another tax return question

[monkatom]

I normally get roughly 12K back on my income taxes. i go to a CPA who may stretch the truth a little bit. Well this year my CPA retired and I was thinking rather than pay 600 bucks to his replacemnt I could do my taxes on my own and use honest figures since i am only exempting about 5K so everything over that goes to the trustee anyway. Do you think the trustee will have a problem if for the last 5 years we got back 12k and this year we only get back like 6K? Will this cause issues or raise a red flag?
Thanks

[magyar123]

Don't believe that it will be an issue/raise a red flag. Peoples' incomes increase, deductions sometimes decrease, if you had children that moved out you are losing their exemptions, tax laws change from year to year.

[woeisme]

I imagine if your trustee allows you to keep 5K of your return, he doesn't get many returns to deal with at all in the first place, so probably doesn't want to be bothered with them. (My trustee allows us to keep up to $6500, I presume because he doesn't want to deal with them.) I can't see how you can get into trouble for telling the truth, I can think of lots of ways you could get in trouble for stretching the truth.

[CindyLou]

As far as your taxes..."it is what it is" If you do not have those deductions, then you shouldn't claim them. In previous years you had them (supposedly )...now you don't.

You should certainly change your withholdings and stop giving the government an interest free loan!!

[monkatom]

I plan to change them after this is over as if I change them now it will effect my i and j i think? Thanks for the advice everyone.