ok, so me and my wife bought this tax software thinking were going to save some money... yeah, right...

after entering in all the info.. its saying we owe the feds money.. like 300$.. which is really odd. does anyone know anything about the Turbo tax software or what i might be doing wrong... to me this is very screwed up because there seems to be inconsistancies(sp) in the different ways we file. I know nothing about any of this, so im at a serious loss..

anyway, thanks

I use the version they have online, and if it's anything similar, it asks a ton of questions to find out what it should be looking for credits on. If this is the same for you, try what I did and put yes instead of no cause when I did, ther were a few things we got credit for that the main question ( the way I read it anyway) we would not have. The worst that happens is you waste a few minutes extra.

The only time its ever, ever worth your while to file your taxes yourself is if your filing single with no dependents. Other than that, have a pro do it. Theyll also give you tips on what receipts to save for the following year too...

Is MA asking you for dough too? If so, Id say that something is definitely wrong. Ive never had to pay them a dime, but Ive also never gotten more than about$250 from state and that was with claiming rent...

You should be able to get a list of tax brackets from the post office. Id say try IRS.gov, but that site is about as helpful as the IRS itself.

I'm an accountant. I worked for a CPA firm up until I retired 8 years ago. I use Turbotax and find it comparable to the tax software I used at my job. There are things about it I am not thrilled with, but as far as it finding the appropriate deductions to save you tax money, it seems to do a good job for me. My husband is a Schedule C filer (owns his own business) and I do the taxes for one of my sons who often has stock sales, it handles that fine. I have had three daughters in college and they got the deductions and credits they were entitled to during and after college. Now they are getting deductions for the interest on their loans for the .. I think it is three years.. that is allowed.

As someone who actually did taxes commercially, I have to say, if you find it more comforting to pay to have them done, do so. But I always felt guilty charging $50 for a simple tax return. For our personal return, the fee would be over $200 and it takes me around 2 hours total, that includes gathering papers and totalling receipts. It really sucks to do them in 5 minutes and then charge the person you KNOW really NEEDS the money 50 or more. I know.. I know.. getting paid for the training and time.. I just never got past the memory of how hard it is to rake up any money at all sometimes, let alone enough to pay someone to do my tax return. I am not 'Republican' enough to work in the world of finance, I guess.

I have to admit I am not thrilled with doing my taxes, ever. I do insist that we NEVER file before February 1. Software updates, Government forms are often not all out and available until after that date.. and W2 and other income data is not required by law to be out to the consumer until that date. It is not a bit of fun to file amended returns, no matter what kind of software you have.

One of the best things about paying to have them done is that any screw ups are their responsibility...

My moms husbands cousin comes to her house and does all of ours in about an hour and a half and charges us 100 bucks total plus dinner