Posted: 1/24/2012 3:27:58 PM EDT
| I've taken my taxes to a professional before to get them done. I have always ended up owing money whenever I got o someone to get them done. Past few years I have had my father do them (dont ask, I tihnk he is bored and likes to do them) and have always gotten money back (probably around $1,000 give or take a few hundred). So what gives, why when I bring them somewhere I owe and when I do them myself I get money back? Just one W-2. Not married, still live with folks. |
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Are you claiming the standard deduction or itemizing?
If you went with the SD in both cases, the final tally is going to be the same regardless of who does them. (assuming they aren't cheating). If you itemize, perhaps your dad is claiming things the accountant isn't comfortable putting their license on the line over. |
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Are you claiming the standard deduction or itemizing? If you went with the SD in both cases, the final tally is going to be the same regardless of who does them. (assuming they aren't cheating). If you itemize, perhaps your dad is claiming things the accountant isn't comfortable putting their license on the line over. Or perhaps the accountant is utterly fucking incompetent. Out of the four "tax professionals" I've used, two have been utterly fucking incompetent. Go figure. 
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I've taken my taxes to a professional before to get them done. I have always ended up owing money whenever I got o someone to get them done. Past few years I have had my father do them (dont ask, I tihnk he is bored and likes to do them) and have always gotten money back (probably around $1,000 give or take a few hundred). So what gives, why when I bring them somewhere I owe and when I do them myself I get money back? Just one W-2. Not married, still live with folks. Is your dad claiming you as a dependent on his tax return? |
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Are you claiming the standard deduction or itemizing? If you went with the SD in both cases, the final tally is going to be the same regardless of who does them. (assuming they aren't cheating). If you itemize, perhaps your dad is claiming things the accountant isn't comfortable putting their license on the line over. Or perhaps the accountant is utterly fucking incompetent. Out of the four "tax professionals" I've used, two have been utterly fucking incompetent. Go figure. Certainly possible. Some CPA's will do individual returns for extra money but have no expertise in tax law. I never started seeing an accountant until I began itemizing. With the standard deduction on a 1040, taxes are pretty simple. Once you begin itemizing, it takes real knowledge...there is way too much for the lay person to memorize or know. |
| Your best bet is Turbo Tax. You can prepare the return without paying up front. It is very intuitive and interview driven. If you get in a pinch, Turbo Tax has hired hundreds of CPAs, EAs, and attorneys to provide free tax advice via Chat or phone. Did I mention it is free? TT used to charge a pretty penny for that service. Once you finish the return, you pay and file. It's that easy. |
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A basic 1040 is what, 11 lines to fill in? And 5 of them are your name and address? This shit is why Warren Buffet gets away with saying his "secretary" pays a 33% tax rate, and no one knows enough to figure out she has to make at least $815,000 to have a cumulative rate that high. |
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Since so little information has been provided, my guess is his father has claimed him as a dependent.
His CPA knows that and won't let him file as someone who is not being claimed as a dependant on another tax return. Pure conjecture on my part but very little info has been provided by the OP. |
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Since so little information has been provided, my guess is his father has claimed him as a dependent. His CPA knows that and won't let him file as someone who is not being claimed as a dependant on another tax return. Pure conjecture on my part but very little info has been provided by the OP. In fact, he went offline less than 3 minutes after posing the question. If he was paying out when using a preparer and getting refund when his dad prepped it, his dad was doing something that was benefiting him in a big way. His dad taking the OPs exemption would not benefit the OP at all. In fact, he would end up owing more tax if if dad was getting the exemption for him. |
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Since so little information has been provided, my guess is his father has claimed him as a dependent. His CPA knows that and won't let him file as someone who is not being claimed as a dependant on another tax return. Pure conjecture on my part but very little info has been provided by the OP. In fact, he went offline less than 3 minutes after posing the question. If he was paying out when using a preparer and getting refund when his dad prepped it, his dad was doing something that was benefiting him in a big way. His dad taking the OPs exemption would not benefit the OP at all. In fact, he would end up owing more tax if if dad was getting the exemption for him. Right, however, I am suggesting his dad didn't penalize his son when the DAD prepared the OP's return. 
Put your thinking cap on. 
