Welp.

It's embarrassing to admit this at my age, but I've actually never done my own taxes. I used to have a more complex tax situation thus used a guy, but not so much anymore... so advice on where to go / software to use? Fairly basic tax picture I think (W2, 1098-MORT, 1099-DIV / INT, 1 dependent, FSA accounts, typical retirement plans).

3/3/2020 7:13:19 AM

funny...i'm embarrassed i've never been willing to use a guy to do my taxes. always did it myself like some poor slub

3/3/2020 8:31:33 AM

Pick whatever platform carefully because once you've entered all your crap you're probably just gonna use the same system for the next decade...for whatever it matters.

3/3/2020 10:14:42 AM

credit karma is completely free. i used it for the first time this year. my taxes are fairly straightforward...looks fairly similar to yours, tbh.

in the past i've used turbo tax and i thought their platform was extremely easy and straightforward. the downside was that i generally needed the Premier (i think) to file my taxes which cost $90. $90 isn't that bad, but i decided to check out of the credit karma platform this year since it was free for all filing. credit karma platform wasn't that hard to use, but turbo tax was more user friendly imo. you can play around with turbo tax and see how you like it...you don't pay until the end (once you submit). so that's nice, at least.

those are the only 2 i have experience with.

3/3/2020 12:15:06 PM

Quote :

"funny...i'm embarrassed i've never been willing to use a guy to do my taxes. always did it myself like some poor slub"

gotta know people, man.

Quote :

"Pick whatever platform carefully because once you've entered all your crap you're probably just gonna use the same system for the next decade...for whatever it matters."

that's how it's been with the guy. just always used'em and never gave it any other thought.

Quote :

"credit karma is completely free. i used it for the first time this year. my taxes are fairly straightforward...looks fairly similar to yours, tbh. in the past i've used turbo tax and i thought their platform was extremely easy and straightforward. the downside was that i generally needed the Premier (i think) to file my taxes which cost $90. $90 isn't that bad, but i decided to check out of the credit karma platform this year since it was free for all filing. credit karma platform wasn't that hard to use, but turbo tax was more user friendly imo. you can play around with turbo tax and see how you like it...you don't pay until the end (once you submit). so that's nice, at least. those are the only 2 i have experience with."

thanks; that's helpful. I'll have to check out CK. Otherwise, if I have to pay that much (plus considering whatever time it takes), I may just stick with my current route as it's not much more than the apparent software cost.

3/3/2020 12:37:06 PM

I think Taxact is like $80 with state e-file every year...and my tax situation is almost identical to hours

3/3/2020 1:18:35 PM

Slcikdeals and sim site usually have deals for turbotax or hr block during tax season
https://slickdeals.net/f/13883012-intuit-turbotax-deluxe-2019-federal-with-state-efile-download-39-80-ac-more?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1

3/3/2020 1:42:30 PM

Fucking TaxAct. They used to be under $20 but them Intuit, the damned TurboTax people bought them.

3/3/2020 2:00:33 PM

i used freetaxusa when mine was more simple, it can do what you need

freetaxusa is free federal, $12 state (or you can print for free and mail in yourself)




(turbotax and hr block have been lobbying for decades to keep taxes complicated if that factors into your decision on who to use)

[Edited on March 3, 2020 at 4:36 PM. Reason : .]

3/3/2020 4:35:40 PM

Quote :

" but them Intuit, the damned TurboTax people bought them."

This is incorrect

It does suck that they’ve increased their price though. This year I’m going with freetaxusa

3/3/2020 11:38:10 PM

You are right. I stand corrected. They have a CEO who used to work for Intuit and the prices got jacked up after they were bought.

3/4/2020 6:01:14 PM

I've always gone with TurboTax and it's pretty fool-proof and quick to use each year once you have all of your info saved...never used a guy.

3/6/2020 2:51:04 PM

WUHAN WUHAN

4/2/2020 3:37:56 AM

I have used credit karma the last couple years and it was completely free (or maybe had to pay for state only, can’t remember). Credit karma sold their tax stuff to Cash App. Now you have to download the Cash App on a phone and scan a QR code in order to log in on a computer. I think it remains free, just an annoying login process. May play around with freetaxusa this year.

