2005 TAX filing strategy?!

Care

Perhaps, Love?
Feb 25, 2006
443
2
Have you guys done it already? do you go to an accountant, file it online with a software, or the good old paper method?

I'm such a LAST MINUTE person as I am finally slowly gathering all my documents and doing it on turbotax online... but again I always end up here at the forum when it comes to tax filing..

This is my first time doing it on my own, without my parents or our family accountant.. I am told 1040EZ is fairly simple.. hopefully I will get through with it without IRS on my behind. :lol:

All you accounting wiz out there, do you have any tax advise for a newbie like me? I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE TAX RETURN FOR PURSE FUNDS!
 
turbotax online is free, very easy, and got me a bigger return than my boyfriend did doing it by hand. it's not free to file state taxes, though, it was like $20, but well worth it, i thought.
 
hubby used turbo tax this year and last. did it on the computer, then mailed it away. waaaay cheaper than the accountant i used every year before that. we still owed a ton though. *sigh*
 
I got a discounted license for this tax software online from my school. But it's only because I'm non-resident and have to file totally different form(s). Otherwise I'd use turbotax
 
This is my first year of working so this will probably be the one time I will be getting tax return.

all is filed, turbo tax is not too hard to use, even I can do it!:amuse:

yay for purse funds and maybe I can squeez one end of the year trip, too
 
I used an online site that doesn't charge if your income is under a certain number; very easy and it looks like it'll be a pretty good return for this year !
 
I usually give mine to do to one of those Tax Services places.. and usually within the first 6 weeks of the year. But this year I've been so incredibly busy, so I'm doing it next week.. SO CLOSE to the deadline. >_<

i did a free run on those free tax sites so far.. and it looks like i owe the feds $143! which is why i have to go to an accountant or someone this year to try to get tax deductions to try to get that number as low as i can.

not to mention, last year i worked 3 different jobs (still with one of them) but yea.. that made all the paperwork harder. -__-
 
The Form 1040EZ is pretty simple & straight-forward so you should be fine with downloading it from the IRS site and filling it out, but if you have itemized deductions, you can't use the EZ form.

Turbo Tax is pretty easy and user -friendly if you need a regular Form 1040.

If you are paying student loans, be sure to claim a deduction for the interest paid in 2005.
 
I used Turbotax and also double checked the return by hand. I didn't file electronically because we owed this year, so I just sent it out in the regular mail. Next year we will have a refund, so I will file electronically so I can get our $$ asap!
 
I already did my federal and got my refund deposited to my bank account already. I have to do my state and local which is trickier cause hald the year I was in a state and the other half in another.
 
Thank gawd for Inland Revenue - PAYE.

Pay As You Earn tax....you automatically get a percentage of tax taken out your wages so you don't have to do any of the above.

Though they do sometimes fluff it up and you either get a rebate or a bill...:lol:
 
chicky said:
Thank gawd for Inland Revenue - PAYE.

Pay As You Earn tax....you automatically get a percentage of tax taken out your wages so you don't have to do any of the above.

Though they do sometimes fluff it up and you either get a rebate or a bill...:lol:

yeaaa..... all of us in the states get tax taken out of her paychecks too.. and we still have to do our taxes. on average, at least $2-300 is taken out of my paychecks every 2 weeks just for tax/social security/etc. It's ridiculous.
 
I used to do it myself until I started telecommuting and had a whole bunch of unreimbursed business travel expenses to itemize. This year I've got a CPA handling it.