The VITA program has so may things going for it: free, obviously; partial to the taxpayer, since they don’t profit from the service; longevity, since the services, and many of the IRS-trained volunteers serve year after year, as you and I have done; benefit to the community, since refunds flow back to the local economy undiminished by the usurious fees often charged by storefront preparers whose profits go to corporate coffers.

Additionally, these centers offer benefits in other ways by promoting financial literacy and establishing networks of community support involve. Win-win!

Charging that much per schedule is overboard but, I sure hope your tax rep in Alabama is a competent rep. California has a lot of generous tax deductions of which a tax professional from another state may not be totally aware.

Is it worth the cost? I’ve heard others say it costs upwards of $400! That seems excessive to me.

VITA volunteers prepare state and federal tax returns for free (up to $49K AGI), and provide many other services.

For instance, the program I volunteer for has an IRS representative on site to assist with payment plans and other inquiries. Community banks reps are on hand to open checking accounts to facilitate direct deposit, and we also offer free credit score check and counseling on improving a bad credit history.

The programs are community based, and our mission is primarily to insure that every legitimate dollar of a tax refund is put back into the hands of taxpayers, where it can benefit them and their communities. Annually, we process millions in refunds. the program is widely available. For instance, the IRS lists 85 locations in my state of Massachusetts.

No list of filing alternatives, I feel, would be complete without a prominent mention of this program.

The comprehensive services you provide raise a good point, and one we try to touch on in the article — the low bid isn’t always the best deal. As long as you are providing quality, you shouldn’t worry too much about competing on price. There will always be someone out there willing to quote a lower price, but matching quality and thoroughness are much harder for competitors to keep up with.

I also have a friend who had a major tax foul-up courtesy of H&R Block. I would never use them.

I consider myself their “personal financial wellness advisor” and we meet in person and I go over all aspects of their finances. How much they’re spending on expense ratios in their mutual funds. Whether they’ve got disability insurance. The best place to save for college (the parent’s Roth IRA!) Most of my clients will get charged between $200 and $300 dollars. I typically save them at least that much each year. It’s sort of a point of pride to me to always be thinking of ways to save them money. (Note that I’m a regular reader of this blog.)

With Tax Act the most you pay is $17.95 including with a State Return. Further,with Tax Act you can file a complicated federal return for free.

One year I completed my taxes with Tax Act, Turbo Tax, and Tax Cut. I ultimately filed with Tax Act because the software did the job, and it was significantly less in cost. It also completed the FASA form for students seeking financial aid.

In Canada your accounting fees MAY be tax deductible in the year you pay them. If you have any kind of investment or business or rental income they are certainly deductible.

The most I have EVER charged for preparing a personal tax return was $1,000 but you should have seen the mess it was in! I actually cut the guy a deal, because it took over 15 HOURS to prepare his taxes, and I could have easily billed him twice that.

It pays to be organized when using a professional preparer. You can save a lot of money just by giving them(us) information in the format we can use it in. That stack of gas receipts you want to claim for your business use of your car?? If you add them up it might take you an hour. If *I* add them up it might take me half an hour… and cost you $75. Is that worth more or less than an hour of your time?

BTW, while I cannot be sure this is true for the 2010 tax year, the 2009 OnePriceTaxes software was just a framework built around their online system. You had to be online for it to work.