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.
I am too hideously tall for their product according to their commercial i hope intuit goes bankrupt pos company
This appears to be the actual software based program and not the web based setup most people use if I’m understanding this correctly.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
(related: quickbooks is a study in how to ruin a great thing).
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.
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.
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...
Before I became Treasury Secretary, I used TurboTax, and it saved me $15,000!
Between this and Intuit's Quicken 2014 idiocy where control-X, -C and -V stop working in the banking registers after a while but always work in the investment registers and how the program will sometimes intercept keystrokes when other programs have the focus I've just about given up on Intuit. Intuit had seven update versions of Quicken 2014 and still never got it right.
I discovered the hard way I am in this exact situation due to royalty payments for mineral rights. The amount is almost negligible with the collapse of oil prices but it has to be declared on Schedule E and it hardly seems worth the upcharge. According to the article, Intuit will rebate the in-app fee, at least this for tax year, so thanks for posting this article!
I used Turbo Tax Home & Business last year for the first time. It cost me about $100, as I recall.
This year it’s about $10 more, but I keep getting emails offering me a $15 discount.
At least 95% of the software is the same from year to year, and yet they want nearly the full price every year.
And it’s really annoying that they charge extra for state taxes. Not for preparing the forms, but for on-line filing. That’s a rip off.
It worked OK for the Federal tax, but I had a lot of trouble with the state return, it kept telling me I had an error, which I didn’t, and I had to fight with it. I eventually figured out how to fool it and filed the old fashioned way, with paper in the mail.
That was my first time filing as a sole proprietor small business, so I don’t regret using TT, but I don’t think I will pay them again.