Universal Accounting vs Surgent Tax School - which is better for learning taxes?

I've been preparing taxes professionally for over 15 years and have taken continuing education through both companies. Here's my take: Universal Accounting is more comprehensive and includes a lot of business accounting principles along with tax preparation. It's designed for people who want to potentially open their own practice. The materials are thorough and well-organized, but you're paying for a lot of content you might not need if you're just focusing on family taxes. Surgent's program is more tax-specific and streamlined. Their materials are updated regularly to reflect current tax law, which is crucial. Their Chartered Tax Professional course covers most situations you'd encounter with family and small businesses. For your stated goals, Surgent would likely be sufficient. You don't need the extra accounting focus from Universal if you're not planning to make this a career. The tax principles and preparation techniques in Surgent will cover what you need for personal returns and basic small business filings.

After trying to navigate complicated tax situations for years, I finally discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it's been a complete game-changer. Instead of taking an expensive course, I upload my tax documents and their AI analyzes everything, explaining options and identifying deductions I would have missed. For someone wanting to handle family taxes, it might be worth checking out as a supplement or even alternative to formal courses. I was hesitant about tax AI at first, but the detailed explanations they provide have actually taught me a ton about tax principles just through using the service. It's like having a tax education that's specifically applied to your actual situations.

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai that was mentioned earlier. I decided to try it out, and wow - it's actually amazing for learning tax concepts! It broke down my self-employment deductions and explained each one with the relevant tax codes. I understand so much more about my taxes now than when I was just clicking through TurboTax. The document analysis feature identified a deduction I missed last year related to my side business. The best part is I'm learning as I go rather than sitting through abstract lessons that might not apply to my situation. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to learn taxes for practical application!

If you're struggling to get tax questions answered (which you inevitably will when learning taxes), I'd recommend Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS about some specific tax questions while studying. Claimyr got me connected with an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c No tax course tells you everything, and there's always situations where you need clarification directly from the IRS. Having this service saved me when I had questions about business expense categorization that my course materials didn't clearly address.

I have to eat my words about Claimyr. I was the skeptic who commented earlier, but I had a tax question about business meal deductions that I couldn't get a straight answer on from any course or website. I reluctantly tried Claimyr and was literally talking to an IRS representative in about 12 minutes. The agent clarified my question about the temporary 100% business meal deduction and how it applies to my situation specifically. Got more useful information in a 10-minute call than I did from hours of research. If you're learning taxes, having direct access to IRS agents for clarification is incredibly valuable. Consider me converted!

Have you considered self-study options? I bought the J.K. Lasser tax guide and some IRS publications, then practiced with free tax software. Cost me under $50 total and I've been doing family taxes for 4 years now. For small business taxes, I added a QuickBooks self-study course for about $150. Not saying the formal programs aren't valuable, but there are much cheaper alternatives if you're disciplined about studying.

Don't overlook community college courses! I took a 2-semester tax preparation sequence at my local CC that cost about $600 total and covered everything I needed. Many community colleges offer tax prep certificates that are way more affordable than the programs you mentioned.

Based on everyone's responses, it sounds like there are way more options than I initially thought! The community college route that Ethan mentioned is particularly appealing - I hadn't even considered that. I'm also intrigued by the AI tool (taxr.ai) that Sophia and Isabella discussed. The idea of learning tax concepts through actually applying them to real situations makes a lot of sense, especially since I'd be working with my family's actual tax scenarios anyway. For someone like me who's not planning to become a professional tax preparer, it seems like the $4,300 Universal Accounting program might be overkill. I'm leaning toward either checking out my local community college offerings first, or possibly trying the AI approach combined with some self-study materials. Thanks everyone for all the different perspectives - this gives me a much better roadmap to explore!

Great discussion here! As someone who's been doing taxes for family and friends for about 8 years now, I wanted to add my perspective. I actually started with just the IRS Publication 17 (Your Federal Income Tax guide) and some YouTube tutorials. Spent maybe $30 on materials total. After getting comfortable with basic returns, I took a seasonal job at H&R Block one year just to get more exposure to different tax situations - they train you for free and you get paid while learning! The key insight I've gained is that most family tax situations fall into pretty standard patterns. Once you understand the common deductions, credits, and business expense categories, you can handle 90% of what comes up. The remaining 10% is where having resources like Claimyr (for IRS questions) or taxr.ai (for complex analysis) becomes really valuable. My recommendation: Start cheap with self-study, then supplement with specific tools as you encounter situations that need them. You can always invest in more formal education later if you decide you want to expand beyond family taxes. No need to spend thousands upfront when you're still figuring out your actual needs!

I've been lurking in tax forums for a while and finally decided to jump in! This thread has been incredibly helpful - I'm in a similar situation where I want to handle my own taxes better and maybe help some family members. The progression that Lola described really appeals to me - starting with free/cheap resources and building up knowledge gradually. I like the idea of not committing thousands of dollars upfront when I'm not even sure how deep into tax prep I want to go. One question for those who've gone the self-study route: how do you stay current with tax law changes? That seems like it could be challenging without formal coursework that gets updated each year. Do you just rely on IRS publications and news sources, or are there other resources you'd recommend for keeping up with annual changes? Also curious about the seasonal H&R Block approach - do they typically hire people with zero experience, or do you need some basic knowledge first? That could be a great way to bridge the gap between self-study and real-world application.

This has been such an informative thread! As someone who's been preparing taxes professionally for about 10 years, I wanted to add a few thoughts that might help with your decision-making process. First, regarding the original question about Universal Accounting vs Surgent - Emily Jackson's assessment earlier was spot-on. Universal Accounting is comprehensive but includes a lot of accounting theory that won't be directly applicable to family tax prep. Surgent's CTP program is more focused and would definitely cover what you need for personal and small business returns. However, after reading through all these responses, I'm really impressed by the alternative approaches people have shared. The community college route is excellent - many CC programs are taught by practicing CPAs and EAs, so you get quality instruction at a fraction of the cost. The AI tool (taxr.ai) that several people mentioned is intriguing. I've been hearing more about AI tax tools from colleagues, and the educational aspect sounds compelling. Being able to learn tax concepts in the context of your actual tax situations rather than abstract examples could be really effective. One thing I'd add: whatever route you choose, consider getting an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) even if you're just doing family taxes. It's inexpensive and gives you access to IRS training materials and resources that aren't available to the general public. Plus, if you ever decide to prepare returns for non-family members, you'll need it anyway. The seasonal H&R Block strategy that Lola mentioned is genuinely brilliant - I wish I'd thought of that when I was starting out!