Who should do my taxes?

[Pants]

So the last couple years we did our taxes ourselves on TurboTax. I'm reasonably financially literate so it wasn't an issue. But last year DD got sick - REALLY SICK - so we have medical expenses (DH forgot to fund our FSA last year let's not talk about it) and she required full-time home care from a nanny for several months. I'm thinking between the medical stuff and being an employer (which we were appropriately registered, withheld quarterly taxes, etc.) i may need someone else to do our taxes this year. Other than that I'm a homeowner with student loans so I generally itemize.

Is this simple enough I could do it myself on turbotax? Take it to an H&R block or similar, or do I need to find a for-real accountant? I haven't even started gathering the info but know I need to.

Advice appareciated.

[bean29]

You can probably do as good a job with TurboTax and your own personal skills as H&R block would do.

I am not sure if you need a CPA for what you have, but don't go to a H&R Block type of storefront tax preparer. If you are going to have someone else do your taxes, go all the way and use a CPA.

[TheOtherMe]

My BIL, who has worked at Block for over 25 years, could prepare that return.

My guess is that you probably have the knowledge to prepare it yourself.  If you don't feel comfortable, ask around your friends for recommendations.  Block is not a lot cheaper than a CPA for this type of return.

[Deleted]

One area where I'd ask about what's deductible is the nanny.  I posted late last year on caregiver expenses- fortunately it didn't add up to much but in DH's last couple of weeks I was uncomfortable leaving the house for a long period of time because he was unsteady on his feet and had a history of falling.  Most of the time I could make sure he was settled in bed or on the couch and had been to the bathroom but I still didn't want to leave him alone for much longer than a couple of hours, so I got people from a home healthcare agency to come in.  Paid out of pocket.  Hospice had volunteers but they had to be booked a week or more in advance. 

The response was that since it hadn't been ordered by the doctor, it wasn't deductible.  Your case is probably different but a CPA will be able to tell you and make sure you have the right documentation if it is deductible. 

[rangerj]

You can have a CPA, Enrolled Agent (EA), or a bookkeeping/accounting service that does taxes, do your return. You can also have one of the Franchise storefront tax preparation firms do your return. The thing to be aware of is that ANYONE can buy one of these tax storefront franchises without ANY qualifications. There are good ones and there are bad ones. As suggested above get a recommendation. An Enrolled Agent would be a good cost effective choice, but many CPAs are also very reasonable. Most that I know via professional association are less costly that many of the storefront operators.

[TheOtherMe]

BIL who works for Block is an Enrolled Agent.

[alabamagal]

The medical expense deduction is pretty straightforward. Gathering everything and sorting out the bills is the hard part.

I did the nanny taxes back in the days before turbo tax, or maybe when it first came out. It is not that hard either. If you were able to fill out quarterly tax forms you can do nanny taxes.