I mentioned earlier that I am forgoing all the free federal and state tax filing software options and paying an accountant this year. A reader asked why. That’s a good question, here’s what I (as a non-tax pro) think the decision process should look like:

Do I even want to deal with it?
Some people just think about taxes and feel queasy. It’ll cost at least $100 to pay a person to do it for you, but it’ll get done. Or maybe you feel your time is worth enough that it’s cheaper to just outsource it.

Try doing it online yourself for free first
Most online tax websites only make you pay for your return at the very end, when you want to print ...