Maybe I’m just being silly and/or a cheapskate. But I don’t like having to pay TurboTax $100. I really liked the credit karma set up, but am less happy with it since it’s switched to cash app. I’ll play around with cash app and freetaxusa and see what I like better. I know it’s not exactly this black and white but it feels kinda fucked up to have to pay for a software/service to file taxes so that I can tell the government how much I owe them or much they owe me.

1/23/2022 9:56:49 AM

Well, you don't HAVE to, but practically you kinda do. . .

But it doesn't have to be $100. You can get the download version of TurboTax Deluxe during a 1-day sale between Christmas and New Year's Day for effectively $30. Then if you file early, it's like $20 for state e-file (probably a good idea in these times). So $50 instead of $100. Plus I usually have a credit card offer of som kind to knock an additional $5.00 or so off.

For the download version (not the same as the online version), Deluxe will handle nearly all needs and contains all forms.

1/23/2022 1:10:39 PM

Quote :

" You can get the download version of TurboTax Deluxe during a 1-day sale between Christmas and New Year's Day for effectively $30."

This information would’ve been better about 3 weeks ago.

Do you have to buy the new download every year…or does it update each year?

[Edited on January 23, 2022 at 2:42 PM. Reason : -]

1/23/2022 2:41:31 PM

Sorry about that. I tend to frequent another board for financial topics.

Unfortunately, you have to download (and pay) annually.

The software is customized for each tax year. There are updates throughout the year for bug fixes, tax form changes, or whenever Congress changes the law during tax filing season ( ).

Eventually it stabilizes, and you can keep many years of the software simultaneously. But it's helpful for running various tax scenarios. You can make as many return files as you like. Download comes with 5 free Federal e-files, and one state software download (state e-file extra).

I'll try to remember to post s reminder on TWW next year, assuming it's still kicking. I said effectively $30 on Amazon, because you have to buy a $10.00 gift card with it which is physically mailed to you. It's strange, but required to get around certain pricing agreements, I think. The software is usually $29.98 plus the $10.00 gift card in the same cart. I think Costco also runs an offer with similar pricing around the same time, and maybe for more than a day.

1/23/2022 3:05:00 PM

https://slickdeals.net/f/15622231-turbotax-premier-state-2021-tax-software-download-53-99?prop=rcmid-ced0a7c7c3270841ab58437ffe97cb05&src=jfy

TurboTax Premier + State 2021 Tax Software [Download] $53.99
$53.99

2/16/2022 9:14:54 AM

Lot's of options for free and discounted filing

https://turbotaxsucksass.net/

IRS Free File (AGI must be 73K or less)

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile

TaxSlayer.com Cheap package for personal and business income, expenses, 1099, and Schedule C.

https://freefile.taxslayer.com/

[Edited on February 16, 2022 at 10:03 AM. Reason : pwnt]

2/16/2022 10:02:34 AM

^^way too much imo. About 17.50 tops, and thats with a state efile.

2/17/2022 12:05:20 AM

Filed through Cash App after all. Annoying log in process (download app, scan QR, log in on phone, redirect to website on computer). Ended up being basically as easy and straightforward as Credit Karma had previously been.

2/19/2022 5:06:05 PM

I’m on like year 12 of doing h&r block program on my laptop. Its an easy $10/year from me. Only owe 291 this year thank god

2/19/2022 9:01:14 PM

I do not have the craziest tax filing out there, but I am on my fifth year or so of having a CPA do it and I much prefer that.

2/21/2022 8:26:37 AM

Why?

2/23/2022 7:29:43 AM

We're on maybe our 5th-ish year having an accountant do our taxes, mainly due to my wife running her own business and also renting out a house, so things got a wee bit complicated.

3/8/2022 3:25:15 PM

How much does that cost?

3/8/2022 11:29:41 PM

$NorthCarolina

3/9/2022 7:53:37 AM

About a couple hundred bucks. If we had simpler incomes, we'd definitely still just be doing it ourselves.

3/9/2022 12:18:17 PM

Quote :

"Why?"

I guess I do have more complicated filings than most people. Plus, my soon to be wife is a SBO which will add more to the mix during next year's filings.

3/14/2022 9:08:30 AM

OIC

I decided to get my refund paid in paper Series I savings bonds this year. They were mailed to me in 10 separate envelopes and 4 different denominations. Now I have to mail back to TreasuryDirect to digitize, but oh well.

3/15/2022 7:12:45 AM