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Household Finances

TurboTax - do I dare?

20 years ago

I used Turbo Tax about 8 years ago - but things were simpler then. Married, but no kids or house. Now I have two kids and have sold and bought a house this last year. Our accountant who had only charged $50 in past years now has to raise his fees to $125 since he has to file electronically. Turbo Tax would only cost me $30 for both federal and state. I have the time to do it, but is the house sale thing going to be complicated?

Thanks,

Lauren

Comments (6)

susanjn
20 years ago
Why would filing electronically increase the fee to $125? Sounds fishy.

We use Turbo Tax every year, and file electronically. You would still have to come up with the numbers for the house sale/purchase whether you did it on paper, TurboTax, or with your accountant. You could always start with TurboTax and if it gets too complicated go back to the accountant.
steve_o
20 years ago
I vote for tax software, too (though I prefer TaxCut). IME, they provide every form you're ever likely to need, they ask all kinds of questions, and, if it turns out you have to file a particular form based on advice from outside the software, you can access it, fill it in, and you're set. In fact, I bought a house two years ago and had no problems using tax software to include that transaction in the return. Go for it!
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trekaren
20 years ago
We don't pay a surcharge for e-filing with our accountant. I'd say shop around if you decide to stick with a CPA.
trilobite
20 years ago
I say shop around too, I think your accountant is blowing smoke.
Don_
20 years ago
After years of paying a CPA to do our taxes I finally convinced my wife I could do it using Turbo Tax. I did, she's glad and our old CPA has a little longer to go before retirement. It is without a doubt the best reason to own a computer I have ever found.
kframe19
20 years ago
Personally I'd say use the (or an) accountant for one more year because you've bought and sold houses.

Tax software is great (I've used it for years), but accountants are paid to find deductions that the software programs may well not be able to flush out.

Luckily my tax situation is very simple, so I don't need to worry about that.

In the next couple of years, though, I'm going to start exercising stock options at my company. Then things are going to get complex.

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