[bspn]

> Don’t you pay TurboTax?

Yes, but the cost is significantly less. When I first moved to the US I used a tax accountant because I didn't know any better and it cost me ~$500 a year (this was in New York). I now file using either TurboTax or TaxAct and my costs are typically in the $60-70 range depending on which tier of service I select.

Is it more work? Arguably yes, but I enjoy the freedom of being able to do it all from the comfort of my sofa and the tools have improved to such an extent that it rarely takes me more than half an hour start-to-finish.

Real estate is obviously a very different proposition to tax filing, but if disruptors can cut out some of the fat/overhead to bring the costs down I think it would be appealing to a wide range of people.

[FireBeyond]

Or you can get the worst of both worlds (looking at you H+R Block), where you pay accountant prices for someone to walk through what is essentially a customized version of something like Turbo Tax.

When I moved to the US I used them, once. I had just arrived, was working from home, had bought a hybrid vehicle, my spouse was a student.

I/we literally sat there with someone entirely clueless as she read questions off a screen.

"Okay, for Item X, how much do you want to claim?"

"What can I claim?"

"What do you mean?"

"As in, what is claimable, what isn't?"

"I'm not sure."

"So why am I paying you to prepare my taxes?"

[smsm42]

Yeah, the shops like H&R looks like people there literally are just typing in numbers into forms on screen with zero added value. I got the same impression when I talked to them, fortunately I discovered it before paying them. OTOH, there are real professionals which gave me excellent advice over the years and saved me a bunch of money. They are usually independent CPAs and not part of any large franchise like H&R. Otherwise I just use TurboTax - no reason to pay anybody for typing I could do myself.