Income Tax HelpIncome Taxes: Inevitable Chore
No one likes doing their income taxes, myself included. I will shamefully admit that my father continued to do my taxes for me until I was out of college. And even now, my husband and I fight each other to get out of doing the income taxes every winter.
At least doing our taxes has gotten a lot easier with the advent of income tax preparation software. For the past couple of years, tax preparation software has greatly reduced our tax headache, especially as our taxes have become more and more complicated (with Roth IRAs and other investments, for instance). Income tax software has really simplified things because it's neither too complex nor too simple. Good tax preparation software explains what is required for each line item, but doesn't give you an unnecessary legal lecture.
Before using income tax software, I used to search for answers to my income tax questions online and most of what I found was overly complicated citations of tax law with the recommendation to consult your tax accountant for clarification. While I'm no longer filing the 1040 EZ income tax form, I'm not really in a position (financial or otherwise) to hire a tax accountant! I just needed some answers and a comprehensible way to do my income taxes.
There are several different brands of tax preparation software out there with varying pros and cons to each, but any of the respected brands will get the job done. More importantly, it's a good idea to carefully select which version of the income tax preparation software that you buy. Don't buy tax prep software that's more complicated than you need in your individual case! If you don't run a small business, why buy tax prep software which covers business expenses?
