bleuze:
I don’t know anything about your personal situation, so I cannot comment on it. However it has been my personal experience that in most cases in which an audit results in additional taxes assessed, it is usually not caused by an incorrect application of the tax law by a competent CPA. It most often occurs because:
1. Insufficient documentation of expenses.
2. Failure to disclose all income. Many times clients “forget” to tell me about that jackpot they hit in Vegas and the 1099 the casino gave them, for example.
3. Failure on the part of the preparer to fully understand the client and ask enough questions.
4. Failure on the part of the client to provide complete and truthful answers to preparers questions.
5. They client represented themselves in the audit.
Be wary of those who claim to know how the IRS selects returns for audit. I have been to many seminars and no one really knows. However, having said that, computer programs remove math errors. Math errors in a return are going to attract more scrutiny.
TurboTax is a good program. And, for most people, using it is just fine. I used to use it myself (the professional version). It seems every year I have to buy the individual version as someone wants me to review what they have typed into TurbTax. However, there a few instances in which having a CPA knowledgeable in your industry can provide a better result than an inexpensive generic tax program.
I prepare a lot of returns for landlords, house flippers and rehabbers. Having worked in the real estate industry for 11 years, including 6 as the CFO/Controller of a property management company before I opened my own practice, I am fairly certain that a competent CPA with a good knowledge of real estate would have been able to provide you a better result tax wise as opposed to TurboTax.
Last, unless you like the idea of forced savings, and don’t get me wrong a lot of people like getting their refunds, the goal I shoot for when planning for clients is to owe very little or get back very little. That way, you have the use of your money all year long instead of it being in the hands of the govt. They are not going to pay you interest unless they make a mistake in processing your return.