preparing income taxes

[John W.]

i have read as many threads as i can and have some of my questions answered, but please chime in with your thoughts.
i bought 2 srh's in 2012. one was rented out and the other i bought in Decemeber and wasnt finished until Feb. of 2013 and was rented out March 1. i need someone (H&R Block or a CPA) to help me with this. i have always done my own taxes through Turbotax, but i dont want to miss anything on depreciation or qualified expenses to claim as a loss. I rehabbed both houses and spent good money doing so and want to get all of the tax benefits.
so for the question. would you use a CPA or H&R Block? i know a cpa is likely better, but my situation is not that complex (just more than i can think i should do myself) H&R Block says they will charge $219 to file mine. While a cpa likely is better, i dont know how much they would charge. I have heard of some at $350 per hour. I dont think mine is complicated enough to play close to $1,000 for the work. I am in the dallas area so if anyone has any recommendations for someone local, i would appreciate it.

[Steven Hamilton II]

Hi John Winston,

I can tell you that There are good and bad preparers everywhere. When I first started in tax I had worked for an H&R Block because their training program is excellent. I can tell you there are great preparers and bad preparers. There are also great CPAs and Bad CPS. Look for an EA. Enrolled Agent. That is someone licensed in tax by the Dept of Treasury.

A good accountant will assist you all year. I advise many of clients on an ongoing basis. That is what you need.

All of the expenses you inccured in getting the property ready for rent are added to your basis in the property. That does not mean they are all deductible this year. They are deducted over the course of 27.5 years.

You won't have anything for the house that was not completed.

Steve Babiak covered that pretty well.

You can find a directory of EAs.
www.NAEA.org