Do you do your own taxes, or do you hire someone to do them for you? I've always had mine done professionally at Liberty Tax or somewhere like that and had the cost taken out of my refund. The past few years, though, I have done them myself. This is because I have to pay in and want to save as much as possible. I use TurboTax, which you do have to pay for, but it walks you through the whole process and makes things easier because I have to put in business expenses/deductions and such.
My dad is a certified tax preparer (as well as Priest and Cryptozoologist) and has always done my family's taxes for free. After I moved out he still exteneded the offer and for that I am definitely glad. He helps me get the maximum refund and doesn't charge me a dime, so it definitely helps with costs.
That's nice. I wish I had a relative who could do my taxes for me! It would be nice to have someone who actually personally cares to do it. Plus, you can't beat getting them done for free! Lucky duck.
I do my own taxes using Tax Slayer for the last few years but this year I think I will switch to Turbo Tax or one of the other software packages. I have worked at Liberty Tax doing taxes for others and I have an accounting background so it something I can do for myself fairly easily.
If they are not too complex, and most people's are not, I would suggest Turbo Tax since it is user friendly and it "tracks' as you go along, so you see your refund/debt as it developes.
