As I've mentioned before, I'm seriously considering "firing" the accountant who does my taxes.
Has anyone here used Turbotax? Any beefs with it?
Printable View
As I've mentioned before, I'm seriously considering "firing" the accountant who does my taxes.
Has anyone here used Turbotax? Any beefs with it?
Don't know about Turbotax, but I've been using Tax Slayer. Started when they were filing taxes for free for anyone in the 9/11 areas, and I forgot to stop the next year. Usability has been improving a lot over the years, and I've had no complaints.
TurboTax lost me when they tried the secure rom thing back in like '99. H&R Block (formerly known as Kiplingers Tax Cut) for me ever since.
I have to say that Tax Slayer has a more awesome name.
I've used it for the past 5 years, no problems with it. I have to buy the more expensive home business version though because of all the contract work that I do.
Agreed. Almost too awesome...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wraith
Interesting...something about the Web site doesn't look particularly quality. The whole refund-loan suggestion doesn't sit well with me. How complicated are your taxes? How robust are the deductions?Quote:
Originally Posted by Being
Do either of you get marketed-to a bunch from what you file? That's one thing I'm concerned about. My accountant cost $100-150 more, but he's just an accounting firm and isn't a corporation trying to make marketing tie-ins.
My main issues are mortgage interest deductions and stock ownership (both in terms of my actual stocks and my apartment).
Being- Turbotax is actually Web-based now. Though didn't H&R Block have that whole scandal a while ago with pushing people to buy Enron stock?
You should have seen it when I started!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreadnaught
I actually pulled the name off the IRS website when I started. It's been vetted by them, so everything's kosher. Probably.
The IRS has never given me any grief. My taxes can be fairly complicated, but I just punch all the numbers in and let the software figure it out.Quote:
The whole refund-loan suggestion doesn't sit well with me. How complicated are your taxes? How robust are the deductions?
Never to my knowledge. They send me an e-mail once a year around tax time, but I think that's it.Quote:
Do either of you get marketed-to a bunch from what you file? That's one thing I'm concerned about.
I deal with both of those, and they've worked well so far. Your filings are probably going to be roughly equivalent to mine.Quote:
My main issues are mortgage interest deductions and stock ownership (both in terms of my actual stocks and my apartment).
I've played with some of the tax software (though never spent any money on it), but I generally do my own taxes. The reason is that the software is generally incapable of dealing with special cases - in my case, I had to physically write on the 1040 an explanation of part of my income (the IRS actually has this in the instructions!), which the software couldn't deal with. I also had some issues trying to carry over deductions from a capital loss from a trust for my wife.
Point being, software is only as good as the imagination and thoroughness of its writers. If you have a complicated or weird situation, you'll either end up having to spend a lot for a premium version of the software, or you won't be able to use software at all.
If you have a decent handle on tax law, I'd recommend you just use the free file fillable forms from the IRS (I assume your income makes you ineligible for other free methods of e-filing). They cover most common forms for individual income tax, just don't hold your hand as much as tax software.
Then again, I'm cheap.
Loading information to a server leased for Web-based apps has never appealed to me. But I'm old fashioned I'm sure. My information gets there eventually anyway but I enjoy the local software that lets me try different senarios without the information ever leaving my PC. Don't know about the scandal because the only reason my software is H&R Block is because they purchased the rights to it from Kiplinger. I don't pay to much attention to the ownership since the software works as well as it did when it was Kiplinger. My taxes are somewhat complicated because I have investment properties and am required to file schedule E.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreadnaught
I've used the free file edition of Turbo Tax for the past few years, Brandy uses the H&R free file.
Same questions, same format, same verfiication required, same results. Just skinned differently.
I used to use it all the time, until something terrifying happened about 8 years ago and I had to hire an accountant. If we ever meet, I'll tell you the story over a beer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreadnaught
Better Half and I have used it for the last 5 years...seems to be a competent system to me.
Let's ask Timothy Geithner about Turbotax.....
Turbotax has been fine. Tried an accountant a couple of times, and I'm pretty sure that a well-programmed tax program (Turbotax is) is better than the slack-jaws they get into tax prep in season. Ugh.
That's the thing —*I've ceased to believe my accountant is doing much that software and my own brain can't do.
Though I am wary of entering SSN info into cloud services. Then again I already had my SSN/identity stolen and Intuit probably has pretty intense data security so I'm reasonably over that line.
:haha:Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
Actually, that makes a great ad for Tubotax...
Turbotax, with our software, you can cheat the IRS, and then become the Sec. of the Treasury! (Thus in charge of said IRS!)