Fresh Finance: Turbo Self Tax Prep

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In life there are some inescapable outcomes. The two most well known are death and taxes. We can’t avoid either but we can change the way we approach them. For example, rather than leave your burial needs to your surviving family, you can choose your casket and lot before you even die. The same goes for taxes. You can pay someone an exorbitant amount to do a relatively basic file, or you can take the initiative to learn to do them yourself.  In the end, you will not only save money, but you will also gain some valuable education regarding your income and how the government taxes that income.

I’ve been doing my own taxes for as long as I can remember. I started off using paper forms you could get at the library. They were easily complex. Tax lingo with simple addition and subtraction.  With a little effort and dedicated time, I was able to complete my return in one sitting. Granted, my taxes were pretty straight forward then, just a couple of W-2s, no residual income through investments and no dependents.  About three or four years ago I got hip to Turbo Tax.  I’ve been using it ever since.  Although my tax base has changed since then, the process is still relatively the same. I still do them myself but I use Turbo Tax which makes the process a lot more accurate and a lot more efficient.

Turbo Tax is an online tax service created by Intuit the small business software specialist.  The benefit of using an online service like Turbo Tax versus using an actual tax store are lengthy.  Not only is it significantly cheaper, but you don’t even have to leave your home to use the service.  No waiting in line, no sitting in cheesy overcrowded corner tax houses, and no dealing with a tax specialist who went through a tax preparation crash coarse in order to get the job.  In addition, Turbo Tax offers several levels of service to accommodate your tax needs.  Check out the list below for more details:

1. Basic – for 1040EZ and simple returns
2. Deluxe – to maximize your deductions
3. Premier – if you own investments and rental property
4. Home  & Business – for personal and business tax prep in one
5. Business – for Corporations, Partnerships & LLCs

Filing costs start at $14.95 for a federal filing and includes free e-filing.  You can also compute and file your state tax for a small additional fee.  No more logging onto state websites or looking for more tax forms for each state you may have paid taxes in.  Paid taxes in more than one state? No problem, multi-state tax prep is a breeze.

Still need more reasons? How about your biggest tax refund is guaranteed.  You can easily transfer last year’s tax info to this year.  Over 100 million returns have been filed using Turbo Tax and you can access all of your information from any computer regardless of where you are.

So I challenge you two fronts. Take the time this tax season to check out Turbo Tax before you head to your local tax house.  After you check it out, challenge yourself to actually commit yourself to doing your own taxes this year.  Turbo Tax is idiot proof and unless you can’t follow simple directions and screen prompts, you don’t run the risk of cheating yourself out of a tax refund.  If anything, you actually increase your tax return instantly because you won’t be paying the ridiculous fees local tax houses charge.  Want your tax refund immediately? Well they can’t help you there. They don’t offer loan services.  However, they do offer direct deposit for your return which is typically processed in 8-15 days.  In all the years I have used Turbo Tax, I’ve gotten my return within a week.

Lastly, the turbo tax service is securely protected so all your personal information is safe from hackers.  Go to www.turbotax.com to do your 2010 taxes instantly!

Tagged as: Money, personal finance, Taxes, wealth

Article by Kevin Breckenridge

Helping to raise the financial conscious of those who are consciously aware of the necessity to obtain financial freedom. Through education, exposure, open discussion, and action we can eliminate the financial strain on our pockets. Doing so will allow us to build the capital and asset portfolio necessary to truly enjoy our life as well as elevate the launching pad for our future generations.

Kevin has written 21 article(s) for us.