Zeebone

Previous years Ive always just had one or two W2's, so it was easy for me to just do my taxes online through turbo tax. It would take me 10-15 min at the most to do them and it was free to E-file for federal.



Last year I did some work as a 1099 contractor so I have one W2 and my 1099 form. I want to write off about $2000 worth of stuff I got for the work I did as the contractor so that I dont have to pay taxes on it. Problem being is that I dont know what I did with half of my receipts. I put them all in a box and for the life of my I cant find the box anymore. I think it was thrown out by accident.



Here are my questions



1. Should I take my taxes to an accountant or go somewhere like H&R Block, or is it still pretty easy to do these kind of taxes online through turbo tax?



2. If I write stuff off and it comes out to around 2 grand, will I have to submit receipts for it?



3. If I dont submit receipts due to it being write offs, will I get audited for it? I think the number may be closer to $1800 actually. Another words is there a certain number where the IRS raises a red flag and audits people? I've always paid my taxes on time, and have always gotten a refund. No problems at all.



If I get audited and cant supply receipts, what will happen? Fine? Jail?



Thanks for the help.

majik

I would suggest H&R Block.



I believe if you have a record of payments, you don't necessarily have to provide receipts. I could be wrong. For personal taxes, I think a journal of payments is adequate, so list out everything you can think of and see what the total is.



I think you have to pay to use the 1099 feature on Turbo Tax, so I'd just bypass it and go to H&R Block. Try HRBlock/TurboTax websites to see how far you can get, though.



H&R Block, I believe, gives some sort of guarantee, so if you do get audited, maybe that'll help you out somehow. They churn out tons of tax filings, so they may (or may not) know some of your answers fairly easily. When you go, go with a spreadsheet of your estimates on what was spent. If you used a credit card, do what you can to see if the charges are available online, or get an annual statement.



I'd suggest for 2011, using a business credit card for all 1099 related expenses so you can easily keep track of them and keep it separate from personal expenses. Just pay it off with the statement and you won't see any negative effects.

majik

Found: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...1093947AAI5PlS

Complete Schedule C to show the amounts of your business income and expenses. Do not send in your receipts with your return. Do not include the 1099 itself with your return, unless it shows any withholdings.

You put the receipts in a safe place. If the IRS asks to see them, you make copies and send them in.



For 1099, most people do this as their primary job and have much more than $2,000. I doubt $1,800 will flag the IRS, but you never know. I think you've got a 4 year window to pray

StrikeEagle

Don't bother with H&R block, they're way too expensive.

Check out Dave Ramsey's site for one of his Endorsed Local Providers (ELPs). They're personal, good, and have a great reputation. Plus they're almost guaranteed to be cheaper than H&R block.

majik

I don't have any experience with H&R Block or paying anyone to do it, so I can't comment on pricing.

But... from my experience and others I know, Dave Ramsey's suggested realtors suck balls. I wonder if people pay him to recommend them - kickbacks if you will.