Frankly, it ticked me off that my TT Deluxe not longer allowed me to take my trivial consulting deductions against my even more trivial consulting income without upgrade to TT Home & Business. I understand they can't give the products away, but it is still enough that I will explore a competitive product for a better price.
What's not so great: Required purchase of Home & Business Edition to take minimal business deductions.
Outstanding product. I use TurboTax Home & Business. The only thing it does not generate is the PA CORPORATE RETURN required for Pennsylvania for my small business. I still have to go to my accountant to have this done for me. I would like to see that form included with the product.
What's great about it: Comprehensive, ease of use .....
What's not so great: Doesn't have all the forms I need ......
This is my second year using TurboTax and I have found it quite easy to use. It walks you through all the steps and provides detailed explanations for most of the items that may need further clarification. I will definitely use it again.
The problems I had were:
1. The math did not add up on one item. I had to enter numbers from a 1099-Q, and TurboTax automatically rounded off each item individually, which resulted in the total being incorrect. (For example, it would round up $50.51 to $51, then round up $60.51 to $61. Then it would add $51 to $61 and get $112. However, the actual total is $111.02, which rounds down to $111.) Then, TurboTax would tell me I made an error in entering the numbers because the totals don't match, forcing me to enter incorrect numbers in order to get the correct total.
2. I liked that it allowed you to choose charitable organizations to donate a portion of the state refund to. However, after finishing everything and before I filed, I decided I wanted to make an additional donation. I looked absolutely everywhere, but couldn't find that option again; it had disappeared. The option to put a portion of your federal tax toward the presidential election fund also disappeared.
3. TurboTax often provides a link to a further explanation for any item that may be confusing. However, there were several that I had no idea what they were talking about, and there was no further detail offered. For those I just guessed, but I wish they would provide details for EVERY item that may be confusing, not just most of them.
What's great about it: Easy to use
What's not so great: Math not correct, options disappear
While I am relived to have filed my federal taxes, I am unable at the moment to file the state taxes. The process of starting and stopping, logging into and out of TurboTax always involved having to face the "keep up to date with tax law screen." I filled it out once and didn't like being asked to fill it out again repeatedly. Also, each time I went back to work on a section, I was faced with a "friendly" picture, again unnecessary.
What's great about it: I was able to do my taxes without a CPA
What's not so great: The amount changed oddly on my state taxes for no reason I could see.