Pianotech

  • 1.  Income Tax Apps/Software

    Posted 04-29-2021 12:14
    Hello List,
    I've always paid a professional for help with income tax filing, but currently I've no one I'm happy with and am considering doing it myself.
    I would be most grateful for recommendations from my colleagues.
    Interested in the best.
    Thank you,
    Fenton


  • 2.  RE: Income Tax Apps/Software

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-29-2021 13:22
    I've been using TurboTax for decades

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    David Love RPT
    www.davidlovepianos.com
    davidlovepianos@comcast.net
    415 407 8320
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  • 3.  RE: Income Tax Apps/Software

    Posted 04-29-2021 14:44
    Quicken for day-to-day accounting which imports into TurboTax. Answer a few questions. Done.

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
    mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
    http://www.pianocapecod.com
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  • 4.  RE: Income Tax Apps/Software

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-30-2021 01:10
    I have used professionals and have received bad advice from them that needed correction.  I have used TurboTax for several years with no problems.

    I was concerned about several details and made an extensive list of my questions and hired a pro to go over my issues.  All of their answers indicated that I was on the right track and that TurboTax was working fine, though they did recommend an S corp as a better deal.

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    Blaine Hebert
    Duarte CA
    626-795-5170
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  • 5.  RE: Income Tax Apps/Software

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-30-2021 01:43
    I've been doing my own for years. But when you're starting out it is helpful to have some past years' forms that you can compare side by side. 

    Most of the work is in tracking and categorizing with your accounting software. I use Quicken, but there are cheaper alternatives out there. The main thing is getting every transaction into its appropriate tax-related category. There's kind of a learning curve there, but I'm assuming you do a lot of that already for your accountant. From there, it's mostly just a matter of copying numbers over into your tax program. 

    I personally dislike TurboTax. I find their Q&A format annoying, and they're overpriced for anybody who needs to file a Schedule C (us). I use an online service called FreeTaxUSA that I find more intuitive than TurboTax and that is 100% free for your federal return. They make their money by charging you a small fee to file the state return and by selling little support packages with stuff like audit assist. On year 1 you'll have to input all your information, but on the second year it will all be there. My favorite part is that near the end it gives you a screen showing a side by side of this year with the previous year with each category. It makes it easy to see how your business has changed and to spot discrepancies or missed deductions. 

    Whatever program you use, it will probably be helpful to keep using that program in the future, both for your learning curve, and because the program can automatically pull in relevant details from past years. People invested in TurboTax will probably have trouble transitioning away, and vice versa. I'd suggest trying a couple different programs side by side. See which one best suits you, which one gives you the biggest deduction, and if there are differences, what they missed. Then make your choice. 

    If you really want to go full nerd on your taxes you can try excel1040.com. Its a massive Excel spreadsheet that calculates everything. That will give you a real understanding and familiarity with the tax forms, but it's a steeper learning curve and not for the faint of heart. 

    Good luck!

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    Anthony Willey, RPT
    http://willeypianotuning.com
    http://pianometer.com
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  • 6.  RE: Income Tax Apps/Software

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-30-2021 02:34

    I don't use TurboTax. I don't like how they sell your data. 


    I've used H&R Block's program for the past five years. It works well. Also heard good things about Dave Ramsey's Smart Tax program from a friend, but I've never used it. 



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    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    Piano Technician / Artisan
    (805) 315-8050
    www.professional-piano-services.com
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  • 7.  RE: Income Tax Apps/Software

    Member
    Posted 04-30-2021 07:28
    Fenton,
    I'm both a piano technician & a paid tax professional(over 28 yrs).
    I used Turbo Tax years ago.
    With over 50 tax clients, I now use professional software.
    If you use any Quicken or Quick Books(both Intuit products),
    they will sync easily with TurboTax which is also made by Intuit.

    --
    John Gallen,
    (860)428-6045 CELL
    Production Supervisor: Brooks, Ltd. Piano Parts, LLC
    Owner: 1040 Pianos(Tax Preparation)
    Owner:Vintage Piano Repair(Piano Moving)
    Treasurer: Master Piano Technicians
    Treasurer:Calvary Baptist Church of Preston, CT
    Treasurer:Guilford Smith Memorial Library, South Windham, CT
    Ambit Energy: Independent Consultant(www.gallonsofenergy.myambit.com)
    Institute Director, May 2019 Piano Technicians Guild's NEECSO Regional Seminar
    Convention Director, August 2019, Master Piano Technicians





  • 8.  RE: Income Tax Apps/Software

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-30-2021 11:12
    FYI: Quicken is no longer owned by Intuit. They sold it off a couple years ago. Mint is owned by Intuit though. 

    I should say that I really hate Quicken's business model. You don't own the software, you rent it. And it stops working after a year if you don't pay the subscription. And yet I keep using it because I haven't been able to find anything that's clearly better, and all my history is tied into Quicken. I'm currently trying out GnuCash (free, open source). It doesn't have all the bells and whistles that Quicken does, but it works well, and once you wrap your head around its unique double accounting method, it actually makes a lot of sense, and it's harder to mess things up than with Quicken. I'm running the two programs side by side for the year 2021 and then I'll choose the one I like better at the end. 






  • 9.  RE: Income Tax Apps/Software

    Posted 04-30-2021 11:19
    These are all wonderful on point reviews. Thank you all!
    Anthony, Everytime I see one or your well written posts your name has me doing a doubletake.
    I think of the correspondence course I sent away for which gave me my first taste of formal training in 1975.
    Aubrey Willes....Please excuse.