@spoco: I liked Taxact too. Used it free through the IRS site. It handled student loan interest deduction & tuition reimbursement very well.

It cost $$ (nothing exhorbitant) to file PA state taxes, but it turns out you can do that on the PA tax site for free.

@LoganAdams: They have a lot of shady & ethically questionable practices - or at least they did in 2006. Perhaps they've reformed? Last I heard, their 'instant refund' program was the subject of a lawsuit by CA because of extremely high interest rates on the 'refund' which was actually a loan you get from H&R block, and they get your IRS refund.

[www.accountingweb.com]

I get very, very growly when I see their commercials on tv. Instant refund = Refund anticipation loan = payday loan = not a good idea.

Also, they weren't able to calculate their own taxes properly - embarrassing.

[www.nytimes.com]

My tax firm gets 40% of it's new business from people getting audited complements of the tax software messing something up. Taxcut is extremely bad at handling stocks. Turbotax? Anything involving any schedule.

The next 40% is from the chain companies. Did you know that the typical front office person is the bottom 20% of the classes the previous year?

The remaining 20%? CPAs and Tax Attorneys. Yes. that's right. Why? CPAs are Accountants, not tax professionals. While they handle some taxes, their primary business is accounting. Tax Attorneys specialize in law, not math. They know how to fight the IRS in tax court, not in filling out forms.

If you can't figure out your taxes with the calculator in your cell phone, go see a professional. I suggest any EA or unenrolled preparer that subscribes to NATP. The money you spend is well worth it. http://www.taxprofessionals.com/

Please don't forget about itsdeductible.com! It's free to use, and can help you value your donations, even junk you gave to charity has surprising value. That bag of old clothes? Worth about $200 or more potentially. There is a TurboTax pitch for services, but you can just print out the forms FOR FREE.

As for the "compensation" that he may not have been entitled to, I felt he deserved it, mainly for 2 reasons. First, he saved me a lot of time, money, and hassle trying to do the taxes on my own or having to pay another overpriced accountant to do it for me. And second, I think that if politicians can receive kickbacks (in the hundreds or thousands of dollars) from lobbyists in order to sway the vote one way or the other (which as public servants they should be even less entitled to), I don't see the harm in giving a few extra dollars to a volunteer accountant.

Lordy, I wish I made too much money to use Free File.

@Suttin: Check out the first few pages of the 1040 instructions. You can download them online at irs.gov. One of the first things they address in the instructions is "do I have to file?"

@Chongo: I'll confirm that - the program they use is more or less the exact same program as TaxCut, with a less dumbed down interface.

@teh: Hell, most people can do it *without* a software package. Really, it's easy. And there are simple tax tables and worksheets provided.

Avoid - The cat is probably more qualified than Jackson Hewett franchise people.

Avoid - H&R Block is just hard-core upsell now - an IRS audit would be more pleasant than paying them to upsell you financial products while they do your taxes

Avoid - online services where you type in all your intimate personal information and it's stored on someone else's web site.

@Ash78: My situation; Own 1 home, refinanced twice this year, purchased stock but did not sell it. Also, I'm in a legal same-sex marraige so I'm required to file jointly by state and forbidden to file jointly Federally. (We use a Preparer familiar with this new, uncertain aspect of tax law but from his perspective he's filing three versions of our taxes, and the fees have risen considerably)

Taxact has been really good for me. Its free if you just file federal like us Tennesseans must do.

@unajuaner: LOL I love that commercial

@JohnDeere: I think it's only if you do the standard deduction.

@NotChoinski: I'm Taxcut all the way. See my post above--TurboTax had one shot with me, and I wasted several hours just to have it miss a bunch of stuff. Taxcut did the same return smoothly, all the way through. YMMV depending on complexity of your situation, your state return, etc.

Of course, when I went last year I left them a nice tip, but it's sure cheaper than getting them professionally done.

Doesn't the IRS have a program where if you make less than X amount a year you can file your federal return for free?

I know I used it in grad school, but once I got a job I made too much money for the program, grrr...

@Flame: oops, didnt see your post when i posted right after it lol.

doesnt the irs have free sites to e-file online?

Avoid H&R Block. If you're going to go there, why not just get ready to call the people who can get the IRS to settle for pennies on the dollar.

Try to find someone local who has been there for a while, and see if anyone you know has used them before.

@NotChoinski: I have used both in the past, I liked TurboTax better. Unfortunately with a house/kid/investments/whatever, I have to spend the money on a CPA :(

So.... any preferences between Turbotax and TaxCut?

This is important as my sister learned. Filing taxes for the year she graduated college, she claimed herself. So did my parents. My sister got audited as a result.

I'm considering using Tax Act or the H&R Block software; I don't have a lot of odd things; just a MCC certificate and that should be standard.

@LoganAdams: H&R Block's software (TaxCut) is ridiculously easy. I've used it 6 years in a row.

I tried TurboTax, but didn't care for it. It missed a bunch of stuff (especially on my state return), so I deleted it and started from scratch with TaxCut. It's far from perfect, but much better than doing it longhand. And unless you're a small company, it's great to learn how everything ties together. I'd highly recommend DIY. Usually they have a guarantee, so if you change your mind, you can get your money back.

I think Vanguard offered me free TurboTax online as well, for those who don't have State Farm.

You can get free TurboTax online through various places. State Farm Insurance is where I get mine from.

I'll do it myself if I save $60, but not if I'm only saving $10. I'd rather sit and talk to the tax prep for an hour getting good advice.

This stuff is so confusing.

What are Tax Cat's hourly rates? I'm willing to pay in Tender Vittles and Friskies.

tax cat iz not availavel 4 prepearing ur taxez
tax cat onli consultz

@teh: this is probably true, but there are some problems with this. first is the tried-and-true maxim, "garbage in, garbage out". if you aren't aware of all the activity you're undertaking that has tax implications, you won't always enter it into a software package. i realize that they have an "interview" process in the beginning of the program, but it is sometimes better to be able to discuss things with a real live person, who can ask followup questions that may bring to light issues the software might miss.

also, lots of folks who used software packages last year had their stimulus payments delayed because of the deduction from their refund to offset the cost of preparation. see this article (pops) for more details.

So is H&R Block OK?

I'm smart enough for the software, I suppose, but to be truthful I'd prefer not to have to screw with it.

also, lots of folks who used software packages last year had their stimulus payments delayed because of the deduction from their refund to offset the cost of preparation. see this article (pops) for more details.

I've missed tax cat...

+1000

People can do this on their own. I managed it the year I had to file in 3 different states and figure out how to handle dealing with mortgage interest with someone I'm not married to. It was not a fun year, but at least I saved some money by doing it myself with TurboTax.

Yay for tax cat!! I need to get going on getting our paperwork in order so I can make an early appointment with our accountant.