re: Self preparing tax gurus. What's your tax preparation software of choice?

FreeTaxUSA. Been using it for years. The cost is exactly what it says....free. State returns are about $20, simple federal returns are free. That includes schedules C and B for certain but I think it includes ALL 1040 schedules.

They offer some upselling like audit protection and what not but I just do the free thing. Been doing it for about 8 years now, turbotax prior to that.

Other - I take it to a preparer.

Turbotax here. Just been using them for years, so makes it easier to keep all my returns in one place..plus I use quick books so helpful to import things over.

1040, schedule c/qbi deductions, ira forms. On the pricier side, but still cheaper than what I would pay a CPA to do it.

I’ve always used free tax USA.

They have non free options too. But it’s pretty easy to just enter the amounts from the boxes of your w2s and 1099s. It saves the other info from year to year so you don’t ever have to reenter your employers info unless you change employer.

It looks like FreeTaxUSA is owned by TaxHawk and the two sites look pretty similar. Any difference between the two?

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Turbo Tax, but the IRS should be doing everyone's taxes and then send us a bill or the refund. And if you contest it then you do the work.

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Seriously they already have the damned information for about 95% of taxpayers. There is no need for most people to have to file. They should send a statement out in January and give you the option of filing or accepting their numbers and if you accept their numbers there should be no further action on your part, either send them a check or wait for a check.

I filed a 1040 A return a few years ago (2021) taking the standard deduction. Had over paid on the federal side by about $3000 and about $1200 on the state side. Standard deduction. Could not be any more straightforward....there was nothing included on the return that was not included on the W4s and W2s. Straight, simple math. Mailed it in in early February - could not file electronically because I could not get a PIN for my dependent father without getting a POA for him OR having him request it himself which would have taken several months. It took us nearly 19 months to get that refund. Never a word from the IRS until January of the following year when I contacted them and asked about it. About March got a letter from them stating they had received the return and it was being processed. Got that same letter several times over the nest couple of months and finally in August of the following year, 18 months after filing, a check arrived in the mail. No explanation, never any correspondence from them until I initiated it.....and they had the information before I filled out the form LOL.

The exact thing has happened in 2023. Its been filed and received and under review since March of 2024 and still no refund. The exact same information on the return that is on our w4s and w2s. This did not happen in 2022....same scenario, nothing changed....21 it happened, 22 it did not, 23 it did....hoping its every other year LOL.