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Since so little information has been provided, my guess is his father has claimed him as a dependent. His CPA knows that and won't let him file as someone who is not being claimed as a dependant on another tax return. Pure conjecture on my part but very little info has been provided by the OP. In fact, he went offline less than 3 minutes after posing the question. If he was paying out when using a preparer and getting refund when his dad prepped it, his dad was doing something that was benefiting him in a big way. His dad taking the OPs exemption would not benefit the OP at all. In fact, he would end up owing more tax if if dad was getting the exemption for him. Right, however, I am suggesting his dad didn't penalize his son when the DAD prepared the OP's return.
Put your thinking cap on.
ETA: Yeah, you indicating here that the dad decided to let the kid get his own exemption when in times past the CPA made sure the dad got it. NM. With that noted, the guy has a W-2. Because he works, he probably can't be the DADs dependent due to the support rules. |
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Quoted: A basic 1040 is what, 11 lines to fill in? And 5 of them are your name and address? This shit is why Warren Buffet gets away with saying his "secretary" pays a 33% tax rate, and no one knows enough to figure out she has to make at least $815,000 to have a cumulative rate that high. Yeah, this one actually bugs me. People complain about our progressive tax system, but don't seem to understand just what "progressive" means, in this regard. And listen, I HATE income taxes. I loathe the very idea of an income tax. But I'm not going to let my hatred (it keeps me warm) cloud my vision. My federal "tax bracket" is 25%. The problem is, I don't actually pay 25% of my income in federal taxes. I pay 25% on the amount I make between $70,701 – $142,700. I pay 15% on the amount I make between $17,401 and $70,700. I pay 10% on the amount I make between $0 and $17,400. Granted, all of this assumes that my total tax liability is only "income" tax. Not so, obviously. I consider Social Security and Medicare taxes to be just that - taxes. They're used for general spending, and the SCOTUS has upheld this. But at the same time, it's also not including deductions. The amounts listed above are for a married couple (that's me!), with absolutely zero deductions. Well, everybody at least gets the standard deduction. Knock off $11,600 right there, in my case. Have kids? I have two. Knock off another $1,000 each. As much as I hate to say it, my federal tax burden isn't actually that bad. I still hate it, and it's still *much* higher than it ought to be, but I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that Mitt Romney (fuck him anyway) is actually paying a greater share of his income as a percentage, in *federal income taxes*, after all deductions are accounted for, than I am. It's the truth. Even if you account for SSI, SSD and Medicare, I'm still not at 15%, once I'm finished with deductions. And I'm not exactly hurting for cash, either. I'm solidly middle class. We have a spending problem, not an income problem. |
| Lay your tax returns out for the past four years, side by side. Go through each data line and compare all the years. Compare income, deductions, tax credits, exemptions. Things change from year to year. Maybe you had some education credits in the years that your Dad prepared the returns?!? Did you switch jobs and claim a different # of exemptions? I believe H & R Block has a program in which they will check your past five years of returns. If they find an error, they can amend your returns for the past three years and possibly get you a refund. I use TaxAct software. You can compare your prior year figures easily to find the difference. |
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Since so little information has been provided, my guess is his father has claimed him as a dependent. His CPA knows that and won't let him file as someone who is not being claimed as a dependant on another tax return. Pure conjecture on my part but very little info has been provided by the OP. In fact, he went offline less than 3 minutes after posing the question. If he was paying out when using a preparer and getting refund when his dad prepped it, his dad was doing something that was benefiting him in a big way. His dad taking the OPs exemption would not benefit the OP at all. In fact, he would end up owing more tax if if dad was getting the exemption for him. Right, however, I am suggesting his dad didn't penalize his son when the DAD prepared the OP's return.
Put your thinking cap on.
ETA: Yeah, you indicating here that the dad decided to let the kid get his own exemption when in times past the CPA made sure the dad got it. NM. With that noted, the guy has a W-2. Because he works, he probably can't be the DADs dependent due to the support rules. There's probably some important facts the OP has failed to put out there.
