Changes To TurboTax Lead To Consumer Revolt, Opportunity For Competitors

Consumerist web site ^ | 1/23/15 | Laura Northrup

[ken in texas]

- begin excerpt -

What Intuit did for tax year 2014 is change which services come with each tier, shifting some of the forms to the more expensive versions. They made the same changes to the pricing tiers on their Web-based service for 2013, so the change is not entirely unexpected.

The first rumblings came as soon as the software was released last year, and some true early birds got a head start on their returns. They noticed that something was missing: some pretty common forms that had always been part of TurboTax Deluxe. These included:

Schedule C (self-employment expenses and income)
Schedule D (capital gains and losses––stock sales)
Schedule E (supplemental income like royalties or rental income)
Schedule F (farm income)

Those are forms that most people don’t file. For people who do file them, though, those forms are an essential part of their tax return. When TurboTax customers discovered that forms they expected to have as part of the TurboTax “interview” interface weren’t there, the 1099-MISC hit the fan.

- end excerpt -

[ken in texas]

For those of you that prepare your own taxes and are used to using Turbo-Tax -- be aware of some packaging changes this year. Some customers have found, for example, that while the Deluxe version has always met their needs, they must now upgrade to Premier for the same capability.

Intuit has a comparison chart available.

Disclaimer - I'm not making a pitch for any tax prep software or method. Just consider this an FYI.

[bicyclerepair]

I am too hideously tall for their product according to their commercial i hope intuit goes bankrupt pos company

[headstamp 2]

This appears to be the actual software based program and not the web based setup most people use if I’m understanding this correctly.

[coloradan]

I yearn for the day there becomes a flat tax or a national retail sales tax (preferably the latter) such that companies like Intuit and other tax preparation services go out of business because their rentier fees no longer apply. Then they’d all have to get productive jobs instead. As would IRS employees.

[taxcontrol]

Ok Freepers - looking for recommendations.

I do use TurboTax but so far, my checks, bills, etc are done by a spreadsheet. I’m looking to move to a more automated / electronic record keeping that can easily integrate with my bank and TurboTax.

Any recommendations?

[ken in texas]

It’s possible the web based version remains the same as before — never used it so I can’t speak to its capabilities.

[Captain Peter Blood]

I use Free Tax USA and it’s got all the forms and you can get some upgrades that are not expensive.
Easier for me than buying Block or Turbo Tax.

[Retired Chemist]

When I signed in, I couldn’t start my taxes until I agreed to use the Deluxe version which cost $34.99. I have always used the basic version which cost $19.99. Then my return was rejected because of an error TurboTax made in importing my W-2. After talking to one of their people on the phone, they agreed to refund me $15.

[Logical me]

Dumped them because they no longer support Mac OS 10.6.8. I have thousands in software that to upgrade to 10.5 or higher (which I can do with my current computer) refused the cost of upgrading all the software. Went to another tax package. After years of TurboTax, I’m pissed.

[Chode]

i don't use it but i know Quick Books interfaces with TT and H&R block

[Morpheus2009]

If you are a quality accountant, then you do have a fighting chance, because you can, to plenty of people review the accounting information with personal interaction with your clients, something that I have found more memorable from my experience. An automate machine can do the job faster, but it’s not the same to me as talking to a quality public accountant that I know.

[9thLife]

(related: quickbooks is a study in how to ruin a great thing).

[Clinging Bitterly]

I used Turbotax since the days it was part of Parsons Technology, and I think in the beginning the only product was Turbotax Deluxe.

They produce the best tax prep program I have used but they are not keeping up with the times in terms of product offerings and pricing, and for the last 3 years I have used TaxAct instead.

TaxAct seems a bit more klunky and unrefined than Turbotax but it includes everything at one price including e-file - and since we have some self employment income and schedule C expenses and so forth, we aren't being dinged at every turn to go up a tier in our product selection.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’ve used their on-line service for 5 years, now. Never a a glitch. I filed on January 15th this year, State and Federal. They began processing on January 20th. I received my State refund on January 22nd. Fed should be there soon.

Oh, and then I changed my W-4 deductions so I wouldn’t get a refund next year - gave me about $100 more in cash flow each month...and keeps the bulk of my tax dollars OUT of their hands to squander!

I have no complaints with Turbo-Tax.

[Flick Lives]

I’ve used the online version of TaxAct for about the past 3 years or so. Pretty simple to use. You can stop a session and pick it up another day. Data from last year’s taxes will import into this years. The price is not bad either; $20 for Fed plus State.

[kaila]

I think the tax code is really difficult, but I did Turbo Tax for a few years. Two years ago, Turbo Tax calculated that I owed the IRS. I thought that was weird, so I had an accountant do my taxes to double check my Turbo Tax return. The accountant got me a nice tax refund. The accountant was able to go through my investments with a fine tooth comb ,and it appears Turbo Tax did not. Some of you may be awesome at preparing your tax returns, but I think most Americans are just like me. I lost trust with Turbo Tax after that, and now use an accountant.
I was not officially audited by the IRS, but got a letter stating I owed them money on a 3 year old tax return, the same time that Lois Lerner was targeting conservatives. I had donated money to a lot of conservative causes, and I think that my tax returns got a second look see. I had sold stock at a loss, and forgot to put that in my tax return. I did not wind up owing money, but it seemed suspicious to me that they looked at a 3 year old return right at the time when conservatives were being targeted. Using an accountant will decrease my risk factor, because a professional has prepared my return, the IRS might not audit me.
I really wish we had a flat tax.

[Mr Rogers]

Folks might want to consider looking up “irs free file”. The irs government website then links to multiple private companies with free software for filing taxes. Some states also participate. If you have less than $60K in income and nothing unusual (farm income, royalties, etc), then it can be a good option.

So can having a human do you taxes for $100-500. A decent tax pro can also offer advice on how to minimize taxes, get credits you might have missed or how the irs or state government will view a deduction for XYZ. Spending $250 for a human can save someone $1000 in taxes, or prevent a fraudulent return going in. Sometimes penny wise pound foolish applies...

[Chuckster]

Don’t hold your breath. There is just too much money to be made and too much government power in the current tax code. I doubt anything short of a real revolution would displace the IRS. But you might get your sales tax in addition to what we already have.

[Defiant]

Before I became Treasury Secretary, I used TurboTax, and it saved me $15,000!

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Use paper and pencil.
Why make it easy for the gubmint