I think every middle to upper-middle class person should do their own taxes. If you go through the process you'll find deductions that you can take advantage of in subsequent years.

This will be my first year hiring an accountant. I'll have 5 W-2's and multiple state tax returns to file. The joys of being a nomadic college grad. Dammit.

I always have someone else do my taxes. As a student, they find all kinds of deductions I would have never thought of.

I've been doing my own (pencil & paper method) for a few years, but I'm also a young professional with fairly straightforward finances. I think if you start when it's simple, it will be easy and rote enough when things get more complicated that it doesn't add any real difficulty. Or do the software route. You get the benefits of having a professional with (hopefully) less cost, although I've seen a big spike in bad reviews and complaints about TurboTax the last couple years.

I plan on going the not quite pen and paper nerd route, but almost. New this year at IRS.gov is online fillable forms. It's the convenience of e-file without using tax software and it costs exactly $0, no matter how much money you make.

I've always done my own taxes by hand. I bought a home in 2008 and also had a second child, so I actually am giving real thought to purchasing some tax software. The "old school" part of myself is just resistant to the idea of paying to do something I can technically do myself for free (that and it looks like TurboTax charges $30-40 for state filing).

@hellinmyeyes:

Same here (filing married and jointly). Pencil, paper, and the 1040A booklet. It's really, really easy if your income is simple.

Once we buy a house, though, I think I'll have a professional do it because there are a lot of deductions you can take in that scenario.

last year was the first time I hired someone to do my taxes. holy crap, well worth it, at least in my case. i just started a new job in a different state and tried at first taxcut and turbotax. unhappy with the results, i decided to go to a pro. saved me a lot of $$...

i got married in 08, started 2 businesses, so i definitely will be going back, at least for a few years until i get the hang of it myself. if anyone in jersey needs a good referral, lemme know!

Well, for about 90% of the population it's not necessary to have someone do your taxes. H&R Block and those other companies charge WAYYYY too much for what you get.

There are logical reasons for me to use a professional -- I have a lot of freelance income from multiple sources, etc. -- but honestly, the main reason I do it is that the process sets off major panic attacks for me. I have no idea why, but I would rather give a speech before a crowd of 1 million and then leap out of a plane with an untested parachute than face down tax day. But I can get it together enough to get my stuff to the professional, and then he does the scary scary tax form while I breathe into a paper bag. (Not literally, so far, but you never know.) On the one hand I am embarrassed by this, but on the other, I've never been unhappy with the preparer's efforts.

I like taxcut, it's a good balance of help vs. do-it-yourself, with plenty of catches to make sure you haven't done something stupid before you send in the forms.

@summerbee: Just use TurboTax Free Edition online. It does it all for you. I'm in the same situation... went to school in MA, residence in CT until March, but worked in MA, then I graduated and moved to MA and work in MA. It's easy. Just do it yourself. I'm assuming you can use the free edition because you're a "nomadic college grad" and we generally don't make over $54k.

I've been thinking about it going in to HR Block or someone, but how much do they charge? Is it pretty standard across the board?

I wish I could still do my own income taxes, but once I bought a home that is also rental property and ended up with stock options and lots of complicated financial investments, it was beyond my patience and ability. The local CPA I use gives me a federal return that's about 50 pages thick (though if he used the actual forms instead of computer-generated, he could cut it down by half).

I'm amazed by the people who can't handle a simple 1040-EZ. We started doing tax returns in high school in civics class.

It's all about Publication 17 http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf

Seems like 50% of the people here don't care about Intuit's non-customer-friendly business model.

I usually do my own... we rent, our deductions are never higher than the standard, the only real extra I need to file is the Lifetime Learning Credit for my wifes tuition plus a couple of minor interest adjustments. Doesn't take very long. Sometimes I'll use Turbotax just to check my calculations, but file it myself.

I have been doing my taxes for last two years. But I want to know if it's smart to hire someone to do it for me. I live in NJ, but work in NY so i have the whole issue of paying NY and NJ income taxes. Anyone here have this same situation and what would you recommend?

Damn, 62%?!

