Why I Still Do My Own Taxes (And Why You Might Want to As Well)

This post is part of the TaxAct #DIYtaxes blog tour which empowers you to take ownership of your finances by doing your own taxes. TaxAct provides the tools and guidance to help you confidently file your taxes easy and fast. Do your own taxes today at TaxAct.com. You got this.

I used to love doing my taxes. I could not wait until my W-2 came and I could file. That, obviously, was because I was getting a refund.

Unfortunately my tax situation is no longer like that and because of this I have sort-of, kind-of put off filing my taxes.

Now, I’m pretty sure I’ve already sent in enough to cover what I owe but since I’m not expecting to get money back I procrastinated this year. If you’re in the same boat as me we’ve got two options: get everything ready to file or file an extension.

I’m getting myself in gear to sit down and file my taxes this weekend. If you still haven’t filed and are on the fence as of what to do here and some of the biggest reasons I still file taxes myself and why you might want to consider doing the same.

Getting a Big Picture View of Income, Investments and Expenses

If you don’t diligently track your income or expenses each month there’s no better time to get a snapshot of your finances than during income tax time.

When you sit down to do your taxes, you’ve naturally got to gather all of your financial documents. You’ll easily see how much you’ve earned this year, your expenses if you have any type of self-employment or independent contractor income, interest statements, investment statements and so much more.

Whether you like it or not, doing your taxes is very telling and could be a great jumping off point for making improvements to your finances.

Learning About Tax Credits and Deductions (Especially Important for Solopreneurs)

I have always done quite a bit of research when it comes to tax credits and deductions. I want to make sure that I am claiming as much as I legally (and rightfully) can. This works out great because after I spend the time doing my taxes I walk away with a much better understanding of tax credits and deductions and can use this knowledge as part of my tax planning process for the following year.

I’ve learned a lot about deductions since I’ve been working in a self-employment capacity and it has helped me immensely in knowing what I can and cannot claim as a business expense.

Learning about credits and deductions is important even if you don’t have self-employment income.

Peace of Mind

I think you can tell by now that I like to have full control over my finances. In my beginning working days I’d take my taxes to a tax prep place but was always disappointed with the service (especially at the price it cost me.) I always wondered if I’d be better off doing taxes myself and so far, I think that I am.

I will admit that I’m lucky to have an accountant as a former boss who I can ask questions when I need to but my tax question-asking has been few and far.

Make it Easy on Yourself

Filing taxes is pretty darn easy for the most part. This is especially true if you have a simple tax situation with only W-2’s and not much else. In this case gathering up your documents and following prompts on the tax software is all you’re going to need to do.

Using software like TaxAct (I have used TaxAct for several years now) makes filing taxes easy. As long as you have all of your tax documents together you’ll just need to input numbers, follow the prompts and go back and double check your work.

If you’ve kept good records and have a fairly straightforward tax situation you can get a lot out of doing taxes yourself.

Do you do your own taxes? Why or why not?

Beating the tax deadline doesn’t have to be stressful. With TaxAct, everything you need to confidently prepare and e-file your taxes is right at your fingertips. You got this. File your simple federal and state return FREE today with TaxAct.