So what should it cost to have your taxes prepared?

[clifffaith]

I know this will vary depending on how complicated your situation is and likely which part of the country you live in. Cliff turned over our taxes to an accountant when we opened a business in 1989. He did all the daily accounting, but at the end of the year we dumped stuff on her. We love her, enjoy her company and respect her advice. However now that she has completed and billed us for our taxes for the first full year of retirement, we can't help but think that $1170 is too much to pay. There are a handful of investment account statements, two SS statements, and some other odds and ends. For the first time we didn't even meet with her in person this year because of the looming virus issues. We just dropped stuff off and several weeks later the courier delivered our packet back to us; we reviewed, signed and sent it back. So what is the going rate for professionally prepared tax returns that aren't too complicated? We think it's time for TurboTax, but are mindful my father successfully used TT for years, and when something unusual came up (my brother's death) he screwed up and suddenly got a bill for past due taxes, interest and penalties to the tune of $9K that our accountant had to sort out for him. (He had refused our advice up front that he seek professional help since there was an inheritance involved). We certainly aren't going to dump her for small savings, but are curious as to what others pay.

 

[Luanne]

I know this will vary depending on how complicated your situation is and likely which part of the country you live in.

This.

When we lived in California our tax preparation cost much more than when we moved to New Mexico. The cost also varied in California from when my Dad did them for us (free) to when we had a retired accountant do them, to when we moved to a larger firm. I honestly don't remember how much the firm cost, but I'm pretty sure it was over $1000.

 

[Brett]

I know this will vary depending on how complicated your situation is and likely which part of the country you live in. Cliff turned over our taxes to an accountant when we opened a business in 1989. He did all the daily accounting, but at the end of the year we dumped stuff on her. We love her, enjoy her company and respect her advice. However now that she has completed and billed us for our taxes for the first full year of retirement, we can't help but think that $1170 is too much to pay. There are a handful of investment account statements, two SS statements, and some other odds and ends. For the first time we didn't even meet with her in person this year because of the looming virus issues. We just dropped stuff off and several weeks later the courier delivered our packet back to us; we reviewed, signed and sent it back. So what is the going rate for professionally prepared tax returns that aren't too complicated? We think it's time for TurboTax, but are mindful my father successfully used TT for years, and when something unusual came up (my brother's death) he screwed up and suddenly got a bill for past due taxes, interest and penalties to the tune of $9K that our accountant had to sort out for him. (He had refused our advice up front that he seek professional help since there was an inheritance involved). We certainly aren't going to dump her for small savings, but are curious as to what others pay.

yes, If you have a business it can easily cost over $1,000.
I use TurboTax for personal income taxes ~$75

 

[rapmarks]

Turbo tax is pretty easy. But back in the year 2000 we paid $800 for a tax return that had one item,because my paranoid brother in law did not want the regular accountant to know about a life insurance policy.

 

[VacationForever]

When we had our business in California, we paid CPA about $1.5K for the business side and another $1K for personal taxes. The year after we retired when we did not need to consider business earnings anymore, we used Turbo Tax and we added the option of consulting with a CPA so that we could ask him questions like if we had anything from our prior year which we had to copy over into Turbo Tax. We have been using Turbo Tax since then.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

We pay about $1200 - $1800 to a CPA for business and about $800 for personal. Worth every penny because he has saved us thousands. He was the one that first said at end of March that we should be looking into stimulus programs for our business and rental property.

@VacationForever I just saw this option as I was helping one of my kids prepare their taxes. Have you used it? If so how do you like it?

 

[WinniWoman]

We have a fairly simple return and I always did our taxes on Tax Act, who's costs kept going up ever year- near $70. I had a CPA do ours this year for $325. With everything else going on I didn't want to deal with it. And I think I will use him going forward unles he gets more expensive or we are not able to afford it for some reason, like a depression.

 

[VacationForever]

We pay about $1200 - $1800 to a CPA for business and about $800 for personal. Worth every penny because he has saved us thousands. He was the one that first said at end of March that we should be looking into stimulus programs for our business and rental property.

@VacationForever I just saw this option as I was helping one of my kids prepare their taxes. Have you used it? If so how do you like it?

It exceeded our expectations. When we got to the completion of all the data, it asked us if we wanted to schedule a consulting session. We said yes, and then it scheduled us to speak to someone within an hour. He came on the phone, answered several of our questions and there were a couple of questions he did not have answers for and told us that he would call us back within a couple of hours. He called us back in less than an hour to give us the answers. We were very pleased. We also pay extra for audit representation or whatever that is called.

 

[Krteczech]

I have been volunteering as with AARP Tax Aide group since I retired two years ago. This service is aimed at seniors and other taxpayers who need free of charge help. We are well trained, required to pass a test and can help in most scenarios except rental property income and depreciation. As of present time we are waiting for Covid restrictions to be lifted and plan to continue till new July deadline.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Thanks @VacationForever sounds like a great approach for the future when we are not so complicated.

 

[VacationForever]

Thanks @VacationForever sounds like a great approach for the future when we are not so complicated.

We only switched to Turbo Tax 2 years after we sold our business for obvious reason.

 

[dayooper]

Wow! I guess we are pretty lucky. Here in MI, we have hsome modest investments, my wife has a very small business with no overhead and some write offs to go along with my job. We pay $180 and he does my daughters taxes for free!

 

[TravelTime]

We pay our accountant about $2500 for business and personal taxes.

 

[linsj]

I'm shocked at what some of you are paying! I have a sole proprietor business and have used TurboTax since it first came out. Before that, I did the paper version myself.

