How to Best File Federal Taxes?

Answer 1

There are many options, much more options that in the past, for the average citizen to compare when it comes to filing federal taxes. There are do-it-yourself options that are completely viable, the old faithful still seek the CPA as an option, and there are many options in between depending on the amount of help that you think you need.

The way to process picking one of these options is not necessarily based upon the amount of work that you have to do on your federal filing, the complexity of the records involved, or even the amount of help that you receive. It is really based on the different forms of risk that you take by choosing your federal file taxing option.

If you want to file your taxes yourself, there are many programs that reside completely online and allow you to file your federal taxes without ever getting up from your home office chair. For the most part, these programs have been able to satisfy their customers without a great deal of backlash, but there is always the chance that the people programming the do-it-yourself program will miss an important change in the tax code, a mistake that would completely expose anyone who used the program.

Unfortunately, the IRS definitely does not care who made the mistake you will end up paying the penalty. Therefore make completely sure that any do-it-yourself program that you choose has audit protection and guarantees their results, stating that if the error is theirs, they will take full responsibility for the repercussions of the filing.

Those who choose to get their taxes done by a CPA face perhaps the most expensive form of federal tax filing that there is. However, a CPA can definitely provide the most personal type of service, and this type of federal filing option is definitely recommended for those who have more work than they can understand when it comes to filing taxes. This includes complex investments and real estate more than anything.

Some of the in between packages, including commercial tax filing companies, are usually the best option for those who do not have the time to manage their records fully. However, there are many free resources online that even these companies recommend that the average person use first in order to gain an estimate of the amount owed to the IRS before taking records in to the company itself.