I’ve been digging around and researching H&R Block’s tax preparation products, and I have to admit I’m really, really chicken to do our own taxes.
So, I decided to reach out to them and find a win-win here. In the next week or so, I will be interviewing someone from H&R Block to discuss the tax laws that affect those of us who run a home based business, as well as their products that would work for people like us with not-so-simple tax preparation needs.
Between rental properties, my self-employment, and dipping into our 401K to fund the startup of this site [so wrong. so not recommended!], we have a lot of tax landmines to navigate for 2006.
But I have to admit that their Premium TaxCut Online tax prep product looks as though with a little bit of patience, I might – MIGHT - be able to handle it. It specifically says that it has “Extensive deduction help for the self-employed, including home office, rental property and depreciation assistance”, and it includes a consultation with a tax professional for only $39.95. Since at its highest point in 2002 I spent about $800 dollars on a CPA for our personal and my business taxes, $39 bucks sounds mighty tempting.
So, if you are like me, and a bit of a stubborn do-it-yourselfer, drop me a comment with your most pressing tax questions and I’ll be sure to ask them when I speak to H&R Block next week!
Fingers crossed, we’ll all get a bit of free advice and get a bigger refund this year.
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Jim Pearson has spent more than 25 years helping small and mid-size businesses find solutions to their business problems. He specializes in sales, marketing and rapid revenue growth and has helped hundreds of companies make more money.
Gene Culver has more than 15 years of diverse business experience across the music industry, telecom network marketing and business coaching. His specialty is helping individuals with marketing, their internet presence and lead generation.
Ok Wendy, I’ve got a question for you. I would like for you to ask: What is the most ridiculous/ludicrous thing that someone tried to write off as a business expense and how was it handled? Thanks!
Wendy, that’s an excellent idea. Also, have you read Tax Girl? She’s at http://taxgirl.com. Bet you two would hit it off…we all want good tax advice.
Wendy – we had an accountant do our taxes for a few years – my business, a rental property, a rolled over 401k, and such made us scared. He assured me that my record keeping was sound and I paid close attention to what he did. For the past 3 years I have been using Turbo Tax to do both my business (S-corp) and personal taxes. It is time consuming, but I am happy to do it ourselves. Today’s software really does a great job of walking you through all the details.
Hi Wendy,
I’m just working on my taxes, too. It’s the first year I have hired a CPA to do them. Too many things happened last year and I need advice.
BTW, love your new site design. Lots of great info here. Can’t wait to meet you in Chicago.
Sandy
I am an independent agent for an online telecommunicating firm. I live with my son in return for watching my grandchildren. Here is my question: I nowwant to pay him for the room I use to work, but I want to check and see if it would be considered income for him. He rents this apartment himself. I feel I need this to offset my taxes. Any help would be appreicated.
Denise Likens