Tax Professionals?
04-14-2014, 05:07 PM
#1
Tax Professionals?
Any of you guys tax pros... do tax returns and what not?
Reason I ask... Last year we went with my folks accountant. Was a mess. We had to file for an extension. Then the dude handling it was totally unresponsive for months. We ended up barely filing in time for the second deadline. We ended up having to pay quite a bit and the guy asked ZERO questions as far as what we could write off.
So this year we went back to HR Block. They tried to charge me $450 or some crap to do my taxes. I had them take a couple forms off for mileage and stuff that wasn't saving me much money and knocked it down to $388... plus a $20 off so call it $368.
And I still have to pay fed/state and I still owe from last year. Needless to say my taxes are all jacked up.
So... any of you guys do taxes. If I'm gonna pay $370 to do my taxes it might as well go in the pocket of someone I can trust.
And one other thing... did they cancel the first time home buyer credit? Cause if they did that freakin sucks.
Reason I ask... Last year we went with my folks accountant. Was a mess. We had to file for an extension. Then the dude handling it was totally unresponsive for months. We ended up barely filing in time for the second deadline. We ended up having to pay quite a bit and the guy asked ZERO questions as far as what we could write off.
So this year we went back to HR Block. They tried to charge me $450 or some crap to do my taxes. I had them take a couple forms off for mileage and stuff that wasn't saving me much money and knocked it down to $388... plus a $20 off so call it $368.
And I still have to pay fed/state and I still owe from last year. Needless to say my taxes are all jacked up.
So... any of you guys do taxes. If I'm gonna pay $370 to do my taxes it might as well go in the pocket of someone I can trust.
And one other thing... did they cancel the first time home buyer credit? Cause if they did that freakin sucks.
04-14-2014, 05:17 PM
#3
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I got a guy in salinas who does mine. $50 bucks and hes legit but its out of his garage.
I got his card at home ill text u his info tonight.
Great price and hes fast. You just gotta make sure you give him everything and explain your situation really well.
I got his card at home ill text u his info tonight.
Great price and hes fast. You just gotta make sure you give him everything and explain your situation really well.
04-14-2014, 05:27 PM
#4
I was afraid of that. Everyone kept telling me... dude you'll get a fat return when you buy your house. So I got my hopes up. He told me I owed I was like... way... WTF?
Figured I'd double check though. The kid was fresh out of school and didn't give off a vibe that he had 100% of his crap together if you know what I mean.
Why obama gotta cut my refund dang it. All those people that got in way over their heads got that refund... then they ran away from the loans and let the banks... I mean tax payers foot the bill. Guess legit home buyers get no love. LOL! Oh well.
Maybe they'll bring it back in a couple year and I can raise my hand and say... me too... me too.
I know they did that in 2010. They said you could get it for as far back as like 2007 or something like that.
One can hope.
Either way... don't think I'll go back to HR Block. No way I should be paying this year.
you know what else sucks.... they capped the child car break too and cut the child credit WAY back. They're like.... hey... struggling families... **** you.
I paid nearly $13,000 for child care and preschool this year. Got $600 credit. LOL!
Figured I'd double check though. The kid was fresh out of school and didn't give off a vibe that he had 100% of his crap together if you know what I mean.
Why obama gotta cut my refund dang it. All those people that got in way over their heads got that refund... then they ran away from the loans and let the banks... I mean tax payers foot the bill. Guess legit home buyers get no love. LOL! Oh well.
Maybe they'll bring it back in a couple year and I can raise my hand and say... me too... me too.
I know they did that in 2010. They said you could get it for as far back as like 2007 or something like that.
One can hope.
Either way... don't think I'll go back to HR Block. No way I should be paying this year.
you know what else sucks.... they capped the child car break too and cut the child credit WAY back. They're like.... hey... struggling families... **** you.
I paid nearly $13,000 for child care and preschool this year. Got $600 credit. LOL!
04-14-2014, 08:20 PM
#6
Paid $980 to get our taxes done this year at H&R Block (mostly due to additional amortized photography equipment at $20 per item). And we owed $13,600. Despite a kid, a house, and a lot of business write-offs.
H&R Block has always treated me right since I found a great guy named Phil Clark who works out of the Camden and Los Gatos office. The dude is fantastic with everything from our measly $150 in Disney stock, all the way up through our home, medical, small investments (haha. J/k. We have none) and our photography business.
Small time accountants tend to be either way too liberal with their accounting, or way too conservative and don't write things off. Our guy has been fantastic for 3 years in a row now.
We only paid like $3k in childcare toward the end of last year, but I feel like we got a larger credit than you did, man. You may want to have someone double check into that stuff.
As for the home buyers tax credit, yes. That was huge for us. When we bought in 2010, we made the credit by something like 1 week, and got $8k. That was awesome.
Sucks, man. Owing sucks a lot. But I just keep telling myself that if I owe, and I'm writing off every dang thing I can, that I must be doing something right...
