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-   -   For Tom Copeland + Daycare.com Community (https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26395)

Unregistered 02-06-2011 08:11 AM

For Tom Copeland + Daycare.com Community
 
hello all
I have a daycare and today i went to see a tax person specialized in daycare taxes, after i gave her all my paper she charged me $250 for a deposit on the work to be done ( i was aware that the whole cost would be between 400 and $500) after coming home i got a message from her telling me that after taking a better look at my last year return and the fact that I have a property out of state and also there is a carry over loss from a property that was bought and sold about 5 years ago, my cost would be more likely around $800 and she wants me to give her another $150 for the deposit. A friend of mine is telling me that there is no way I should pay that much, that he has a LLC + a sole proprietor was also salaried for another company part of last year, cashed some of his 401K, has his minor son tax prepared as well + has 3 houses and only payed $610, and his taxes are much much more complicated than mine.

How much do you pay for you tax preparation, Please help, should I go on and pay or back out while it is still possible!

odskids 02-06-2011 09:18 AM

I don't know, I do my own, with the help of Tom Copeland and his amazing books! That does seem like an awful lot though. After all, you are supplying them with all the info right? It isn't like they are an accountant figuring all the amounts! Sounds like a lot to me!!

sahm1225 02-06-2011 09:25 AM

you can call your local h&r block and get them to give you a quote.

A lot of times tax preparers charge based on the number of forms that they have to fill out. I would ask for a discount based on the fact that they misquoted the original price, but honestly if you have a super complicated return (and it sounds like you do), $800 might be your average price.

We pay about $400/yr for our taxes - we own 3 properties (all same state), sell and buy stocks, just started the daycare, and cashed out some roth iras. But this is the same tax person I have used for years, so that might be why mine isn't as expensive as yours. ALso our properties being in the same state might make a big difference too. \

good luck!

Lilbutterflie 02-06-2011 01:11 PM

Last year we paid about $350; but we bought our first house, took some money out of our mutual fund and DH's 401K, and we have to pay taxes on the gains of the mutual fund, too... in addition to the taxes on the daycare. I think $800 is WAAAAY too much!

Michael 02-06-2011 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
hello all
I have a daycare and today i went to see a tax person specialized in daycare taxes, after i gave her all my paper she charged me $250 for a deposit on the work to be done ( i was aware that the whole cost would be between 400 and $500) after coming home i got a message from her telling me that after taking a better look at my last year return and the fact that I have a property out of state and also there is a carry over loss from a property that was bought and sold about 5 years ago, my cost would be more likely around $800 and she wants me to give her another $150 for the deposit. A friend of mine is telling me that there is no way I should pay that much, that he has a LLC + a sole proprietor was also salaried for another company part of last year, cashed some of his 401K, has his minor son tax prepared as well + has 3 houses and only payed $610, and his taxes are much much more complicated than mine.

How much do you pay for you tax preparation, Please help, should I go on and pay or back out while it is still possible!

Around $600. The LLC will cost another $800 every year here in California.

You can also join us for our Tax Webinar with Tom Copeland "How to Reduce Your Taxes for 2010 and 2011!". For more info: https://www.daycare.com/news/taxes/tom-copeland-webinar.html

Abigail 02-06-2011 05:33 PM

For how much people pay to get taxes done, why not do it yourself? I would be angry just throwing away hundreds of dollars to figure out what I get back. I would rather sit and do it myself and call, call, call with questions.

Michael 02-06-2011 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by Abigail:
For how much people pay to get taxes done, why not do it yourself? I would be angry just throwing away hundreds of dollars to figure out what I get back. I would rather sit and do it myself and call, call, call with questions.

Agree but I have several businesses besides personal to do. :rolleyes:

heyhun77 02-06-2011 05:56 PM

I pay about $450 a year. The cost of your tax prep is a deductable expense. I choose to have someone do them because the tax software isn't really built for the complicated things we have in our taxes and we ended up amended 3 years worth the taxes when we started using a preparer and they got us back hundreds of extra dollars for each of the years after the cost of the work to amend them. My preparer also covers her time to defend the return in an audit if we end up in an audit whereas some preparers will charge you extra for their time to defend you in an audit.

Someone mentioned that some charge by the form and that is my understanding of the standard way most charge. By the form then final review time. I don't think they're out to get anyone in their fees but it's like our businesses, they have overhead and training to pay for each year plus the fact that they have expertise that we don't have so they charge accordingly.

emosks 02-06-2011 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by Abigail:
For how much people pay to get taxes done, why not do it yourself? I would be angry just throwing away hundreds of dollars to figure out what I get back. I would rather sit and do it myself and call, call, call with questions.

Because each my husband and I have LLCs as well as our personal and with both of us working 55+ hours a week each...and raising 3 kids...it's well worth every penny we pay our accountant.

To the original poster...I will pay my accountant $225 for my LLC. My husband pays around $250 for his and then who knows how much for our personal return.

Abigail 02-06-2011 09:57 PM

I'm happy I can still do my own taxes. I will still try to do them when I open daycare too. I did take some accounting/payroll courses in college so I think that helps a little bit even though it's outdated yearly.

melskids 02-07-2011 02:45 AM

H&R block was charging us around $550. we just found an awesome accountant last year, who is much better, for $350.

TomCopeland 02-07-2011 11:44 AM

Tax Preparation Fees
 
Comparing tax preparation fees is tricky because there can be many differences among providers: personal circumstances, other businesses, medical expenses, etc. Fees to do an LLC vs. sole proprietor should be the same because the tax forms and rules are the same. Fees to do a corporate tax return would be higher. Some tax preparers charge by the hour, some by the form. Some do a lot of sorting through receipts and may spend more time talking with you and organizing your records. It's always a good idea to shop around.

Unregistered 02-07-2011 01:11 PM

thank you
 
I really appreciate your taking the time to help, I did back out, she is only willing to reimburse me half the deposit (but I am ok with that!). It's the first year that she would have done my tax i went to see her because she is specialized in Home Family Daycare taxes, but I wonder if she saw me coming because of my income for 2010 and then she asked me what was my projected income for 2011 and maybe she felt i could afford whatever she would ask! i don't know... just saying!
I don't really like going to H&R because one year they screwed up my return.
Anyways, Thank you !


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