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Quoted: Quoted: A basic 1040 is what, 11 lines to fill in? And 5 of them are your name and address? This shit is why Warren Buffet gets away with saying his "secretary" pays a 33% tax rate, and no one knows enough to figure out she has to make at least $815,000 to have a cumulative rate that high. Yeah, this one actually bugs me. People complain about our progressive tax system, but don't seem to understand just what "progressive" means, in this regard. And listen, I HATE income taxes. I loathe the very idea of an income tax. But I'm not going to let my hatred (it keeps me warm) cloud my vision. My federal "tax bracket" is 25%. The problem is, I don't actually pay 25% of my income in federal taxes. I pay 25% on the amount I make between $70,701 – $142,700. I pay 15% on the amount I make between $17,401 and $70,700. I pay 10% on the amount I make between $0 and $17,400. Granted, all of this assumes that my total tax liability is only "income" tax. Not so, obviously. I consider Social Security and Medicare taxes to be just that - taxes. They're used for general spending, and the SCOTUS has upheld this. But at the same time, it's also not including deductions. The amounts listed above are for a married couple (that's me!), with absolutely zero deductions. Well, everybody at least gets the standard deduction. Knock off $11,600 right there, in my case. Have kids? I have two. Knock off another $1,000 each. As much as I hate to say it, my federal tax burden isn't actually that bad. I still hate it, and it's still *much* higher than it ought to be, but I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that Mitt Romney (fuck him anyway) is actually paying a greater share of his income as a percentage, in *federal income taxes*, after all deductions are accounted for, than I am. It's the truth. Even if you account for SSI, SSD and Medicare, I'm still not at 15%, once I'm finished with deductions. And I'm not exactly hurting for cash, either. I'm solidly middle class. We have a spending problem, not an income problem. Shit....I may have to buy me one of them thar wimminz. What's the going price fer one? I know I could feed her for a year fer under a grand. If I could train her to make sammiches.....it sounds like a real money maker right there.....  |
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Quoted: Quoted: A basic 1040 is what, 11 lines to fill in? And 5 of them are your name and address? This shit is why Warren Buffet gets away with saying his "secretary" pays a 33% tax rate, and no one knows enough to figure out she has to make at least $815,000 to have a cumulative rate that high. Yeah, this one actually bugs me. People complain about our progressive tax system, but don't seem to understand just what "progressive" means, in this regard. And listen, I HATE income taxes. I loathe the very idea of an income tax. But I'm not going to let my hatred (it keeps me warm) cloud my vision. My federal "tax bracket" is 25%. The problem is, I don't actually pay 25% of my income in federal taxes. I pay 25% on the amount I make between $70,701 – $142,700. I pay 15% on the amount I make between $17,401 and $70,700. I pay 10% on the amount I make between $0 and $17,400. Granted, all of this assumes that my total tax liability is only "income" tax. Not so, obviously. I consider Social Security and Medicare taxes to be just that - taxes. They're used for general spending, and the SCOTUS has upheld this. But at the same time, it's also not including deductions. The amounts listed above are for a married couple (that's me!), with absolutely zero deductions. Well, everybody at least gets the standard deduction. Knock off $11,600 right there, in my case. Have kids? I have two. Knock off another $1,000 each. As much as I hate to say it, my federal tax burden isn't actually that bad. I still hate it, and it's still *much* higher than it ought to be, but I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that Mitt Romney (fuck him anyway) is actually paying a greater share of his income as a percentage, in *federal income taxes*, after all deductions are accounted for, than I am. It's the truth. Even if you account for SSI, SSD and Medicare, I'm still not at 15%, once I'm finished with deductions. And I'm not exactly hurting for cash, either. I'm solidly middle class. We have a spending problem, not an income problem. After I itemized last year, I added up all my various taxes, an estimate of state sales tax paid, and some of the other parasitic taxes like inspection and registration. It came out to 18% of my gross income. I feel like if the government can't live on 5% of what I make, it's still to big, and it's probably too big even if it's living on 5%. |
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Since so little information has been provided, my guess is his father has claimed him as a dependent. His CPA knows that and won't let him file as someone who is not being claimed as a dependant on another tax return. Pure conjecture on my part but very little info has been provided by the OP. In fact, he went offline less than 3 minutes after posing the question. If he was paying out when using a preparer and getting refund when his dad prepped it, his dad was doing something that was benefiting him in a big way. His dad taking the OPs exemption would not benefit the OP at all. In fact, he would end up owing more tax if if dad was getting the exemption for him. Right, however, I am suggesting his dad didn't penalize his son when the DAD prepared the OP's return.
Put your thinking cap on.
ETA: Yeah, you indicating here that the dad decided to let the kid get his own exemption when in times past the CPA made sure the dad got it. NM. With that noted, the guy has a W-2. Because he works, he probably can't be the DADs dependent due to the support rules. There's probably some important facts the OP has failed to put out there. No doubt. Going off of what he said at face value, I would suspect his dad got a little creative on the return. I've seen that plenty of times. |