Yes, I guess I can go to bed at night knowing we're doing things the right way. :) It's going to take time but this will work out for us! Oldjoyful, The loan is in collection at this point. It's from back before or right after I started dating my DH. I still don't get it but he had a truck that was almost paid off. He went and purchased another used truck from a friend that has a car lot. It seems to me that DH got a truck loan for the truck he was purchasing but it must not have been for quite enough and he needed a small second loan? It's either that or it appears that DH never got a trade-in for the old truck! Anyway, DH didn't know what he was doing and added on other extra crap like insurance for items he owned the second loan (which really didn't amount to much of anything). DH was terrible about paying bills back then so things snowballed and eventually the truck was repoed. We paid the loan off last year for the repoed truck and have this one to go. We can either continue to make payments monthly for the next year or take a settlement at this point and we're hoping to do that come tax time with our return. Then we'll be free and clear :)

I'm going to add a little wisdom here based on my experience. I've been a tax preparer for 14 years, completed over 3500 returns, and taken more than 500 hours of training. I've had experience with various types of tax organizations. Deciding who to go to to prepare your taxes can be confusing. Let's change that! Here is an explanation of the differences of a CPA, tax preparer, and an EA -- and -- some information about how each of them work. I hope this will help you pick the one that best works for you! ~ An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a designation by the IRS that the individual has passed a knowledge exam on taxes that allows the EA to represent a taxpayer infront of the IRS. An Enrolled Agent may be a tax preparer or a CPA. Not all tax preparers or CPA's are Enrolled Agents. ~ A CPA is Certified Public Accountant. They received this designation by passing knowledge exams on numerous accounting areas. Many CPA's specialize in a specific area of accounting. If you go to a CPA make sure they specialize in taxes. Not all CPA's specialize in taxes or are Enrolled Agents. The CPA must be an Enrolled Agent to represent you infront of the IRS. ~ Tax preparers are trained to prepare taxes. Often they have a educational background or work in accounting but not necessarily. Their knowledge varies based on the number of years they have prepared taxes and educational courses they have taken. Tax preparers at H&R Block begin with a basic training course of 66 hours of class time plus additional hours for updates on new tax law changes and on-the-job training hours. Students of the basic training course must pass a final exam to qualify to work for H&R Block. Experienced H&R Block tax preparers are required to complete a minimum of 30 hours of training each year plus additional hours for updates on new tax law changes. Many tax preparers at H&R Block and smaller tax prep firms are Enrolled Agents. ~ H&R Block charges are determined by the forms used and what is filled in on the form. If you require H&R Block to do bookkeeping (you know that brown bag of receipts) they will charge an additional hourly fee. ~ Most CPA's charge on an hourly basis. From my personal experience the cost of going to a CPA is about 2X the cost of going to H&R Block. Some local firms are even less but may not have an EA or year-around office to help if there is a problem. ~ If you go to H&R Block you will sit with a tax preparer as they prepare your return. The preparer will ask lots of questions, answer questions, and make suggestions for future tax savings. Unless there is a complex tax issue that needs to be researched or missing information, the preparer will complete your return while you are there and you can take it with you when you go. ~ If you go to a CPA they may have you sit with them as they prepare and complete your return -or- they may just have you leave the tax information and call you to pick-up the return when it is completed. ~ Many CPA's hire tax preparers such as myself (often current or former H&R Block preparers) to complete the return. The CPA reviews the completed return and signs it as the preparer and presents it to the client. This is very common in our area especially with larger accounting firms. ~ Tax laws are complex and change each year. I've amended returns prepared by individuals, H&R Block, other tax prep firms, and CPA's. Anyone preparing your return can make a mistake. ~ If you prepare your own taxes on-line be sure to print a copy for your records. The on-line programs are great for simple returns (such as those with just W2's and interest). ~ If you want to purchase tax software Turbo Tax and Tax Cut are the most popular. Be sure to print a copy of your return for your records. The software is a great choice for a return that is not complex and if you are willing to take the time to research items that you are not sure of. ~ If you choose to go to H&R Block or a smaller tax firm call and request an appointment with an experienced preparer and let them know you would like a preparer that will spend time reviewing and explaining your return in detail. They will schedule you with a preparer that meets your needs if they know when you call for an appointment. ~ To find a good CPA or tax preparer ask friends and family for recommendations. Ask them why they like their preparer and see if it matches what your looking for. If you find a someone you like then call next year to schedule an appointment specifically with that person. As for the original poster ... from her explanation they have a rather simple return. If she felt confident to do her own return she could go online and do it. It sounds as though she wants to learn but would like some help this year so going to a professional might be a good idea. Since the return seems to be rather simple I think an experienced tax preparer would be less expensive than a CPA. I'd suggest calling for an appointment in advance and requesting that the appointment be scheduled with an experienced tax preparer that will be willing to answer lots of questions.

The late ecomonic crunch is begining to be felt in the tax coffers of US states. Several states are waking up to the fact their tax take has fallen (surprise, surprise). Down at the end of the bars in our beer halls, you can hear "Fix our tax problem, annex Canada". Back in the 1770s, there was a guy named Revere who took a midinght ride on his pony shouting, "The Red Coats are comming". Let's hope that we don't hear you driving down the road some dark night in your red MG (or maybe its an Aston Martin) shouting "The red-white-blues are coming!" Just kidding, I hope.

Recently a number of (mainly seniors) have been using a certain type of investment (unit trusts) that paid quite a high rate of return, some of it tax advantaged in the recipient's hands, plus some of it return of part of one's originally invested money. Such companies that structured themselves to pay out most of their earnings to shareholders were allowed to escape paying corporate tax. Some people who owned a somewhat different type of investment, stocks of Canadian companies, paying a much lower rate of return felt that they were being unfairly treated, and quite a few were leaving the type of investment that they'd been using to buy the other type. So the government changed the rules of calculating tax on the second type of income relative to 2006, with a view to encouraging a number of taxpayers to stay put. Until 2005, a single "taxpayer" who'd earned somewhere around $27,000 - 30,000. of solely that kind of income had a couple of types of credits work to allow them to have their tax liability reduced to zero. The differing method of calculation in 2006 allowed the level of the single "taxpayer's" income from solely that type of income to increase to $46,345. before becoming liable to pay one cent of income tax ... except the $600. Ontario Health Levy in this province. Would that my Member of Parliament's office were to notify every constituent annually of all the changes to the tax code, especially ways that some fortunate people could avoid paying tax at all up to over $45,000. ... ... but I'm not holding my breath, waiting for such a day! The person who told me of it was a C.A. who'd been an accountant (I think controller) of a substantial local company, prior to his retirement (with no pension) a couple of years ago. We've attended a monthly study group learning about investments for over 7 years (sometimes travel together to the meeting) ... I've learned a lot in that group. The government recently changed the tax rules relative to the first type of investment ... not allowing the corporations to avoid income tax, even if they agree to pay out most of their income. The value of that market lost billions overnight ... I can send any of you interested some delicious cartoons related to that! Recovered a substantial portion of it, later. In the light of that ... they may change the rules again next year relative to the second type of income, to increase the rate of income tax on it to more or less previous levels. Good wishes for learning more about the effective use of your income and assets. ole joyful