I used to use Turbotax. However, in 2009 I was employed at four places (one was contract with a headhunter to full time, but it still counts as two with uncle sam). I also used my home and vehicle for work, bought a house and a car, took a low-interest loan from the SBA, and got some government money for Hurricane Ike assistance. Oh and I went back to school and my wife Graduated with her Master's degree. We both had small loans from that as well. I was planning on using Turbotax, but a friend of mine in Vegas has a guy who can get wine from water - he even writes off DVDs and Video Games because he's a software dev. He suggested I try out an expert this year to try to get a little more back.
You do realize that he is probably taking deductions the IRS would throw out if he were ever audited. It really depends on how "aggressive" your guy is.
Tax accountants laugh when they hear H&R Block....Having a individual that does not even have a degree in accounting much less tax accounting prepare your reutrn....and then get its reviewed by an accountant that is highly underpaid as an tax accountant....come on man....how good is someone that make less then $12/hr ?
We really do laugh at H&R Block. Its almost like paying somebody to do TurboTax for you. You only have to take a short class to be a "Tax Professional." I see plenty of crap from H&R Block and other purely income tax places. But, I'd be lying if I said I didn't see crap coming from other CPA firms. I spent most of my first year at my current firm fixing the mistakes of previous accountants.
His friend who is a software developer probably has an LLC, S-Corp, LLP or some entity structured as a business. Therefore, any cost business or not (to a certain extent) can be deducted, where most individual returns cannot. I own a few businesses and here are some of my deduction I am able to deduct from my house: Cable = education Home office-based on sq ft Computers and other equipment my dog expense = security lawncare = landscaping for my business All of my TVs = need the financial news for my business 1/2 of total amount of cost of food Vacation-Conference site etc etc And its perfectly legal bc they are business expenses. I am lucky that I have a pretty good CPA and tax laws change every year. Turbo tax is a good starting point, but it does not give you advice and wont find you loopholes. There are reasons why people and companies give their tax work to CPAs because they are much better at it, have better resources then turbo tax and some of those free software out there. Its free for a reason.
How do you deduct 1/2 the cost of your food? I also assume that you are not using any of the TVs you deduct to watch non-business related shows. I find it hard to believe that you use every single TV in your house more than 50% oif the time for business related activities. One, perhaps, but not "all".
I've been doing my taxes with turbotax.com for the past 10 years. Incredibly easy. I've already gotten my refund.
Umm, that's not true. You might be taking those expenses, but they certainly aren't all legal. Your personal computers can only be legally deducted to the extent they are used for business. If you're checking Clutchfans on it but taking 100% deduction, its actually not legal. TV's are the same way. If you use it for personal use, you certainly cannot deduct that part. Vacations and food have very strict restrictions on what you can and can't deduct. Just because you're doing and getting away with it doesn't mean it's legal.
I'm a CPA, and I'm telling you they won't hold up in an audit. Would I take them? Maybe. There are numerous CPAs that will stretch the laws, including myself at times, that are highly unlikely to hold up, but the chance of a full audit is usually slim. It depends on the nature of your business to the exact deductibility of some of those things. The TVs outside of the home office would be a definite no go regardless. It highly unlikely most of that stuff holds up in an audit. You are the one liable for all that stuff, not the CPA. If the CPA didn't notify you of the risks of taking those deductions, then switch CPAs.
No wonder we can't cut into the national deficit. Do you have clients that actually visit your house to where your landscaping is part of the business? Are there any actual conferences on vacations?
If I made over $100,000 and owned my own business I would hire an accountant that charged me $1000 to do my return but guess what SMART A$$? I'm just going to pay the guy to do it for me $50 so I can go to the movies instead of sitting at my desk for 2 hours.
You've basically got the picture. Only the business portions of anything can be deducted. The Home Office however is required to be exclusive business use, though assuming it was a principal place of business, it would get taken by any CPA even if there was personal use.
And you are likely the kind of person that should go to H&R/Jackson-Hewitt. They should be used by people that could do their own taxes if they really wanted to. We have a $400 minimum for returns, and there are returns I finish in 5 minutes that pay us $400.
I can do the EZ no problem. I could probably do my return now. I've actually done it for my brother and friends years ago. All I asked for was a 12 pack. I'm not paying (insert company) guy money because I'm not smart. I'm doing it because I'm LAZY. and I hope agslai get audited...not really but the guy is a jerk.
If you blatantly rip off the government, do you do the same to your clients/customers/employees? I might suggest you find a new CPA. One who can direct you into investing into credible writeoffs instead of encouraging you to deduct personal expenses as business expenses.
