When Should You Do Your Own Taxes? | Mark J Kohler | WGN Chicago News

This is going to be the first year Americans file taxes under the new tax law. These changes could save you money or cost you big time if you make a mistake. Mark Kohler is here with advice. He's an accountant, tax attorney, and author of the book the Tax and Legal Playbook. So what we really want to know from you today, Mark, is should. Should we be preparing our own taxes, dyi, or let a professional do it?

Yeah, there's a lot of people that preparing their own taxes make a lot of sense, but it's such an exciting time, isn't it? You know, St. Patrick's Day, filing taxes, March.

I'm trying to get excited.

It's like the trifecta of fun.

Exciting for you guys. Yeah. But not the rest of us.

Yeah.

So is there. Is there a general rule of thumb as to who should go dyi with. With taxes? Yeah.

No. I think if you're making less than $100,000, you may own a modest home. You don't have a lot of different sources of income. Preparing your taxes has never been easier.

The president promised his tax reform plan was going to be a lot more straightforward. Yeah, I think he said one page or something like that, but not quite that. But is it easier now?

It is. And I think the trick is you find some software that makes sense to you. It's affordable. I like Tax Slayer. It's simple, it's easy, lots of support online. But find what works for you and then start preparing. And so for that sliver of people without a lot of sources of income, it is simple, easier. And refunds are up. They. They really are. We hear a little bit of negativity with people getting lesser refunds, but in general, they're up.

Okay, so you find that more people are going to be doing it, doing themselves.

Yes, yes. But here's the cautionary point. Now, one out of three Americans have a side gig. The gig economy is booming, and that adds an extra form on your tax return. And it's not a bad thing. It leaves lots of opportunity for planning. And that's the schedule. C. Susan, Charlie. And it's a. It's a great way to save taxes. I love that small business aspect, and a lot of people have that side gig.

This gig economy is something I think a lot of millennials are involved in, don't you think?

Yes. Whether you're selling something online, driving Uber, a little side business, teaching piano in your home. But report it, be honest, get it on your taxes, and then take all those great write offs.

Does it help to Incorporate.

For some people it does when you're making a certain level of income. I wouldn't worry about incorporating if you just have this side gig, but once there's some liability expos exposure and maybe 30 or 40,000 of income, you got to be looking at it.

Right. Why are we hearing that more people are paying more taxes this year? Are they?

Well, I think those that don't get a bigger refund than they expected make a lot more noise. The people that are getting a bigger refund are just taking the money and running. And so I wish that more people that are getting a bigger refund would get out there and broadcast it, but it's a politically twisted topic too. And so. But on average, we're seeing in that demographic of DIY to your own tax return, we are seeing that bigger refund. Yeah.

It's your belief that a lot of money is being lost each year from tax mistakes. People who just miss out on things.

Yes. Over 1.5 billion in unclaimed refunds. People just not filed.

What are they doing? What are they missing? What are they overlooking?

Well, a few things is a lot of people say, well, I'm not just going to file. I met someone yesterday that hadn't filed in three years. I'm like, get in there and file. There could be a refund for you after three years. You can't get it, you miss it, you lose it.

You hadn't filed. You get in trouble for that.

You do. But there's a lot of people that are actually owed a refund and they don't even file. It's crazy. It drives me insane, but it's kind of funny.

So you've got an interesting book there. Yeah.

Well, I brought this to you. You know, this is another book of mine, what your CPA isn't telling you. And I wrote it as a story. Who wants to read a tax book? Do you want to read a tax book?

No.

This is like played like Modern Family meets an Accountant. And it's a story and I trick you.

Give me one example of what my CPA is not telling me.

You know, the side gig, that's really it. See, if you just have a W2 and some mortgage interest, I plug it in your return, you can do it yourself. Simple, easy. But when you have a small business, it gives me something to work with. Home, office, cell phone, Internet, auto. A lot of expenses people aren't taking advantage of. So I love to talk about real estate. The VRBO and Airbnb markets, booming dog walkers, you know. Yeah, yeah. All of that. So think about real estate and online education couldn't be more affordable. I love Renatus for that. It's a great little program, and you can just study online.

All right, Mark, thank you very much.

Thanks for having me.

All right, for more information, you can check out Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or markjkohler.com. we'll be right back.