LLC Tax Forms (K-1, 1065, 8825, etc)

[Amy E.]

This is my first year doing taxes for my rental business. I have three properties in an LLC with a partner. I do my personal taxes myself with TurboTax, but I don't have anything quirky going on with my personal finances. I rarely even sell stocks that I have to account for.

Anyway, it seems that TurboTax Business (not Home and Business, just Business) would be ideal but it costs about $150.  TaxAct has a product that is similar but is only $50.  However, I found it to be a lot less explanatory than TurboTax.  It did not have links to the relevant tax code if I had a question on a line item, some of the questions it asked were ambiguous, etc.

Does anyone do their own LLC taxes by hand or via software? If you do it by software, what do you recommend? If you do it by hand, do you have any links to guides that can help? The IRS guides are fine, but I do tend to get a bit overwhelmed when I do my taxes by hand. I never feel like I'm doing something wrong where I'll owe, but frequently feel like I may be missing a deduction. I like TurboTax for the prompts that remind me I may have additional money to deduct.

I know CPA's can charge anywhere from $50-$150/hour, but with TurboTax Business being so pricey I may come out ahead by just hiring a CPA vs. buying software, especially if I try to fill all the forms out myself first and just ask the CPA to review them for errors.

Thoughts?

[Ron P.]

Originally posted by @Amy E.:

Side Note: Funny you should ask that.  I find doctors to lack basic problem solving skills.  They are frequently unable to tell me how they came to a particular course of action or diagnosis (took me years to find a good one, and lo and behold he has a bachelor's in engineering). 

Okay, back on topic.  I had considered getting an accountant to do it for the first year at least, but worried about finding a good one this late.  I have a friend that does corporate taxes, but am hesitant to mix business/friend relationships.  Tips on finding a qualified tax guy?

 Side note to your side note: Boy, your statement about Dr's not having basic problem solving skills really brought back memories of when I was an engineering student at ucla many years ago.  My (i think) mechanical engineering professor (we had to take core courses in all different engineering disciplines even though I concentrated in electrical) told us a story about how ucla at the time had a program where medical students were able to take and get credit for some engineering classes.  His overall assessment ( he was a prof in the program) was that medical students were very intelligent and good at grinding through the equations but lacked for the most part the ability to setup and formulate the problem at hand.  Wow, I think your statement is right on.  Stick to your guns, do  your own taxes.  Although I have tremendous respect for Steve's advice, I believe us regular folk (me included) are able to do our own taxes, with a little help from our (CPA) friends of course.