Prepare for Taxing Decision

Before March Madness kicks in and you spend your weekends updating your tournament brackets, figure out how you're going to get your tax return done.

Are you going to do it yourself or do you plan on hiring someone?

Please, be realistic.

If you have no interest in doing it yourself, then don't even bother buying the tax preparation software. Just find yourself a qualified tax preparer and send over your tax materials pronto.

If you think you can do it, don't wait until the midnight hour. For some unexplained reason, things that are supposedly so simple always take twice as long. So leave yourself some time.

While we can't tell you whether to go pro or software, we can help you think through the decision-making process so that your tax return is completed with accuracy and efficiency.

Do You Need a Pro?

"Using tax software is a great way to go for most people," says Rande Spiegelman, vice president of financial planning at the Schwab Center for Investment Research.

As long as you just have W2 wages and a few 1099s from, say, interest and dividend income, the interview process on the tax preparation software is sophisticated and accurate enough to get you through it.

If your return has more complicated issues, like big charitable deductions, casualty losses or loads of miscellaneous itemized deductions (from job-hunting or other work-related expenses), the software programs will ask you enough questions to cover all these topics. You just have to be patient enough to answer them all. In that case, you'll still do fine with the tax prep programs.

But if you run your own business, receive equity compensation like incentive stock options, or are involved in intricate investment strategies like short-selling, you probably could benefit from the help of a pro.

In addition, anyone who has an alternative minimum tax situation or is considered to have a high net worth should consult a professional. Those issues are very complex and may just be too much for you and your tax software.

"You just can't be as proficient as people that do it all the time," says Bart Fooden, CPA and president of his own firm in Woodbury, N.Y.