Here's how to figure out whether you should do your own taxes

You have a straightforward tax situation.

That probably means you don't have dependents, investments, or significant assets or charitable contributions, and you don't own a business.

Those basic, free versions of tax preparation software mentioned above were created for people like you, who have few deductions and factors to take into consideration.

You have the time and patience to deal with it.

Taxes probably aren't the kind of thing you should do with Netflix on in the background. Expect to set aside some time to give it your undivided attention — in 2012, the IRS estimated you'd need 16 hours to do all of the preparation work for the basic form 1040.

You feel comfortable hitting submit, and want that control over your money.

Taxes are a big deal. If you feel comfortable navigating the software, looking up questions on the (surprisingly accessible) IRS site, and the idea of having to fix any errors doesn't terrify you, then you'll probably feel more comfortable doing your own taxes.

Hire a professional if:

You earn over $200,000 a year.

Kiplinger reports that IRS statistics show an increased likelihood of IRS audits once your household income passes $200,000, and even more so if you earn over $1 million annually. If the IRS is going to come knocking, you'll want to make sure everything is buttoned up as tightly as possible — and for most people, working with a professional is probably the best way to do this.

You've had a major life change in the last year.

Did you get married? Buy a house? Have a baby? These all impact your tax filing, and, at least the first time you document them on your taxes, you might want someone to show you how best to do it.

You have a complicated tax situation.

That probably means you have dependents, investments, or significant assets or charitable contributions, or you own a business.

Nearly every financial transaction comes with some kind of tax consequence, and the more transactions you have, the more things you need to take into consideration. People who own businesses, freelance, or are self-employed in particular might want the help of a professional to iron out their atypical tax situations — deductions for home offices, business meals and travel, and vehicles are also audit red flags.

You're planning to itemize your deductions.

This point goes hand in hand with having a complicated tax situation. If you have major medical costs, a mortgage, or make large charitable donations (among other factors) you might save more money itemizing your deductions than taking the standard deduction. Itemizing makes your taxes a little more complicated, which you might not want to take on.

You don't have the time and patience to deal with it.

If you feel that the significant time you'd need to devote to doing your taxes would be better spent elsewhere, you might want to outsource. It's probably more prudent than rushing through your filing and making a mistake.

You don't trust yourself to cover all of your bases.

If the idea of entering numbers and talking about dependents and deductions makes you break out in a cold sweat, you might want to leave the preparation to a professional.