I used to do my taxes myself, until my side business started becoming more successful and complex. Since I also have a full-time job and time is at a premium (and because I'm not as comfortable with things liked depreciation, etc), I now have an accountant file my taxes. I do, however, go through them myself before they're filed, so I have a final chance to catch things. I'd love to save the money I spend on her, but spending that money is actually a big relief, all things considered.

I'd do them myself if my situation changed and my income stream was more simple, but for some of us, it does make a lot of sense.

I like TaxAct and will be using it again this year. I also use TurboTax to compare the results and make sure they match. That and a final check with pencil and paper ought to cover it. Anything to avoid filing a 1040X ever again. Ugh.

@summerbee: Do try KStrike155's suggestion if you feel comfortable with it -- it could save you money, with just a little bigger investment of your time (and I know I had more time than money during and right after college). Just be careful of things like making sure you file the paperwork to have your non-domicile state's taxes transferred to your state of domicile. Ugh, that was the worst part about being a student.

I can do my own federal taxes but New York State tax forms are INSANE and the New York City resident taxes also mane no sense whatsoever.

Add to that that this year I lived in two states (Virginia and New York) and worked in Maryland while living in Virginia, and I think it's worth the money suck to have someone else do the state returns.

@picardia: Haha! I totally have panic attacks for weird things, too. No need to be embarrassed by it -- it's totally worth the money if it means you're paying for your peace of mind and your physical/mental health.

I've always been a big supporter of getting your taxes done by a professional. There are so many intricate tax laws that it is near impossible to make sure you maximize your return unless you make it your living. Also, there is a lot to be said for sititng in front of a professional and having them look at your financial situation. Not only will they know what questions to ask you, but they will also be able to give good advice. Plus, most tax accountants will help you through any audit process, if you are so unlucky.

The most important thing is to find someone who you trust. Also, you don't want a preparer who charges a percentage of your return- they might be more tempted to add in 'bogus' deductions in order to raise their fee. Your best bet is to get a word-of-mouth reccomended accountant who charges a flat fee and will back you up on any audit processes.

Whenever you have your taxes prepared, they look at all aspects of your financials. They will know how much you are paying in interest on your mortgage, student loans, etc. They know what you are invested in and what kind of return you are getting. If you are not too saavy in this area, they will be able to point out any red flags. If you're paying too high a percentage on your home, they can let you know that. Also- they do hundreds of returns, so they have a good idea of what is "normal". It is a great way to get a grasp on how your financial situation compares to others in your area / profession.

I've been going to the same preparer that my family has been using for the past 30 years. It is nice to form a good relationship, as I always have a contact whenever I have any business question in general. Not just during tax-time.

I'd use Turbo Tax but I have no idea how to claim myself as a student. You can claim the money you paid towards school, but no matter how many different ways I try it I can't find full-time student status. For now I just have to get in good with my accountant friends.

@KStrike155: Bad idea, they still charge you for each state return. 5 state returns will add up.

I'm volunteering for DC's EITC tax prep campaign, and they have us using the TaxWise software. It seems pretty decent, but then again I have no experience with any of the other tax programs.

I am in a common law marriage (In Canada that is identical to married) i am a university student, she is receiving disability payments. You can bet an accountant is worth it. As a bonus, he made an error on last years forms, he fixed it (for free of course) and we are both getting a larger refund.

I am sure the small amount he costs is more then payed for by the extra refund he finds

@GreenHawkIA: Aw, they don't have state forms. Pooh.

I'm using TaxAct online to do my taxes as usual because mine are pretty straightforward with 1 W-2, a 1099-INT and my student loan interest.

I figure that when I buy a house that's when I'll use a pro to help me figure it out because that's when things get more complex.

I've been doing my own since college. Pretty easy even with the new house. Then again I use UltraTax. It doesn't allow for a lot of the screw ups that TurboTax and TaxCut let slip by.

@GreenHawkIA: Thanks for the link!

@Robert Jason Cervantes:

I was in the same situation (and actually worked for three months in Vermont as well as a bonus tax treat) and found that if your tax situation is simple and you keep your W2s organized, doing two sets of state returns isn't much harder than doing one. Just a bit more time.

