snowbunny

So lovely to have two governmental departments that scare the shit out of their own citizens.

ladylisa

Do the IRS do random audits or is it only those they they are suspicious about?

Partystar

Yeah, really.

dunroving

I used H&R Block last year and was pretty pleased - but a bit miffed that they do it on their own proprietary software (so you can't get an electronic copy).

I've used Turbo tax prior to that and one of the best things is that it "remembers" you and uploads information from prior tax years. If I go back to Turbo Tax this year I'll have to read through my H&RB return to enter relevant information.

As I'm (hopefully) leaving in the summer, I'll probably go with H&RB again, and have them do this year's taxes in my absence this time next year.

cindyabs

Not unlike the "deal" getting money by pawning the title to your car.

Sue

oh yeah I forgot about that one.......not that I know many low income people who own the title to their car......... sometimes the car payments are more than their rent.

TaffyinOK

It was about $120 - but worth it. If they screw up I don't have to pay the IRS ... they do!

AmerLisa

I don't think they do random audits anymore. I think its just the suspicious ones. But, I could be wrong.

Taffyles

I've always used TurboTax- its easy and quick to use. this year they're throwing in the It's Deductible software too (to calculate the value of any goods you donate to Goodwill etc). I try not to get a refund by altering our withholdings to get more each month (why give Uncle Sam an interest free loan), but we still end up get something back and e-filing with Turbotax gets it back in 9 days if you get it direct deposited. I take out Audit Defense insurance offered by Turbo Tax for a small fee ($25 last year I think), just in case we get audited.

TurboTax auto-checks your returns for anything that might red flag an Audit, also checks for errors and for any more possible deductions you might be able to claim.

Celsius

I've been under the impression that the aim of tax return to do the figures and get "nil". Getting a refund is certainly not the aim of the exercise because it shows you've been paying too much during the year. i.e. money that would be better off in your pocket and not in the government's (until you get your refund)...

fatbrit

The real aim is to pay the maximum possible before they fine you. Then you've been borrowing the govt's money @ 0% interest rather than the other way round.

kevntrace

I understand the argument about not giving the government an interest free loan, but for peace of mind I do it anyway. I report only 1 allowance on my W4 plus I register as single (even though I'm married). All this means I pay more tax than I need to from each paycheck.

But I get a nice fat refund at the end of the year. The refund covers my house tax for the next year (I don't use an escrow account - far too much hassle) and covers the flights for our annual trip back to the UK. And more importantly for me, I always know I'm not going to owe the IRS any money at the end of the year, and that is priceless.

I've used TurboTax Premier for a number of years now, and I'm very happy with it. Like others have said, you can take out the optional insurance to get represented by a CPA if you get audited (which I've never taken, and never been audited). Much prefer this combination of services to H&R Block's poor excuse. I did use H&R Block in my first year simply because I was new to the game and didn't understand the whole tax thing. But after you've experienced it once, TurboTax (or the software package of your choice) is the way to go in my opinion.

Big D

You mean dont pay withholding until the final bill is due? I thought that they charged penalties for that? Sorry - I dont really know as i am lucky enought to get all that sorted! Quite glad as it seems like a mine field!!!

dbj1000

That would be me. I used H&R Block Premium the first year I was here (with a very complex return for me and my wife, split between UK and US income). It was a fiasco, but cost me nothing in the end:

What happened was that the Senior Tax Agent I had gave excellent service, seemed to know everything she needed to know to maximise my refund... and neglected to tell me that she had never dealt with anyone in my position before.

The result was a first attempt at my return which would have cost me around $5000 in lost refund and would have been completely incorrect in almost every detail.

I had learned enough (luckily) from the IRS website about my tax status to know this was incorrect, and over the following weeks I rejected her next two drafts of my return until she produced one I was happy with.

The H&R Block approach still had its advantages. They promise that they'll get your return right or it's free... so mine was free. They sign the return and promise to defend it in front of the IRS if it's questioned, which is the main thing I wanted.

The downside - three weeks to prepare the return, endless hassle for me, an initial incorrect return which I would have submitted had I not known about my own tax situation, and a service which would have cost over $750 if I had had to pay for it.

A sucker for punishment, I went back again the next year because we had sold our home in the UK and were deducting various mortgage early repayment penalties, mortgage interest etc. from our US tax. This time H&R Block Premium got it right (it matched my calculations at least) and it cost me $150.

This year, with no complications in my tax status, I'll use TurboTax. I've learned enough about US tax to feel confident doing my own return, but only because I've had to double-check H&R Block twice!

On the strength of this I'd advise anyone filing their first US tax return to either find a VERY good CPA who is prepared to guarantee that they know about Foreign Tax Status (I found two in my area on Google).

Alternatively, Global Tax Network was recommended by someone on this board, and they seem great. They'll interview you over the phone, then you fill in a detailed interview online and they'll prepare your tax return. They're also pretty reasonably priced - my complex first year return would have cost around $175, but I didn't feel confident working with a CPA purely on the phone and online. I should have done, as it would have been far less trouble than H&R Block.

BritGuyTN

I personally think that anyone that gets a huge refund that is not due to a mortgage interest allowance or other similar reason really needs to look at their financial planning., and fire their tax people.

my wife for the first two years we were together used to bitch at me - ooooh 'bob and michelle got $3000 back on their refund' blah blah blah, why aren't we getting that?

it took a while to convice her that bob and michelle were retarded in letting the IRS have their money for most of the year - interest-free


now, she realises that small refunds are good and big refunds mean that someone else has had you money for free