Tax Season - Like Christmas, but you get robbed instead [2010 Edition]

We should keep DOD but dissolve the rest of the federal government and have a 2% flat federal tax.

Actually no, I always overpay and get a nice big refund.

purchased home and paid interest for ~5 months
purchased energy efficient appliances for home
paid student loan interest all year

purchased car in August - was 2 years used - any deductibles there?

regardless, from first three alone I expect 1-2k in refund

I'm not expecting a refund, but I shouldn't owe the Fed anything.

In the past I have filed my own taxes, usually online. This year I may pay a local accountant to go over everything. It's so effing complicated and such a giant pain in the ass.

I use an accounting company to do all bookkeeping and tax preparation for me both businesses and personal.

No, I used H&R Block online and I think it's only free if you're poor and don't have any deductions. I make more than the federal poverty guidelines so I've had to pay. I also file state and local at the same time and I have to pay for that.

It's not very expensive though, less than a hundred for the whole package as I recall.

I've only used an accountant once. He f'd up my return, earned me an audit, did not want to have anything to do with the audit or stand behind his return.

I have filed my own, online, ever since. I can't quite imagine what I'd be missing - my sources of revenue and deductions are pretty damn simple.

Using same accountant I have for several years, expecting a big assed refund. Noticed I gave too much to charity this year (my damn soft heart), had a hella pile of pictures as I photo document all Good Will donations, such as my clothes that no longer fit, etc., really fear no audit as my return is fairly simple and I will always pass on a smallish deduction if it's in the least bit dodgy.

E-file, every year. Should be a good year for me, in terms of a refund. I made less than 20k last year, paid interest on student loans, and some other things. Although I have to file for federal, Illinois, and California taxes, which is kind of a bitch.

To those SFers who are married with no dependents, do you filed jointly or separately? I got married last year and don't know what to do. I've always done my own taxes, but will probably go to an accountant for the first time in my life to run the numbers to see what's best for my wife and I. Both of us work and earn similar salaries. Both of us have a load of deductions: both of us owned homes in 2010 so we each have property taxes, mortgage interest, plus a load of charitable deductions. I also sold property in 2010 for the first time and have never filed capital gains taxes before. It's just a more complicated tax year for me so I feel more comfortable going with an accountant on this one.