I am going to be looking to get someone to do my taxes this year (not HR block). What should I be looking for? Also, how do I know if I am being charged a reasonable price?
Homerboy
Manually just adjust the business income to remove the 3500
Just manually adjust the gross sales receipts by the $3500?
A reasonable price is what you are willing to pay.I am going to be looking to get someone to do my taxes this year (not HR block). What should I be looking for? Also, how do I know if I am being charged a reasonable price?
I just closed on a house on 11/30/09. Outside of the minimal interest paid for the year and the home buyer credit, is there anything else I can add to my refund regarding the house purchase?
A reasonable price is what you are willing to pay.
Most tax S/W joints will charge you at least $50/$30 (Fed/State) for what a 10th grader should be able to do on their own for a simple EZ. They prey on the ignorant. As complexity goes up, so does the price. I have seen these joints charge close to $100 (Fed) for a 1040A that has dependents and $200-400 for schooling and a true 1040 with other schedules.
They use the same S/W that you can buy off the shelf and ask the same type of questions.
Tax S/W that is not online will cost you about $30 on up to about $70; depending on the handholding you want from the package and if you also need state filings.
If you are going to be a sucker, find a place/person that has been doing it for a few years and has some knowledge of your personal and professional situation.
People may provide recommendations - be sure that those recommendations are not just based on the fact that they received a refund.
Hello,
I purchased a Motorcycle in March 2007. I finally paid it off in 2009. When I bought it I financed onto a Credit Card. One of those get 2 yrs no interest deals. Is there anyway I could have deducted the Sales Tax or can I do that now?
The bike is paid off and I obviously had to pay sales tax on it.
Thanks
Phil
My question is about tax credits, specifically the first time home buyer credit. I plan on buying a condo within the next month, I have not owned a home before so I know I qualify. Lets say I qualify for a $4000 tax credit. Lets say after going through my taxes, I find I'm entitled to a $100 refund without taking into consideration this tax credit. When taking into consideration the credit, does that mean I get a $4100 refund? Or does that mean if I ended up owing the government $4000, the tax credit would cover that and I'd pay nothing?
I think his question is whether it's a refundable vs. non-refundable credit. I believe it is a refundable credit so even if you don't owe any taxes, you will still get that credit.Very confusing question here but i'll try to answer it.
I would look here.
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=215791,00.html
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html for the general points.
Not sure where you are coming up with the 4,000 dollar amount but I suppose if the condo is worth 40,000 then 10% of that ='s 4,000. If the house/condo you are going to purchase is more than 80,000 you can qualify for the full 8000.00 credit.
Okay so here's the confusing part of your question. The credit will show towards the bottom of the 2nd page of your 1040. It's a credit so lets say you have a 100.00 refund for example, your total refund will be 4,100.00 IF the condo you purchase is 40,000. If it was an 80,000.00 condo your refund will be 100 + 8,000 = 8100.
So lets say you OWE 100.00, and the condo you purchase is going to be 40,000. Your refund would be 4,000 - 100 = 3900 refund.
Hope you are following me up to this point lol.. but here's the catch. You will have to paper file your WHOLE return because the IRS set new guidelines to minimize fraud. You will need to include a copy of your drivers license / closing statement in addition to all the other forms related.
Good luck.
Did she make money 2008 compared to 2009? If not, then that's the reason, you're just paying the tax on that income.Doing my taxes on the TurboTax site. I put in just my income and all of our deductions and I was all excited about a big refund, so I could adjust our withholdings for this year. Then I put in my wife's income, which somehow dropped my refund by $4000. Weird since she makes about 50% of what I do and it didn't seem to put us over any limits for our deductions.
IRS accepted my return today!!! getting my money deposited on the 29th. anybody else get their confirmation email yet??
Did she make money 2008 compared to 2009? If not, then that's the reason, you're just paying the tax on that income.
Doing my taxes on the TurboTax site. I put in just my income and all of our deductions and I was all excited about a big refund, so I could adjust our withholdings for this year. Then I put in my wife's income, which somehow dropped my refund by $4000. Weird since she makes about 50% of what I do and it didn't seem to put us over any limits for our deductions.
1) Double check the numbers entered for both of you.
2) Your wife's income could push you into a higher tax bracket. Her income is being taxed at the high bracket, instead of the lower bracket (depending on how much she earned and relative to your income)
3) If all numbers are entered correctly; look at how much withholding was on your wife's income.
4) Printout the tax forms for just you and then both of you together. See what lines changed. If TT will not let you printout the forms; then take some blanks and fill in the numbers that the online S/W displays for you.
I would expect that you can request some PDFs.
2) Your wife's income could push you into a higher tax bracket. Her income is being taxed at the high bracket, instead of the lower bracket (depending on how much she earned and relative to your income)
Thats what I meant. :\You left out a few words. I don't understand.
Correct - tax S/W will prompt you for entry of dividends.I started a share certificate with my credit union this year, and while I didn't receive a 1099, I see the year end statement shows a YTD dividend of $150. Do I need to claim this? I'm new to dividends....is this viewed the same as interest and taxable?
Note that filing MFS do not qualify for the student interest deduction. Just an FYI.second question, does it seem odd to you that Turbotax is telling me that we would be better off MFS for a childless couple, standard deduction, some student interest and property tax deduction, and a small amount of charitable contributions. I don't think we are at all abnormal in our incomes or deductions, yet this is the second year Turbotax shows a refund doing MFS but owing doing MFJ. I thought MFJ was by far the most common unless you have weird details.