lonesomexloveus Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I'm debating on whether to take my taxes to a place like H&R Block to get them done or not. In previous years I've just used Turbo Tax and done them myself because i have a pretty simple return; just me, one job, no dependents, don't own a house, just have one consolidated student loan i'm paying back. Has anyone ever used H&R block? good/bad experiences? I don't know if it would be worth it for me to pay someone else to do mine, but i don't want to miss something. Anybody on here a CPA who can offer any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I use whatever free tax filing program the government offers. Mine is simple as well. One Job, student loans, no investments outside of my 401k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirbypuckett Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I use the free version for Turbo Tax and just pay for the state. I believe there are ways to do it for free since mine are so simple, but whatever, it's like $30 and it imports all of my information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 what's funny is since i work for the department of revenue, everyone assumes that i have some insider access to getting my taxes done correctly. we get about 10 emails a year detailing how we cannot access anyone's tax records (even our own) unless it's for official business, and cannot have someone here do our taxes for us. i'll probably just wind up using turbo tax again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Things are probably completely different in Europe but; I always think if I pay someone to do my taxes it should save me at least the amount I spend on paying that person. Luckily the last couple of years I've made so little money that it was just as easy to do it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I am on a government grant while I am getting my phd which does not get taxed. I started on it in the middle of the 2009 year, so for my 2009 taxes I filed a report for my other income, but a tax professional told me I didn't have to do anything with the grant income. So this year I was on the grant all year. Do I not have to file a return? Do I file one with zero taxable income? I own a house. I guess I technically made some money on interest, but it was just a few dollars of interest on my savings account. It would be nice to not have to do anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgry Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I've been using H&R Block online for years. It's free but Illinois filing is $28. It's easy and takes like 5 minutes. They walk you through all of the steps and you can print it out for your records after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviex2shoes Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I've also been using the H&R Block online for a few years now for my federal, and just do my Wisconsin taxes on the Wisconsin state tax site. H&R is free and its just like the programs that you buy. I believe its free for people who make under $75k or something. It's always been quick and painless for me, and I set it up to have the refund direct deposited and I've been getting it within like a week of filing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 I am on a government grant while I am getting my phd which does not get taxed. I started on it in the middle of the 2009 year, so for my 2009 taxes I filed a report for my other income, but a tax professional told me I didn't have to do anything with the grant income.So this year I was on the grant all year. Do I not have to file a return? Do I file one with zero taxable income? I own a house. I guess I technically made some money on interest, but it was just a few dollars of interest on my savings account. It would be nice to not have to do anything. my best friend is in the same situation, but i'm sure that his mom does his taxes and he has no idea. or he has some other weirdo smart harvard kid do them for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 If you have a simple one it's pretty easy to just fill out the form for both US and state, and free. Take line 4 off your w-2 subtract line 12 from line 6. Put it here. and so on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviolentworld Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 i have been wondering the same thing. my wife and i always have filed together but nothing really difficult in doing so. we usually use turbo tax. now that we have two 5 months old to add into our taxes i am skeptical about doing this ourselves. i am afraid that we might miss money that someone else like H&R block or someone else would pick up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerseydave77 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I balance a job, freelance work, a small LLC, a joint filing with my wife, a home and a baby. The only time my taxes have ever been screwed up was by a CPA. I have a moderate tax liability to the IRS from 2008 with a fat 20% penalty. I owe the money and would pay it off but I am fighting the penalty since it is highly punative for a paperwork error that I am more than willing to correct. My point - no matter who you have touch your taxes always have the work double checked on some level. Sounds like you have a pretty simple filing though so if is just a 1040 or 1040ez then you are totally safe in using the free Turbo Tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdenx Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 The one time I took my taxes to an H&R Block, the guy ended up with the same result I had when I did it online a couple days earlier. If you're not itemizing or retarded, there's no reason to pay someone to do them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviex2shoes Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Yeah I feel like if I was itemizing I may be inclined to have a professional do it, but since I don't its just smarter to go the Free route and get all your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakeupandlive Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I usually just file online for free since its just me, and only one job and no loans. I want to get my W-2 already so I can file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamlikesmusic Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I am on a government grant while I am getting my phd which does not get taxed. I started on it in