 

[TravelTime]

I have an S corp. Our business taxes are fairly easy but our personal taxes get a bit complicated sometimes. But the majority is paid for the business taxes.

 

[CO skier]

We love her, enjoy her company and respect her advice. However now that she has completed and billed us for our taxes for the first full year of retirement, we can't help but think that $1170 is too much to pay. There are a handful of investment account statements, two SS statements, and some other odds and ends. For the first time we didn't even meet with her in person this year because of the looming virus issues. ... We certainly aren't going to dump her for small savings, but are curious as to what others pay.

I have paid about $35 - $50 per year for more than a decade to have my taxes professionally prepared using HR Block software. (I am sure TurboTax would be just as good, but HR Block sends me emails in the fall for excellent discounts).

There is NO WAY I could fill out our taxes using the IRS booklets and paper forms like I did 25-30 years ago.

A couple of years ago, my wife got a wild hair and decided to pay a "professional" $350 to prepare our taxes. I provided all the information for the current tax year and previous tax return. My wife returned from the initial meeting all bent out of shape because the tax professional questioned why we did not claim the credit for both of our children under age 17 in the previous tax return.

We were a couple with two professional jobs at the time that tax return was prepared. I explained that for "rich people like us" the dependent child tax credit was completely phased out, and I also pointed out that a "professional" tax preparer should know that. Never heard another word on the subject, the "professional" tax preparer did not back up her "opinion" with an "Amended Tax Form" for the affected year (so I guess HR Block tax software was right), and I presume my wife paid the $350. The next year when I asked, "Should I prepare our taxes for $39.95 (and a couple of hours of my time) or are you going to pay a "professional" to prepare our taxes, she opted for the $39.95 option.

We think it's time for TurboTax, but are mindful my father successfully used TT for years, and when something unusual came up (my brother's death) he screwed up and suddenly got a bill for past due taxes, interest and penalties to the tune of $9K that our accountant had to sort out for him.

Do you or your husband want to give TurboTax or HB Block software a try for under $50 next tax season? It is a surprisingly simple interview process, and it would save you at least $1100 for what sounds like a simple and straightforward tax return. If the hassle of self preparation proves more than what you want, you only lost <$50, and can confidently rely on your tax preparer going forward.

The HR Block easily handled a K-1 Inheritance loss one year. The software is quite sophisticated.

If you should happen to have an unusually complicated tax issue one year, then of course consult a professional.

 

[dioxide45]

If you no longer have the business, it may be time to take on the preparation yourself using software.

 

[slip]

I always did our own until I bought our condo and rent it out. Since then we went to Block and this year our first year in Hawaii Block had all our information so that worked great. It was $400. After we retire and are not renting out any more I will go back to doing it myself.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I also own an S Corp with retirement plans. We receive tech industry stock options, stock warrants and SAFE notes which can get complicated.

A friend used TurboTax and learned that it wasn't producing an 8606 over the years so her non-deductible IRA contributions were not recorded with the IRS as contribution basis. She now will pay taxes on those non-deductible contributions when they could have been rolled tax free into a Roth. Our accountant had filed this over the years enabling us to convert all of our contributions into a Roth via backdoor so we don't have to pay taxes twice on these contributions.

 

[SmithOp]

I have been volunteering as with AARP Tax Aide group since I retired two years ago. This service is aimed at seniors and other taxpayers who need free of charge help. We are well trained, required to pass a test and can help in most scenarios except rental property income and depreciation. As of present time we are waiting for Covid restrictions to be lifted and plan to continue till new July deadline.

Me too, this is my 8th year. May I also say you have one of the best resources in Colorado, we love Jeff Bogarts Toolbox!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[sun starved Gayle]

This is the first year I have not worked tax season for a CPA friend, doing office and reception work only, no taxes.

Some clients don’t understand that a messy, unorganized return takes more time to process. Somebody has to go through and organize all that pile of stuff and it takes time. Time is money. You will be charged for the extra time it took to sort your paperwork out. I am amazed what people bring in, unopened. Some even throw in the tax organizer we send out ever year, unopened. Spend a half hour opening all tax related correspondence, discarding the stuff that accidentally got thrown in the tax file and organizing your info. That might save you a little money.

Part of the price of the return, at least in the office I work in, includes a set fee for each form needed to be filled out. And if you keep calling and adding or changing stuff, that again takes extra time and you will be charged for it.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I pay my current CPA around $1200 for our personal return. It feels high to me but the firm is very responsive and i have been happy with the service and return. Prior to this i was using an enrolled agent and think he charged around $500. Unfortunately he became very unresponsive over the years, and i found a few errors on the return. I later discovered he had moved to Kentucky but never let us know(after the first year we did everything remote.

I used Turbo tax for many years and was generally happy, however working High Tech i had problems handling the equity compensation correctly with Turbo Tax. I later discovered i had been double reporting some of my income for years..... That's when i decided to hire someone else...

 

[clifffaith]

Does Turbo Tax tell you if you need to make quarterly payments the next year? If it does, is there a way to print the coupons that accompany the checks?

 

[elaine]

my Mom's accountant in Florida charges about $1200. Very simple--just SS, FL property taxes, and investments K1s.
Our accountant in Richmond, VA charges the same--includes rental income/depreciation, for LLC.

 

[VacationForever]

Does Turbo Tax tell you if you need to make quarterly payments the next year? If it does, is there a way to print the coupons that accompany the checks?

Yes and yes.