Literally just had the SAME experience at H&R Block yesterday. Was quoted $267 for what I thought was a simple return (W-2 + small 1099). Walked out and did it myself with TurboTax for $89. The pricing isn't transparent at all - they don't tell you upfront that each additional form comes with its own fee. I felt like I was being upsold on services I didn't need.

As someone who's been through this exact situation, I totally understand your frustration! H&R Block's pricing structure is definitely not transparent upfront. They charge separately for each form and schedule, which adds up quickly when you have mixed income sources. For your situation (W-2 + small 1099), you have several much cheaper alternatives: 1. **Free options**: Cash App Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax) handles Schedule C and SE completely free 2. **Low-cost software**: FreeTaxUSA ($15-25 total), TaxSlayer, or even TurboTax ($50-90) are all significantly cheaper 3. **Local CPAs**: Often charge $100-150 for similar returns and provide more personalized service The key thing to understand is that your 1099 income does require those additional forms (Schedule C for business income, Schedule SE for self-employment tax), but the software handles all the calculations automatically. You're essentially paying H&R Block $250+ for data entry that software can do for a fraction of the cost. Before you decide, I'd recommend trying one of the free options first to see exactly what forms you need. You can always start the process without filing to get a sense of the complexity. Most people find their situation is much more straightforward than tax prep companies make it seem!

Has anyone worked with their tax software to manually override what the 1099-R shows? I'm using TurboTax and cant figure out how to tell it that only part of my distribution is taxable when the 1099R has nothing in box 2a or 5.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Got my 1099-R yesterday and it's showing the full distribution amount in box 1 with code 4D, but boxes 2a and 5 are completely blank. I've been contributing to this nonqualified annuity for about 6 years and know I shouldn't owe taxes on all of it. Reading through everyone's responses here has been super helpful. I think I'm going to try contacting the insurance company first to see if they'll issue a corrected form, but if that takes too long I'll calculate my own cost basis from my records. I've kept all my statements showing contributions over the years, so I should be able to figure out exactly how much I put in versus earnings. Thanks for posting this question - it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one dealing with this frustrating situation!

Has anyone else gotten a 1099-K from Ticketmaster or StubHub for reselling? I heard they're going to start sending them for sales over $600 starting in 2025 instead of the current $20,000 threshold. That's gonna catch a lot more casual sellers like us.

Hey there! I was in almost the exact same situation last year with concert tickets. The key thing to remember is that you only owe taxes on your actual profit, not the full sales amount. Since you don't have receipts, I'd recommend creating a detailed log of what you can remember - dates, games, approximate amounts you paid your friend. Check your bank records for ATM withdrawals around those dates, and see if you have any text messages with your buddy discussing prices. You'll want to report this on Schedule C since it sounds like regular activity. Put your total sales as income, then deduct your costs as business expenses. The IRS allows reasonable reconstruction of records when originals aren't available, as long as you're honest and can show some supporting evidence. Also, start keeping better records going forward! Use Venmo or at least write down cash transactions. With the reporting thresholds potentially dropping to $600 soon, more casual sellers like us are going to be on the radar.

Has anyone used TurboTax to report QSBS exclusions from a K-1? I'm trying to figure out where exactly to enter this and if TurboTax can handle it properly. The software seems confused when I try to enter the QSBS exclusion code.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my partnership K-1 showing QSBS gains. The key thing to remember is that you absolutely need to report the full gain amount on Form 8949 first, then show the exclusion as an adjustment - don't just net it out on Schedule D. Here's what worked for me: On Form 8949 Part II, I listed the partnership as the source, entered the full long-term capital gain amount, then in column (f) I put the QSBS exclusion amount as a negative number (so if your exclusion is $158,000, you'd enter -158000). In column (g), use code "Q" to indicate it's a QSBS exclusion. The partnership has already verified all the Section 1202 requirements including the 5-year holding period and active business tests, so you can rely on their Box 11 Code O amount. Just make sure to keep your K-1 as supporting documentation. With your gain of $237,000 and exclusion of $158,000, you'll end up with $79,000 of taxable long-term capital gain flowing to Schedule D.

I'm dealing with the exact same situation! Been using TurboTax desktop for years and was completely blindsided by this discontinuation. Like you, I have a complicated return with rental property and self-employment income, and I really don't want to move everything to the cloud. I've been researching alternatives and so far H&R Block's desktop version seems like the most direct replacement. It handles all the same schedules and forms, and from what I've read, the data import from TurboTax works pretty well for most situations. The interface is different but not terrible to learn. One thing I'd recommend is downloading the trial versions of a few different options (H&R Block, TaxAct, etc.) and seeing which one feels most comfortable with your specific forms before committing. Most of them let you get pretty far into the process before requiring payment, so you can test how well they handle your rental property depreciation and Schedule C items. It's frustrating that we're being forced to make this switch, but at least there are still some decent desktop options available that don't require putting everything in the cloud.

Just checked with Sam's Club and Turbo tax still has a desk top version that you download via email. No hard copy so I made one by down loading to thumb drive.