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Yesterday I got my W-2 in the mail.
Rather than put it off, I decided to do my taxes immediately and just get it out of the way.

Doing taxes used to be a headache for me.
It was always confusing as hell.  I could never be bothered and would always wait until the last minute.
For years I made the mistake of going to H.R. Block to get my taxes done.
They love to rape your wallet.
They've got hidden fees up the ying-yang and going there will definitely cost you big time.  H.R. Block is a predator...plain & simple.

Finally, I decided to figure it all out and start doing my own taxes.
Thankfully, it seems to be getting easier every year because of all the user friendly programs out there.

I use www.taxact.com   :thumbup:
Not only do they have one of the easiest tax programs to use, I used to work there!
Yes, Taxact is based here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  The company is actually called 2nd Story Software and I briefly worked there in 2002 as a customer service rep.

Screw Turbotax and the other competitors...you guys should check out Taxact! :wink:

I did my taxes online there in about 30 minutes and I'm expecting a refund of almost $500!   :teddyr:

How about you?
Have you done your taxes yet?

When I was single...I used to always do my own taxes. And if yopu make a mistake...the IRS will correct it-free of charge. And not in a bad way. If you goof up on your tax return,the IRS will fix it. You sometimes even get back MORE than you figured. No sh!t.
I get back about 4 grand a year...by being low (VERY low)income and 2 kids. But...it goes real quick....this time of yearit's always rough...heating bills,lay-offs at X-Mas, and this year I have to re-finace my house...ugh...so the extra income helps keep my head above water.

Ash, I was coming in here to recommend TaxAct.   :wink:

I've been using TaxAct for the past several years, and not only has it been easy to use, it beats paying anyone to help with the forms and it always manages to find more money back for me than I would have found myself.  The customer service is outstanding if you ever need to use it also.

I take mine to a team of CPA's, I have far to many forms and schedules to fill out to fool with that crap myself. I'll still likely owe a little, but not as much as if I tried to do them myself.

I don't live in the USA, but I did'nt pay my taxes yet... :drink:

Quote from: Ash on January 20, 2008, 03:03:13 AM
For years I made the mistake of going to H.R. Block to get my taxes done.
They love to rape your wallet.
They've got hidden fees up the ying-yang and going there will definitely cost you big time.  H.R. Block is a predator...plain & simple.

I went to them once, and was very unhappy with them. I never went back. Then I met my wife, who's father is an office manager for Block. Now we get our taxes done for free.

If you are going to pay to have your taxes done, and you have more than a W-2 look into a CPA over these chain places. (No offense to anyone with family working for them.) You will get more back or pay less and you can take more deductions, even the service of having my taxes done I write off.

And if you write off mileage the rate this year is increased in 2008 to $0.505 over 2007 which was $0.485

I haven't gotten my T-4 slips from my former employers yet, so I haven't been able to do them. I've never actually done my own taxes before though. My grandpa always offers to help me out, and then ends up taking over completely because he can get it done faster.

S'all right with me.

Quote from: Caronte on January 20, 2008, 09:57:32 AM
I don't live in the USA, but I did'nt pay my taxes yet... :drink:

Ditto, but tax time isn't until July and I have until October to lodge my return.  I only have a job and nothing else, so I do my taxes in about 20 mins.  Plus the Tax Office has made the whole thing simpler, by providing a short form tax return and booklet for people like me who have simple financial lives.

I usually get a little back.  I think I got about $200 back last year.

I claim myself on my taxes throughout the year so that I get  a bit more on my actual paychecks throughout the year.

I still get about 700 back on my Federal and about 150 on my State so I still make out pretty well this way.

I just finally got my W-2 today and will be doing taxes tonight or tomorrow. I use Taxslayer which is free to use but costs $9.95 to file electronically. I've been using it for 5 years now and it's worked well for me. Usually we get $1,200 to $1,800 back so I'm hoping it's more of the same this time around.

Quote from: odinn7 on January 22, 2008, 11:25:33 AM
I use Taxslayer which is free to use but costs $9.95 to file electronically.

Taxact is free to use and free to electronically file.  (Federal only)
You wanna save $10?  Go with Taxact.   :thumbup:

LOL! When you've got all the money that I have...$10 is nothing...hehe...ok, I'm bulls**tting...anyway...

I am sticking with Taxslayer because they have my information from previous years and it makes filing easier. Much of the information is already set for me when I pull up the form to do the taxes. Taxact sounds like a good deal and I'll keep it in mind for future reference.

I'm just waiting on my W-2.  Got the forms, got all the 1099s and student loan interest and mortgage interest forms.  I do my taxes myself, and single with no kids it is pretty straightforward.