Whenever I’ve tried to talk with an accountant about “tax planning”, they don’t know any more than I do (I already know about 401Ks and Roth IRAs, thanks) or lots of hem and haw (would it make sense for my self-employed wife to incorporate, and if so, what state should she do it in?). We tried last year - it didn’t go well.
At least the tax software doesn’t operate by appointment or cost me $hundreds.
I’ve gotten such disparate results between 2 sessions of taxact and one session of taxcut, that I’m not confident of the tax software. I’m going to a professional this year.
I think a big part of value hinges on who/what you consider a “professional.” Stopping at the local tax prep shop that pops up every spring in your local mall is (in many cases) the same thing as hiring someone some dude off the street with minimal training to run your tax software for you.
The problem is I think the “tax planning” we’d need is the sort that tax lawyers tend to do, not preparers. The guy we visited last year was a CPA and did a good job with our taxes, but he didn’t want to answer any “planning” questions.
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tax software has become advanced enough that for the vast majority of people, there is no need in my opinion.
Comment by Saving Advice — Mar 1st 2007 @ 10:20 amWhenever I’ve tried to talk with an accountant about “tax planning”, they don’t know any more than I do (I already know about 401Ks and Roth IRAs, thanks) or lots of hem and haw (would it make sense for my self-employed wife to incorporate, and if so, what state should she do it in?). We tried last year - it didn’t go well.
At least the tax software doesn’t operate by appointment or cost me $hundreds.
Comment by Foobarista — Mar 2nd 2007 @ 4:34 amI’ve gotten such disparate results between 2 sessions of taxact and one session of taxcut, that I’m not confident of the tax software. I’m going to a professional this year.
Comment by Clever Dude — Mar 2nd 2007 @ 8:06 amI think a big part of value hinges on who/what you consider a “professional.” Stopping at the local tax prep shop that pops up every spring in your local mall is (in many cases) the same thing as hiring someone some dude off the street with minimal training to run your tax software for you.
The problem is I think the “tax planning” we’d need is the sort that tax lawyers tend to do, not preparers. The guy we visited last year was a CPA and did a good job with our taxes, but he didn’t want to answer any “planning” questions.
Comment by Foobarista — Mar 2nd 2007 @ 2:32 pmRight, we’re actually going to a firm that specializes in business and tax law, as well as accounting.