...or getting hosed by Uncle Sam.
H&R Block has always treated me right since I found a great guy named Phil Clark who works out of the Camden and Los Gatos office. The dude is fantastic with everything from our measly $150 in Disney stock, all the way up through our home, medical, small investments (haha. J/k. We have none) and our photography business.
Small time accountants tend to be either way too liberal with their accounting, or way too conservative and don't write things off. Our guy has been fantastic for 3 years in a row now.
We only paid like $3k in childcare toward the end of last year, but I feel like we got a larger credit than you did, man. You may want to have someone double check into that stuff.
As for the home buyers tax credit, yes. That was huge for us. When we bought in 2010, we made the credit by something like 1 week, and got $8k. That was awesome.
Sucks, man. Owing sucks a lot. But I just keep telling myself that if I owe, and I'm writing off every dang thing I can, that I must be doing something right...
...or getting hosed by Uncle Sam.
Last edited by Prettym1k3; 04-14-2014 at 08:24 PM.
04-14-2014, 09:27 PM
#9
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: San Leandro, CA
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if you want PM me, I can give you our accountant/tax lady's name and number. She is great, does the really screwed up taxes my partner and I have to file (joint in CA, separate federal, with a split house credit, and I get credit for my other partner as a dependent under the rules)
04-14-2014, 09:30 PM
#10
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Location: Santa Cruz, California
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The last time I did mine myself I owed 500 bucks. They were simple too.
$50 bucks and a dude who barely speaks english and hes getting me almost 2 grand back now.
<single and rents.
$50 bucks and a dude who barely speaks english and hes getting me almost 2 grand back now.
<single and rents.
04-14-2014, 09:44 PM
#11
I just use Turbo Tax, but my returns are pretty simple. Just a couple W2s. Made too much and withheld too much... dunno, paid $5700 to Federal. :|
No tax credits for anything, ugh.
No tax credits for anything, ugh.
04-14-2014, 09:50 PM
#12
I was afraid of that. Everyone kept telling me... dude you'll get a fat return when you buy your house. So I got my hopes up. He told me I owed I was like... way... WTF?
Figured I'd double check though. The kid was fresh out of school and didn't give off a vibe that he had 100% of his crap together if you know what I mean.
Why obama gotta cut my refund dang it. All those people that got in way over their heads got that refund... then they ran away from the loans and let the banks... I mean tax payers foot the bill. Guess legit home buyers get no love. LOL! Oh well.
Maybe they'll bring it back in a couple year and I can raise my hand and say... me too... me too.
I know they did that in 2010. They said you could get it for as far back as like 2007 or something like that.
One can hope.
Either way... don't think I'll go back to HR Block. No way I should be paying this year.
you know what else sucks.... they capped the child car break too and cut the child credit WAY back. They're like.... hey... struggling families... **** you.
I paid nearly $13,000 for child care and preschool this year. Got $600 credit. LOL!
Figured I'd double check though. The kid was fresh out of school and didn't give off a vibe that he had 100% of his crap together if you know what I mean.
Why obama gotta cut my refund dang it. All those people that got in way over their heads got that refund... then they ran away from the loans and let the banks... I mean tax payers foot the bill. Guess legit home buyers get no love. LOL! Oh well.
Maybe they'll bring it back in a couple year and I can raise my hand and say... me too... me too.
I know they did that in 2010. They said you could get it for as far back as like 2007 or something like that.
One can hope.
Either way... don't think I'll go back to HR Block. No way I should be paying this year.
you know what else sucks.... they capped the child car break too and cut the child credit WAY back. They're like.... hey... struggling families... **** you.
I paid nearly $13,000 for child care and preschool this year. Got $600 credit. LOL!
04-16-2014, 10:53 AM
#14
Old School
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I've used Turbo Tax online for years. There is nothing too complicated for them. You have your forms, and you have your receipts. You enter it all, and it just works well. I get a return every year of several thousand dollars.
Home ownership is not hard to do on there, neither is having a kid and day care. Though I don't qualify for a kid credit at all I think, but I can't complain too much.
Home ownership is not hard to do on there, neither is having a kid and day care. Though I don't qualify for a kid credit at all I think, but I can't complain too much.
04-16-2014, 11:02 AM
#15
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I've used Turbo Tax online for years. There is nothing too complicated for them. You have your forms, and you have your receipts. You enter it all, and it just works well. I get a return every year of several thousand dollars.
Home ownership is not hard to do on there, neither is having a kid and day care. Though I don't qualify for a kid credit at all I think, but I can't complain too much.
Home ownership is not hard to do on there, neither is having a kid and day care. Though I don't qualify for a kid credit at all I think, but I can't complain too much.
The next year with no change in income or my w4 I owed over 1000. Used the same method...efiled online....
Now I take my stuff to my tax guy and he gets it done in 10 mins and 3 days later I have a nice lump in my bank.
Most ive ever gotten back was from this guy.
Plus im kinda hesitant to go again when I **** something up once