H&R Block/Turbo Tax vs. CPA

[Michelle Eisenberg]

My partner and I live in the California Bay Area and just closed on our first buy and hold SFH in St. Louis, MO. We're still getting it rent-ready, but we'll hopefully have a tenant in soon. That means that for the first time, we will need to figure out how to pay taxes on an investment property.

In the past, I have primarily used H&R block to do my taxes. They do seem to be set up to handle real estate investments. While this is certainly the cheapest option, I don't want to miss out on potential tax deductions or do something really wrong and end up in trouble. On the other hand, with one property that cash flows, but that still doesn't make a ton of money, I'm not sure whether it's worth paying a CPA to do our taxes. I have a feeling that the cost of paying the CPA would wipe out a good chunk of the profit that we stand to make on the property.

Here are my questions:

1. Is it worth paying for a CPA even if it means that there may be very little profit from the one property after paying these fees?

2. If not, at what point is it worth paying for a CPA?

3. If I'm deciding between doing my taxes by myself online using H&R block vs. sitting down in person with a cheaper, non-CPA tax filer, which option would make more sense?

I really appreciate your advice!