YNAB You Need A Budget

[Nutmegan]

Thanks for the Tax Course, Jesse -- very well done. Simple and easy to understand.

I've done my own taxes for years but always erred on the side of letting the government keep more than I should, "just to be safe". I now use a very detailed plan for non-cash charitable contributions, with back-up.

The Tax Insights book was very helpful with the new HSA info.

But, after hearing the way you talked about TurboTax and TaxAct, etc., what to do? Is there a better way than wisking it off to a Tax Preparer (who doesn't know me or have time to learn about my situation)?

Just looking for what might be the better choice -- this weekend its time to start. I've heard that TaxAct tells you why they're asking questions (what it relates to on tax form) unlike TurboTax (what I've used in past) which asks you a question and for some reason you go from refund to owing, not knowing why. I'm fully expecting I owe (more than I've already paid/had withheld). Just don't want to pay any more than necessary!

[jesse]

Honestly, there's no easy answer. You really just have to go with what you feel best about. A lot of it really depends on your situation and its complexity (or not).

I _really_ want to put together something to help people 1) decide what they should use (either a preparer or software) and 2) some kind of boilerplate method to weed out lame tax preparers and find the diamonds in the rough.

[l_field]

LOVE the idea of some help with finding a good preparer. I actually came to the forum and searched "tax preparer" hoping to find something like a list of good questions to ask as I "interview" a few preparers to find one that will not just get me a bigger return, but do some planning for the future.

[WairereRose]

Nice suggestion.