the middle of the 2009 year, so for my 2009 taxes I filed a report for my other income, but a tax professional told me I didn't have to do anything with the grant income.So this year I was on the grant all year. Do I not have to file a return? Do I file one with zero taxable income? I own a house. I guess I technically made some money on interest, but it was just a few dollars of interest on my savings account. It would be nice to not have to do anything. I'm 99% sure you still have to file. I believe my brother was in the same situation a couple years ago, and was similarly confused as to whether to file or not. Can't totally recall what the outcome was, but still having to file rings a bell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryq Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I am on a government grant while I am getting my phd which does not get taxed. I started on it in the middle of the 2009 year, so for my 2009 taxes I filed a report for my other income, but a tax professional told me I didn't have to do anything with the grant income.So this year I was on the grant all year. Do I not have to file a return? Do I file one with zero taxable income? I own a house. I guess I technically made some money on interest, but it was just a few dollars of interest on my savings account. It would be nice to not have to do anything. I'm 99% sure you still have to file. I believe my brother was in the same situation a couple years ago, and was similarly confused as to whether to file or not. Can't totally recall what the outcome was, but still having to file rings a bell. I had a grant the past two years when I was doing my master's degree and was given a form to voluntarily have taxes taken out (the logic being that it would be better to have it happen $45/paycheck than one big chunk at the end of the year). Since my W-2 just had like $1000 in taxes with no income, I had to look at my paystubs to get my income and file my taxes that way. but yeah, I *think* grants aren't taxed but are taxable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 I'm 99% sure you still have to file. I believe my brother was in the same situation a couple years ago, and was similarly confused as to whether to file or not. Can't totally recall what the outcome was, but still having to file rings a bell. I had a grant the past two years when I was doing my master's degree and was given a form to voluntarily have taxes taken out (the logic being that it would be better to have it happen $45/paycheck than one big chunk at the end of the year). Since my W-2 just had like $1000 in taxes with no income, I had to look at my paystubs to get my income and file my taxes that way. but yeah, I *think* grants aren't taxed but are taxable http://www.irs.gov/individuals/students/article/0,,id=96674,00.html from what i'm reading on the internet, it looks like stipend money spent on living expenses is taxable, but money spent on school things (books, etc) is exempt. the internet is often wrong, however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks for the help. I guess based on the confusion I need to ask someone. Still plenty of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefwahoo Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I'm debating on whether to take my taxes to a place like H&R Block to get them done or not. In previous years I've just used Turbo Tax and done them myself because i have a pretty simple return; just me, one job, no dependents, don't own a house, just have one consolidated student loan i'm paying back.Has anyone ever used H&R block? good/bad experiences? I don't know if it would be worth it for me to pay someone else to do mine, but i don't want to miss something. Anybody on here a CPA who can offer any advice? I'm a CPA. I used Turbo Tax for the first time last year for all of the friends and family returns that I do and I felt it did a nice job of covering all the bases. Just don't skip through screens that ask questions. Read the questions and if it's at all applicable, follow it through. And if you can find someone with the disc, borrow it because they don't limit how many people can install it on their computers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Tip: Don't do them. Fuck them system. Oi oi oi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smailtronic Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I started off using the free federal version of Turbo Tax, and even though I don't qualify for the freebie anymore (have to file a proper 1040) I still use it every year. They keep your info on file (addy, employer, etc) so it goes pretty quick, and it seems like they do a decent job of digging to find exemptions and things that will boost your refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryq Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I had a grant the past two years when I was doing my master's degree and was given a form to voluntarily have taxes taken out (the logic being that it would be better to have it happen $45/paycheck than one big chunk at the end of the year). Since my W-2 just had like $1000 in taxes with no income, I had to look at my paystubs to get my income and file my taxes that way. but yeah, I *think* grants aren't taxed but are taxable http://www.irs.gov/individuals/students/article/0,,id=96674,00.html from what i'm reading on the internet, it looks like stipend money spent on living expenses is taxable, but money spent on school things (books, etc) is exempt. the internet is often wrong, however. thanks for that link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I try to plug my numbers in to a few free services (H&R Block, Turbo Tax, etc) just to see what figures I get. Sometimes one asks about a deduction outside of the standard deductions that the other doesn't. I've found I usually get more deductions with one or the other. But I usually go back and forth between the two. Sounds weird, I know, but just try it. Could get you a few hundred more bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icecream Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 last year I took mine to the goodwill offices because they would do them for free for anyone who makes up to 50 k. Probably not the wisest decision on my part half the time the lady doing my taxes was clicking the right button on the mouse & getting confused as to whats going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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