[Hidden-tech] TAXES

[Wendy Marsden]

As a tax accountant I'm listening to you all say how wonderful the Turbotax
tool is, and I totally agree that it's a robust tool.  But there is just no
substitute for knowing what you're doing.  I train my staff but routinely
catch them in errors that would cost hundreds and thousands of dollars to
my clients if I weren't reviewing.  You don't know what you don't know!
Listening to people talk about how they're fine using Turbotax is like
listening to them say they're fine not having a doctor because they read
Health Magazine.  I know where errors are likely to lurk, I know what big
credits are worth hunting down, I spend weeks in continuing ed each year
and do hundreds of returns each month. I can honestly say that I pay for
myself in savings much of the time, and am worth it in convenience and
peace of mind the rest of the time.

That said, you're probably out of luck finding a good CPA.  Turbotax
hollowed out our industry.  With no easy returns to hand to entry level
staff, we stopped hiring entry-level staff.  Now, twenty years later, we've
realized that we have no pool of new associates who were promoted to
mid-level associates who are coming up behind us. We can't even sell our
practices to anyone.  Look around you: most of the tax accountants are well
over 50 and we have full practices.  Way too full.

My best tip is to see an accountant in the summer or fall once every three
years or so.  We can amend three year's back to fix any egregious errors.
The thing is, reviewing your return isn't particularly faster or easier
than just doing it ourselves.  I certainly don't offer any reviewing
services in tax season, and don't know anyone who does.

Other tips: see an accountant when you have a kid in college, buy or sell a
building, have stock options, or get a septic system replaced.


-- Wendy Marsden, CPA, CFP®
-- Tea & Taxes Company
-- 3 Grinnell St.
-- P.O. Box 473
-- Greenfield, MA 01302
-- (413) 829-4832


On Tue, Mar 29, 2016 at 5:56 PM, Fred Levine <fred at smallbatchbooks.com>
wrote:

>
>
>
>
> I second Gerry Hersh.
>
>
>
> *Publishing Made Personal*
>
>
> 493 South Pleasant St.
>
> Amherst, MA 01002
>
> 413.230.3943
>
> smallbatchbooks.com
>
> From: <hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net> on behalf of Shel
> Horowitz <shel at principledprofit.com>
> Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 12:24 PM
> To: Ed Bride <Ed at edbride-pr.com>
> Cc: Hidden-Tech Listserv <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] TAXES
>
> My accountant uses TurboTax (or something like it), so he can
> automatically carry over our data (especially great not to have to re-enter
> all the investment accounts). But then he adds his professional judgment
> and always has advice for us on how to accomplish our strategic goals. Just
> as I might run a piece of marketing copy through a reading-level analyzer
> or even an emotional content analyzer--and then revisit it with my
> professional antennea turned on. Professional knowledge + powerful tools =
> a pretty good combination ;-).
>
> ________________________________________________
> Watch (and please share) my TEDx Talk,
> "Impossible is a Dare: Business for a Better World"
> *http://www.ted.com/tedx/events/11809
> <http://www.ted.com/tedx/events/11809>*
>
> Contact me to bake in profitability while addressing hunger,
> poverty, war, and catastrophic climate change
>
> Twitter: @shelhorowitz
>
> * First business ever to be Green America Gold Certified
> * Inducted into the National Environmental Hall of Fame
>
> http://goingbeyondsustainability.com
> http://transformpreneur.com
> mailto:shel at greenandprofitable.com * 413-586-2388
> Award-winning, best-selling (8th) book:
> Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson)
> Coming in April: Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World
> _________________________________________________
>
> On Tue, Mar 29, 2016 at 9:08 AM, Ed Bride <Ed at edbride-pr.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>
>> We did a walk-through with H&R Block a few years ago, and according to
>> them,
>> we owed about $2,800 more than Turbo Tax (Home & Business) said. We stuck
>> with TurboTax. Our experience may not be typical, but I'm definitely in
>> the
>> TT camp.
>>
>> Ed
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net
>> [mailto:hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net] On Behalf Of Allen
>> Cohen
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2016 7:40 AM
>> To: Annamarie Pluhar; Hidden-Tech Listserv
>> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] TAXES
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net
>> Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net
>>
>> You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list.
>> If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members
>> page on the Hidden Tech Web site.
>> http://www.hidden-tech.net/members
>>
>
> _______________________________________________ Hidden-discuss mailing
> list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net
> Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net You are receiving this because you
> are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. If you would like to change your
> list preferences, Go to the Members page on the Hidden Tech Web site.
> http://www.hidden-tech.net/members
>
> _______________________________________________
> Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net
> Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net
>
> You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list.
> If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members
> page on the Hidden Tech Web site.
> http://www.hidden-tech.net/members
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.hidden-tech.net/pipermail/hidden-discuss/attachments/20160331/fcce285f/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: DA17D09C-3956-403A-A601-F17AB866F020[52].png
Type: image/png
Size: 5464 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.hidden-tech.net/pipermail/hidden-discuss/attachments/20160331/fcce285f/attachment-0001.png