With tax season here, a common quandary is whether to do your own taxes or hire someone else to do them for you. There are some considerations to keep in mind when making the decision about your taxes. Check out these tips as you make your choice.
Do You Feel Comfortable Doing Your Own Taxes?
One of the most important questions to consider when you are making a decision about doing your own taxes is how do you feel about doing them? If you feel uncomfortable with the idea of doing your own taxes or nervous about doing them incorrectly, you may be better off hiring them out. The stress and worry is not worth the money you might save by doing them yourself.
How Complicated is Your Tax Situation?
If your tax situation is complicated, you may need to hire a professional to do your taxes for you. When you add in business expenses and deductions, self-employment taxes, real estate and other tax situations, it can become fairly complicated. If you’re confident in your own knowledge, experience, and ability to deal with these tax issues, you may want to hire someone else.
However, if your tax situation is fairly straightforward and simple, you can save some money by doing them yourself.
Can You Use a Tax Software to Do Your Own?
There are several tax software programs available that walk you through doing your taxes on your own. Even complicated tax situations can be completed step-by-step when you use a software program. You will have to pay a fee to use the software, but this is generally less than fees charged by tax preparation companies.
This year, you can get 10% on top of your Federal Tax Refund when you file with TurboTax and use some (or all) of your Federal Refund to purchase an Amazon.com Gift Card from TurboTax. Learn more here.
How Fast Do You Need Your Refund?
An important consideration when choosing to do your own taxes or hire someone else to do them for you will be the tax refund. If you are needing to get your tax refund quickly, you may be planning to do “rapid refund” or get a refund anticipation loan.
If you do your taxes on your own, these options are not available to you. If you go through a tax preparation service, the tax preparer will be able to help you apply for these quick refund options. Keep in mind, though, that rapid refund or a refund anticipation loan can result in sizeable fees being taken out of your refund. On the other hand, though having the fees taken out of your refund means that you won’t need to pay those fees up front.
Whether you should do you own taxes or hire someone else to do them depends upon your confidence in your ability to do them, your need for a quick refund, and how complicated your taxes are.
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I’ve done my own taxes for the past 5 years with TurboTax and love it! I use the online version. I own my own home and have one job, so my taxes aren’t complicated. Turbotax online is very easy, it takes you step by step. Since I used them last year, when I do this year it shows me how it compares to last year so I know I did it right if it is similar. Also I love how they show you your estimated refund as you go – I like to watch that number go up!
If you are familiar on how the computations goes, then, I think you should do it on your own. However, if you are quite busy with work or other non-tax related stuff, you should get the right accounting firm.
There is a another alternative available.
IRS trains and certifies a number of volunteer tax prep programs that prepare and Efile both Fed and State returns for free. Caters to Low into Middle income and worth checking out. You can also ask them questions if you get stuck on an issue when trying to do it yourself.
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Free-Tax-Return-Preparation-for-You-by-Volunteers
If you can get online, there is free software available for those who can do it themselves.
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Free-File:-Do-Your-Federal-Taxes-for-Free