterly taxes that I assume have to be paid by Dec. 31 to avoid penalties. So I have to act now.
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fleabite
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« Reply #24 on: December 15, 2010, 11:15:20 AM » |
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The final quarterly tax payment for the 2010 tax year is not due until January 15, 2011. If you file your taxes by February 1, 2011 and pay whatever the total is then (if you're not getting a refund), you can skip submitting the final quarterly payment. I realize you haven't submitted any prior payments for 2010, but given the small amount of your earnings and the fact that it's so late in the year already, rushing to do something by December 31 isn't going to do much for you. More importantly, if you and your spouse both have W2 income, you may already have had enough withholding to cover the taxes owed on your self-employment income, and in that case you wouldn't have any penalties. By the way, the first quarterly payment for 2011 is due April 15, 2011.
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87735501111
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« Reply #25 on: December 15, 2010, 01:03:06 PM » |
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I sometimes do contractor work and have used both H&R Block and TurboTax software. Last few years I used the TurboTax small business version because I found it more logical. (CPA might be better, but what I like about the software is that I can spread out the process and collect up all my receipts over a few days, rather than going into a CPA's office and realizing that I forgot something crucial.) Maybe I was leaving money on the table, but given my preference to do the taxes in stages, this is why I don't use a CPA.
However, I can tell you about quarterly taxes - it won't be the end of the world if you didn't file your quarterly taxes now, because you'll have the chance to rectify things in April. Quarterly taxes are there to help you make the payments now and not be hit with a big bill later. So you have to think about time value of your money, and how well you'll be able to save up for a potential tax bill. (After check on IRS website - no penalties unless you owe over $1,000 in taxes.)
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pedanterast
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« Reply #26 on: December 23, 2011, 11:05:14 AM » |
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Pros use software too.
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« Last Edit: December 23, 2011, 11:09:28 AM by pedanterast »
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