Comments on: Hiring An Accountant To Do Your Taxes Vs Using Turbo Tax Or Tax Cut

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:59:46 +0000

I used to have my taxes done by the accountants and often time I found mistakes. They do the taxes based on what I provide them and if something is missing or does not look right, they would not know or even ask. So, I started to do my own taxes using TT in the past 8 yrs. I did the same experiment like you are doing and went to H&R Block to see if they can get a different result after I have already done my taxes in TT. I also did not understand ISO stock option and HSA account contributions and deductions. It turned out that tax preparer did not know the answer either but she said she will ask and get back to me. In the end, her result turned out exactly like what I had in TT, off by $3. This year, however, I have an issue with TT that I did not understand, needed help and thinking of going to an accountant but I wish I can figure out on my own and cont to do my taxes. The issue is with rental passive losses. At the beginning I have passive losses on my rentals and I did not manage my properties so the losses cannot be deducted against income. However, in the last year, I started to manage my property so the passive losses now become active and I should be able to deduct it against my income according to the IRS to a certain amount based on my income. The problem is, I don’t know how to make that change (from passive to active) in TT. With TT, you put in what they asked and you either get it or not get it. I don’t know where in TT that I can make that change.

By: Outcome Of Hiring An Accountant To Do Our Taxes Vs Using Turbo Tax Or Tax Cut | MyWifeQuitHerJob.com

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:56:45 +0000

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By: Jd

Jd — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:08:19 +0000

Hello,

I was curious when you might post the results of your experiment. I find myself in the same predicament and have been using accountants the past 4-5 years but was thinking about switching to Turbotax to save $500.

Nice blog btw!

By: Sri

Sri — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:34:28 +0000

Hi Steve,
Thanks for taking this topic. When do you think you will have the result of the comparison? I completed my taxes with turbotax this year. I have IRA, investments, rental property, real estate professional and a full time job. I felt that TurboTax made it pretty simple and optimized my return quite well given the number of possible deduction options it provided. However, I have no basis of comparison with anything else.

I should ask TurboTax to see if they do these kinds of analysis regularly to ensure that they are at the top of their game.

sri

By: Great Tax Options And Questions Answered

Great Tax Options And Questions Answered — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:15:33 +0000

[...] An Accountant Better Than A Tax Program Like Turbo Tax?- My Wife Quit Her Job experiences this in Does Hiring An Accountant To Do Your Taxes Make A Difference Versus Turbo Tax? and says “This year, we are using an accountant to file our taxes as well as Turbo Tax to [...]

By: Sophia

Sophia — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:41:18 +0000

absolutely LOVE your site and all the great info… extremely helpful, well laid out and nice to know there is a real person behind it all! thank you!

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:43:49 +0000

@Sophia
I feel exactly the same way about Turbo Tax. I’m always a little skeptical when it comes time to take some of the more obscure deductions. I’m also wary that the software may have bugs from time to time. The good thing though is that the IRS and Intuit seem to work together. If TurboTax has bugs, then the IRS provides a bit of leeway as well. I remember a few years back, Intuit was having server problems so the IRS gave the affected people more time to file and pay their taxes.

I took a look at some of those anti-Turbo Tax websites. I think with any software there will always be problems. Many of the complaints seem to be installation issues which doesn’t concern me as much.

Thanks for sharing your story. I will definitely be posting the follow up whenever my accountant finishes up.

By: Sophia

Sophia — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:35:29 +0000

Interesting blog!
I have been using Turbotax for 2 years -this will be my 3rd.
I have used an accountant for the last 9 years and I think he’s great. The last 2 years I paid him and turbotax to do the same experiment (although my life and taxes are much simpler than yours
I found that I have gotten more back with turbotax and I like it, but I am very cautious of turbotax. I worry about them being a huge company and getting too big to care.
This year I had a MAJOR problem and it turns out it is a MAJOR problem for MANY other people.. and still hasn’t been fixed by turbotax or the IRS (whoevers prob it is) so major, in fact, that turbo tax has an entire page devoted to the issue- Rejection Code 1132 or 1133: Schedule M – Economic Recovery Payments Received does not match IRS records
So, this year it turns out I have to file by paper. which is frustrating and I still don’t understand what the problem is.
The only way to talk to a turbo tax person is to google: turbotax customer service phone number and then you get this fantastic site

I also found this website with so many negative things about turbotax it will freak you out, but I realize everyone has a critic. (but it seems esp this year there is a lot of negative feedback. I wonder if turbo tax has made some changes lately?)
And finally, whenever submitting your sensitive data online, here is an old, but good reminder and well written article: “Putting too much trust in TurboTax” http://blogs.computerworld.com/node/5358

I am also a control freak too and I think I will cont to do both, because I like my accountant and I like knowing there is a professional I can talk to.
(I will cont to do both unless I get screwed bigtime by turbotax or my accountant retires!
Can’t wait to hear more about the experiment! -Sophia

By: Daddy Paul

Daddy Paul — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:48:42 +0000

An accountant will pay for themselves 100 times over if you have a complex return at all. I do a better job than Turbo Tax without all of the annoying questions.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:07:37 +0000

@W^L
Actually just spoke with our accountant, told him about this challenge and he’s up for it. Hope he doesn’t get me audited though. Overall, I think you are right. Having an accountant makes future tax planning much easier and is one of the value adds.

@Tyler
Secretly, I hope our accountant wins as well. We’ve been fairly conservative over the years so we’ll just have to see what happens.