@Robert Jason Cervantes: thats the same situation i had/have, which is why i went to a pro. I would recommend going to a real CPA as opposed to H&R Block. In my opinion, its worth the $.

@Dan Grossberg:

Just a word of caution..... what kind of "pro" did you go to? I worked for the IRS when I was in undergrad, some so called "pro's" will "find" deductions that turbo tax and others don't but they end up twisting the truth and if you get an audit you will have to pay it all back.

I am not suggesting this person was doing anythnig like that, but this is true for a lot of those accountants that find decuctions.... you can get burned badly a few years later and it does happen. Make sure you fully understand those deductions.

Did taxes myself for years, except for one year when due to my ex-husband's business we hired an accountant. He taught me a lot of the little 'secrets' of tax returns, so after the divorce, I went back to doing my own.

Just last year tried TurboTax (thanks Costco coupon), which was pretty easy. I think for most people with a employee-type job, even a homeowner, self or computer software works fine. Certainly if I had more complex issues, like multiple source income, capital gains/losses, rental income/expenses, I'd use an accountant again. I'll be using Turbo tax again this year.

@Party Boy: Tell me about it, the last time I went to H&R Block I ended up walking their employee through their own software because they couldn't figure it out. You would figure that would have qualified me for some sort of discount, but their on duty manager didn't agree. I haven't gone back since.

I want to know where the 62% figure came from. I would think that too many people wouldn't be able to afford it (or at least think they couldn't afford it) for the percentage to be that high.

@theblackdog: Actually, do what I did and go through to find out the total, then do most of the state forms yourself and see if they match up or at least come close. I filed my Federal and home State forms through Turbotax online but filled out the other state form myself and made sure that the amount was close or equal to what Turbotax came up with.

@Party Boy: They do seasonal hiring, so last week in december they start posting ads looking for people they can train to do taxes. Most of the training is on how to input the W-2 into their systems and enusre they ask all the questions. Some of these poeple have been doing taxes for years and are really good but you do find a lot of others who only know data entry but received "training".

I am fortunate that where I work, my employer brings in an outside accountant for a few days during tax season and makes his services available to any employee at a substantial discount.

@RandomHookup: My wife started her own business a couple years ago and since then we have used a local CPA firm.

That changed this year after my wife sent them an email with three questions and got a response from them in less then half an hour. Three days later we got an invoice for $50 explaining that it was for answering her email. Considering what they already charge us to do our taxes you would figure taking ten minutes to answer one email would be included.

My wife is a CPA and does taxes for high net worth individuals ($10-200MM). For one individual, his federal tax return last year was over 2000 pages. And, guess what, she uses a software program to do all the work.

There is absolutely no reason you don't do your own taxes. When you pay a professional, they're really not doing anything you can't do yourself. Granted, the tax codes (and the entire process system for that matter) is highly complicated, but a good tax software program takes care of everything for you.

I'm still doing my taxes myself, with no software--I just have one W2 and some interest to report on my savings account. I can usually do my state, local, and city returns in about an hour.

With a house and marriage about to complicate my finances, I fully expect to hire a CPA next year.

@Wes_Sabi:

After complaints, Intuit changed their policies to allow you to do multiple returns with one copy of TurboTax.

I've used their product in the past, and I've been happy with it. And I only need to do one tax return anyway. So I'm not switching.

I love doing my own taxes! I'm a stay at home mom with a math degree and it's nice to have a chance to use my brain a little.

@summerbee: It's never a terrible idea to get a guy to do your taxes, just make sure he doesn't charge you too much. I know someone who did people's taxes for a while, they didn't pretend to be a CPA but all they did was make sure they had their paper work and put it into turbo tax for them then mail it. I think they charged like 10 or 15 dollars. You don't need some fancy accountant to look for loopholes, you just need someone to make it simple, right?

@GuJiaXian: I qualified for free federal and free state filing this year through turbo tax....which means I didn't make nearly enough money :) but then, I also graduated.....All in all, I like Turbotax free better than HR Block's free version

My mom does my taxes. And my brother's. And everyone else in the family's.