Anyone used TurboTax (or similar) to do their taxes?

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2k2_zx2

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 13, 2003
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The wife and I are considering using TurboTax or the H&R Tax software to do our taxes this year. Our tax guy that we normally go to is $70 and we think for $40 we can buy the software to do ourselves, both State and Federal.

We didnt know if those software packages are worth the $$$ and produce accurate results or if it was worth it to spend almost double the software price to have them done. We see those packages for sale every year and almost go with them and I think this might be the year that we actually buy one of them.

What are the Pros and Cons of those software packages and which one would be the best one to get for a 2-person household with no kids or dependents?

Someone out there has had to have used these before and we want to know what your opinion is.

Thanks
 
I've been doing my taxes with Turbotax or Taxcut every year since around 93-94. Never had a problem yet.
 
Used Turbotax every year for years. Beats hauling records somewhere and then finding more. Back panel shows difs between versions. No sense paying for more than you need. Plus stores sometimes give discounts on other programs w/combo purchase.
 
Yeah, the hauling of all the paperwork really sucks, since our guy is 15 miles away, one year we forgot some paperwork by accident and had to reschedule and find the paperwork he needed. Would be easier to have it all at the house and pull it up as needed.

So Turbotax seems the one to go with?
 
I use it every year...you dont even need to go to the store...go right to www.turbotax.com and you can do it right online.....

I did mine on the 14th, filed electronicly, and they will be depositing my money in my bank,on the 27th....Total cost 39.95......same as in the store....

If you dont want to use a credit card, they will even deduct the fee from your refund...( I think that cost more though )
 
turbotax for the win..... for military it was free. already got my state check yesterday.. woot:D
 
We also use turbo tax.

The above posts are all correct, but one thing that I really like about doing them myself with turbo tax is that I can figure out which way is more beneficial.

Itemized vs standard deductions, who claims children, etc etc. ( I know some might not apply)

I won't say how much I usually get back, but I am one of those people who actually likes tax time :)
 
I use Turbotax, and when I am finished, I back it up on a CD. Then, I clean any traces of it off my machine just because I'm paranoid. Anyway, it is a good product, especially after the first year because it uses the previous year's tax information to fill out the basic information on the forms. That saves a lot of time and effort. Also, it checks itself for errors at the end, and it gives you the option to electronically file as soon as you finish.
 
I have used TurnoTax for several years and only have one problem. If you itemize deductions on your federal return you have to report refunds of state tax (form 1099-G). OK... fair enough. But elsewhere in the software it asks if you have any form 1099-G income? If you report your 1099-G income from the the state refund twice you pay tax on that money twice.
 
it's really a matter of "application".

1. if your income is based on w2's and you'll be filing either 1040EZ (no deductions, just filing taxes plain&simple for under $100k total household income) or 1040 (if you have deductions/investments/etc) you can:
a. buy the software, but it only makes your forms look nice.
or
b. do it yourself. filing taxes is FREE! here's a guide how:
http://taxes.about.com/od/2005taxes/a/2005_Form1040ez.htm
^also check out the left links, they're VERY helpful.

they even link you to the forms you need.

2. if your income is self employment, etc. you really should have a CPA do your taxes. i've had both w2's & 1099/self employ and TRUST ME, the software sux when it comes to anything other than 1040EZ/1040.

think about it both the state+fed just wants you to fill out a form. so if you want the form to look nice, buy the software. but really, even the irs.gov is uploading pdf files with forms built in for you to fill, ultimately it's NOT THAT COMPLICATED if you're only 1040.
 
This year Taxcut is offering an online version that filed my federal return for free. State filing is available for 25 dollars - less than the boxed version.I used the boxed version last year and they are basically the same, just cheaper :)
 
Used Turbotax for the first time this year and it was great. The best part is that I got to use the program for free since I qualified for eic credit. I ended up with free turbotax and free e-file. I only needed federal filing though. Not sure how it works with the state taxes. I recieved my refund in 10 days.
 
I use Tax Cut. Working in I.T. and haviing first hand experience dealing with Intuit, I despise Intuit and will never use any of their software. Let those who are familiar with their practices be known.
 
JediFonger said:
efile is actually free to all =). irs.gov says so.
Click to expand...


Not when you use turbotax.


I used turbotax for the first time this year, I like it.


Also in the program this year it said something about not being able to do 1040EZ forms.

It has all the bells and whistles to do the 1099s and stuff, why not use them, if self employed?
 
1040ez is all about people who only has w2 and that's it. for people that donate to churches or have deductions it's 1040 regular.

re: turbotax, i'm thinking about buying the software. either that or taxcut. once you finish filling out the form. do you print it and send it like a normal file or can you connect to a server and ftp or e-file it via the desktop software?

if it's just a form i'll need to print out and send it that makes the desktop software useless. the purpose of using a computer to do taxes isn't just to simply stuff, it's e-file utlimately. if it can't do e-file fromt he desktop software, then i'll just do it by hand or use free e-file from irs.gov. it's not that complicated.
 
JediFonger said:
re: turbotax, i'm thinking about buying the software. either that or taxcut. once you finish filling out the form. do you print it and send it like a normal file or can you connect to a server and ftp or e-file it via the desktop software?
Click to expand...

You can choose to efile or print it out, but I'm not sure why you'd want to do the latter unless you were really really paranoid about PC insecurities.

You can get turbotax federal with free efiling. Just go to irs.gov and follow the links. I did it last weekend and only had to pay $25 for state filing. They'll really really try to get you to 'upgrade' to basic though, but I didn't need it (only have W2s and a few simple deductions.) I also used it last year (got basic free through my employer) and it was pretty much the same. My state refund came within 7 days, federal should be here this week. :)
 
oh, ok thx iang =).

why are there new version of the software if it's the same every year? couldn't people just download a patch/update to get new laws? is it true that intui doesn't let you do that but H&R do?

once one gets the desktop software, wouldn't it make sense to keep using it until your economic status changes?
 
JediFonger said:
oh, ok thx iang =).

why are there new version of the software if it's the same every year? couldn't people just download a patch/update to get new laws? is it true that intui doesn't let you do that but H&R do?

once one gets the desktop software, wouldn't it make sense to keep using it until your economic status changes?
Click to expand...

The desktop software can only be used for one year, and I think only a certain number of returns (likely limited to one household address, but not sure.) The software does change from year-to-year, there's different tax rates, rules etc but I don't think the base product changes much. Why do they make you pay each year? To make more money.

Also, the free-file online versions can only be found through the irs website - I guess the irs makes them offer a free version, but they don't have to advertise it anywhere.
 
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