You can't go wrong with Turbo Tax. As a CPA, I know what to look for so this program helps me along. Most "normal" taxpayers without a lot of unusual "stuff" can file with Turbo Tax without problems. If you are involved with a divorce or have sold several homes or have similar "unusual" transactions, seeing a pro, is probably money well spent. You can print out a return from Turbo tax and share it with your advisor--a quick and dirty review, might be money well spent.
Pros: My job status changed this year (switched jobs, lost a job, got a raise or promotion)
Had difficulty e-filing because validation failed initially and transmission did not go through. Sent a question about this and immediately received four suggested solutions. The first solution worked, and I was then able to e-file. It appears to have been (given messages on the message board) a common problem with Macs this year.
As noted above, I had to work to figure out what to do with short term and long term capital gains and losses (transactions). I think that wasn't your fault -- IRS changed the procedure. But I finally figured it out and got it done. I also had trouble with trying to fix a dividend entry where $0.00 was required in one of two places. I tried to save time by putting 0.00 in both places and couldn't get rid of the one I didn't need. The program wanted to follow up on the unneeded entry and I just had to wait until the new software download for that to be fixed. Otherwise, painless. Thank you!
I have tried a few others over the past 10 years or so but always come back to Turbo Tax. After spending years of filing by paper and the hours it took it is a real pleasure to use Turbo Tax. Easy to use and everything is explained in simple to understand terms. Other software seems cumbersome and very difficult to navigate.
Pros: My job status changed this year (switched jobs, lost a job, got a raise or promotion), I moved