It’s that time of year again and the tax documents will start filling your mailbox in a matter of weeks. That means you will need to begin thinking about your tax return. It isn’t the most exciting chore in the world, but it’s something that just becomes part of our annual routine after a while. That sort of leads me to today’s poll question. Most of us started out using a particular method and it just became habit. I know some older people who still do their taxes by hand with just a pen, some paper, and a calculator! Even with all of the great computer programs available they are still comfortable doing it the long way.
I know the same has been true for me over the years. Since college I was always one to just use TurboTax. I was computer savvy so I had no problem using the computer to punch in some numbers. Not only that, but over the years you could build up an electronic history of past returns so it made it easy to go back and print off a completed return if you needed to. But getting into habits can actually become costly. I spoke just the other week about determining when it’s time to hire a CPA to do your taxes. A lot of people are afraid to make this jump because they feel like they have a handle on their tax situation and fear the added cost that hiring a professional entails. Well, that may be true, but some circumstances can still warrant professional help and that small fee you pay may end up being nothing compared to the savings they find.
So, I’m curious to see how others are filing their taxes these days. Have you been using the same method for years, or did you just switch it up? And why do you prepare your taxes the way that you do? Are there advantages or disadvantages that you’ve encountered?
[poll id=”72″]
Author: Jeremy Vohwinkle
My name is Jeremy Vohwinkle, and I’ve spent a number of years working in the finance industry providing financial advice to regular investors and those participating in employer-sponsored retirement plans.
