Professional Tax Preperation Saved Me Over $5,000

Well, the results are in from the CPA vs. Turbo Tax and other DYI tax programs fight. The winner is………quality professional tax preparation by a landslide.

Here is the break down:

My CPA isn’t responsible for all of the savings, but the service was definitely worth the cost. First, we tuck away 40% of The Happy Rockette’s paycheck, so we knew we had more than enough for our 2007 taxes. We were expecting a bill of around $4,000 dollars between federal and state.

One big difference was that we made about $6,000 less than 2006. I didn’t work any overtime and had $3,000 of gambling winnings to claim in 2006. We also donated $1,500 more in 2007. That accounts for some of the shift, but almost all of the rest came from the great tax advice.

I was going to do my own taxes to compare, but looking through the return I can see where most of the savings and deductions came from. The highlights are:

• $750 dollars in mileage and expenses for the Rockette’s consulting that I wouldn’t have filed.
• $1,000 of extra itemized deductions.
• Plethora of savings for The Happy Rock including a percentage of my home depreciation and utility costs, equipment depreciation, and expenses that I wouldn’t have known to claim.
• Proper handling of child care expenses.

That is a great list for the measly cost of $400, but I now also know what receipts and expenses that I should track to claim in 2008 which will save me thousands going forward. The only part I regret is that I didn’t pay for professional services years earlier!  More money back in my pocket with a lot less stress, you can’t beat that.