I have been doing my taxes on my own the past 5-6 years. This year, I am a homeowner with my fiancee. We have decided that I will claim the house. Her tax guy quoted us $195 just for me. Is it worth it? I only have my W-2’s and the house. Nothing else I can really claim.
is $195 really worth it?
***is $195 really worth it? ***
Nope.
Tax Cut or Turbo Tax for $20 or so. Piece of cake. You don’t have anything nearly complicated enough to justify anything else.
Save the $'s and go out and have a nice dinner to celebrate!
I’m with David. Been using TT for years. No problems and much much cheaper.
are you a new homeowner?
the new stimulus bill is offering loans (its a tax credit, actually) up to $7500 for new homeowners…had to purchase in 2008. The loan is interest-free and you pay it off over the next 15yrs, $500 a year. If you sell your house you pay the balance off in that tax year.
Something to keep in mind.
I pay a good deal more than that, and in terms of the psychological aggravation it saves me I find it well worth it. Of course, I still spend a large amount of time in the first 2-3 months of each year getting together the packet for my accountant. It’s probably the main reason why this is definitely my unfavorite time of the year. In some ways, I find tax preparation to be almost as onerous as the money I eventually send the IRS (including withholding).
I’m a new homeowner, she isn’t. I guess that’s where that extra $175 of knowledge might come in handy… then again, I have to see if the $7500 is worth it to us. We will be in great shape after our wedding (March) and cars are paid off (August).
As someone else who has done my own taxes in the past, and purchased a home in 2008, go with Turbo Tax. They set it up so you don’t miss things like that new tax credit for a first time homebuyer. Save the $ on an accountant, your taxes are not that complicated, just a few extra components to consider.
I have been using Turbo-Tax for years. When i used an accountant he asked me all the questions and put my answers into a computer. Now I just put the same information in myself.
Their customer service sucks monkeys though. I order on-line and they also sent a disk by mail. I tried to cancel one but the New Delhi office wasn’t able to speak English and my Indian is a bit rusty so I ended up with two that year.
I agree with r7950…I bet turbotax will walk you through all the house stuff and you can also figure out the $7500 loan as well.
I should have mentioned that I have used turbo tax in the past and going back to it after using taxact (an all-online way of doing taxes) for the past couple of years.
I am also a new homeowner and think turbotax is money well spent.
Another advocate of TurboTax- I’ve used it since '04 taxes, 2 home purchases, 3 moves, renting out a home we own this year, civilian and military pay- it’s caught all the extra stuff (I check a lot of the IRS documentation to be sure- no time for audits!).
I agree with what every one else has said. Personally I use Tax Cut for my return and the ones I prepare for others. I think the price has gone up this year…closer to $50 or $60 for Federal + State + E-file. But you should be able to do your return and your fiancee’s and e-file them both with this software.
As to the first time homebuyer credit: It is actually 10% of the purchase price of the home, up to a $7500 credit. The home had to be purchased after April 8, 2008. The credit is refundable, but you begin to pay it back $500/year for 15 years beginning with your 2010 return. There is an AGI limit of $75,000; above that level the credit begins to phase out. There is something about allocating the credit between two unrelated taxpayers who purchase a home together (like you and your fiancee). It is possible that you may each get a portion of the credit. So even if you are above the AGI limitation, she may still be able to get part of the credit (or vice versa). The credit is calculated on Form 5405. LINK
Some think that the credit is a big hassle (essentially just a 15 year no-interest loan from IRS), but I would take it on my return were I a first time homebuyer last year.