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View Full Version : Do you do your own taxes??

hownos
03-27-25, 10:25 PM
Yes and many others.
Stirchley
03-28-25, 12:04 PM
Husband does ours. He makes a major production of it, but refuses to hire an accountant. :rolleyes:
Miss Vicky
03-28-25, 12:27 PM
Yes and I usually do it as soon as possible so that I get my refund sooner.
Allaby
03-28-25, 01:51 PM
Yes.
FilmBuff
03-28-25, 08:07 PM
Taxes?

What are those?
AgrippinaX
03-28-25, 08:08 PM
I’m a tax lawyer’s daughter and was self-employed for a bit, so yes, sometimes.
hownos
03-28-25, 08:30 PM
Taxes?

What are those?

Have you missed a few years??
I_Wear_Pants
03-28-25, 09:18 PM
I have an uncle from Taxes.

In all seriousness, I have non-taxable income, so right now I needn't do them anyway. We'll see what happens down the road.
ueno_station54
03-28-25, 10:08 PM
yep and i do it wrong every time lol
beelzebubble
03-28-25, 11:05 PM
No, I have slight dyscalculia. I never get the same answer from a math problem twice. I used to do my taxes myself, but even though the IRS always owed me money, they threatened to audit me because of my terrible math. So I took the hint and hired an accountant.
nyctc7
03-28-25, 11:10 PM
Yes
Nausicaä
03-29-25, 04:06 AM
No, and if I had to I would get an accountant because my head for numbers is horrendous.

Most people in Britain don't do their own taxes though.
Holden Pike
03-29-25, 05:15 AM
Before I got married, yes. But our combined returns were more complicated, so we use a preparer.

Our 2024 taxes were filed weeks ago, we have already received our refunds.
hownos
03-29-25, 01:26 PM
I’m a tax lawyer’s daughter and was self-employed for a bit, so yes, sometimes.

I starting doing them in high school. no surprise i became an accountant.
AKA23
03-29-25, 07:25 PM
Before I got married, yes. But our combined returns were more complicated, so we use a preparer.

Our 2024 taxes were filed weeks ago, we have already received our refunds.

In my opinion, it's best to not receive refunds, so I'd suggest letting your tax preparer know that you'd like to minimize your tax refund as much as possible, while ensuring that you don't underpay your taxes throughout the year. When you receive a tax refund, it means you are overpaying your taxes, and also giving an interest free loan to the government. You are also earning less throughout the year, leaving you less money to live on. Unless you are someone who prefers to get a refund because they'd otherwise spend all the money they earn, and would like to use a tax refund as a forced savings mechanism, which some people do, it may make more financial sense for you to try to minimize the amount of your refunds, assuming you are receiving sizable refunds. You may not be, but others in this thread may be, and they may benefit from this suggestion.
Austruck
03-29-25, 07:35 PM
We used to. I was using Turbo Tax back when I was still single, and we used that and then TaxCut or H&R Block software for years. But once we owned five rental properties, the tax returns were way too complicated. Between buying the software and then spending a hundred hours doing the work, we gave up and now hire a local tax accountant. I prep the spreadsheets with all the info she needs (color coded and prepped as she wants it), and she does everything in about 45 minutes. Well worth the pittance she charges us.
hownos
03-29-25, 10:41 PM
We used to. I was using Turbo Tax back when I was still single, and we used that and then TaxCut or H&R Block software for years. But once we owned five rental properties, the tax returns were way too complicated. Between buying the software and then spending a hundred hours doing the work, we gave up and now hire a local tax accountant. I prep the spreadsheets with all the info she needs (color coded and prepped as she wants it), and she does everything in about 45 minutes. Well worth the pittance she charges us.

Rental income can be complicated.
Austruck
03-29-25, 10:50 PM
Rental income can be complicated.

Agreed. So many deductions to go against that income. I made a thorough template to get me through it each year now, so I don't miss any of those deductions. But I have to segment everything out by property, and then by category. Receipts flying everywhere! :D
beelzebubble
03-29-25, 11:56 PM
Agreed. So many deductions to go against that income. I made a thorough template to get me through it each year now, so I don't miss any of those deductions. But I have to segment everything out by property, and then by category. Receipts flying everywhere! :D
Just the word "template" makes my dopey little mind woozy.
Austruck
03-31-25, 01:49 PM
Just the word "template" makes my dopey little mind woozy.

It's just a spreadsheet, mostly so that I can auto-add things down various categories. That first year prepping for the accountant was tough. I wasn't even actually DOING the taxes, just prepping all our receipts and 1099s and data so SHE could do our taxes. And it still took me more than 12 hours of dedicated work that first year to get everything set up properly.

Now that I have that spreadsheet template to work with, the categories and property addresses are all set up, and I just have to spend the time inputting the data. Using Quicken and all those categories of spending helps find those payments made all year for things like mortgages, insurance, utilities (the ones we pay instead of the tenant paying them), repair bills, rental registrations, etc. etc.

So now it takes me only about ten hours of prep work each year instead of twelve. :D