Taxes all done, but...

debodun said:
Preparer raised her price $25 from last year. What could contribute to that?
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I don't know but ours raised the price too (don't remember by how much). Also, last year we got a letter from them saying basically, "Congratulations! We had to let a lot of our customers go because a lot of our preparers have quit or retired, but you're one of the few customers we've kept on. And also, here's a price increase!" Guess I shouldn't complain: that wildfire that essentially wiped out a town nearby here made it hard to even find a tax preparer; every place I called was just putting people on waiting lists; we got lucky, though, Huzz made friends on the golf course with a tax preparer and he convinced his company to take us on.
 

Everything has gone up. I have an appointment next week. I know it was more last year than the year before and perhaps more than 25 dollars. But I like my tax lady and she settles all the Covered California stuff with my taxes. I usually owe them some and it's taken out of my taxes. Last year I broke even. I'm not sure how I'd do that myself. I don't need added stress so I'll pay, go there, one and done.
 
I've been going to a tax preparer for about 20 years since I made a mistake on my 2002 return. If you do, they don't tell you right away, so interest and penalties start to mount up.

I went to a guy that operated out of his home for a while, but one time I walked in and from all I could see of him behind his desk, he wasn't wearing any clothes. One year he also tried to finagle some IRA roll-overs I made, but it was caught and it ended up in around $40K in penalties for me (he got it dismissed, though).

But the deal breaker with him is he failed to submit my return one year. When I contacted him he explained that the April 15th deadline is only for people that OWE money. If you're getting money back, you have up to 3 years to file. To me that was no excuse, if he had it done, all he had to do was hit a button on his computer. I'd like to have what's owed to me ASAP. Needless to say, I stopped using his service.

I am satisfied with the woman I hire how and she's still less expensive that my former preparer and a lot closer.
 
debodun said:
I've been going to a tax preparer for about 20 years since I made a mistake on my 2002 return. If you do, they don't tell you right away, so interest and penalties start to mount up.

I went to a guy that operated out of his home for a while, but one time I walked in and from all I could see of him behind his desk, he wasn't wearing any clothes. One year he also tried to finagle some IRA roll-overs I made, but it was caught and it ended up in around $40K in penalties for me (he got it dismissed, though).

But the deal breaker with him is he failed to submit my return one year. When I contacted him he explained that the April 15th deadline is only for people that OWE money. If you're getting money back, you have up to 3 years to file. To me that was no excuse, if he had it done, all he had to do was hit a button on his computer. I'd like to have what's owed to me ASAP. Needless to say, I stopped using his service.

I am satisfied with the woman I hire how and she's still less expensive that my former preparer and a lot closer.
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....and, hopefully, she wears clothes :)
 
Been involved with tax prep for the last 40-50 years, fully clothed. Quit doing others since the IRS changed the rules back at the turn of the century. Made very little helping others, more of a nervous habit.

Still do my own but am a firm believer in keeping my money flexible/available until Apr 15. Easier to write a check at that time. Currently earning 4 ½% on my savings, no late fees or penalties.

I complete them free online via fillable .pdf forms. Made copies from a flash drive that were printed at the local UPS office for pennies, sign, stamp & drop them in the mailbox. Easy-Peasy!
 
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debodun said:
But the deal breaker with him is he failed to submit my return one year. When I contacted him he explained that the April 15th deadline is only for people that OWE money. If you're getting money back, you have up to 3 years to file.
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I never heard of three years to file, but I used to always extend to October 15th because I am a lazy procrastinator (tho now that I do my taxes online I am an eager beaver and do them early, it is so nice in modern times to not have a big booklet of fine print instructions to read).

One of my temporary 'Kelly Girl' jobs in college was at an accounting firm in early April, and they were filing extensions (this is back when we needed to file an extension form request) for many (hundreds at least) of their customers, so I guess it might be common for firms that get busy in tax season to smooth out the work load by prioritizing some customers earlier than others.

If your accountant ever retires/leaves her work, you might like to try online tax preparation, I noticed this year that there were a couple add-ons (that cost $) offered for things like audit defense.
 
Remy said:
@debodun sounds like a total creep. I think the no clothes would have been the immediate deal breaker.
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I didn't say he was nude. I can't say for sure. He could have been wearing trunks or shorts. That part of him I just couldn't see from my vantage point, but still....it didn't seem very professional and it wasn't like I walked in on him without notification...I had an appointment. I guess working from home has its advantages.

Not as bad as a client I had when I first started delivering meals. One day I rang his doorbell and he came to the door wearing a nice flannel shirt...and that was all. Ever try to hand something to someone when looking in the opposite direction? I reported it and he disappeared from the route list.
 
Fidelity has all our tax info ready to print usually by Jan. 25th. Fidelity has free turbo tax which we use. Simple to import tax info straight into turbo tax. Plug winnings into the form, with no deductibles possible, using standard deduction our taxes are prepped in about 10 minutes, filed electronically. Two days after filing we get email confirming IRS acceptance.

No cost, accurate & peace of mind doing it ourselves. Priceless :)
 

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