SInce 1989, I have been addicted to TTax. I have watched it mature, assuming a more comprehensive role for small businesses, as well as us small-time filers. However, this year, I felt as though the basic version was deliberately dumbed doiwn to encourge users to upgrade. (If you live in a non-state-tax state, you don't need TTax Deluxe unless you want the utilities that it provides.# I felt the IRA section was not sufficiently informative #e.g., about rollovers) and the stock sales section simply showed the magic totals and did not explain what TTax was doing with the info I typed in. This is especially important because coist basis must be reported for holdings acquired in the past two years. So, c'mon Intuit! Make your basic as powerful as any other product; upgrades should be limioted to utilities and tax advisor services.
What's great about it: Painless import of prior year return, as usual; clear, comprehensive display of income sources/deduction sources, as usu
What's not so great: IRA screens do not deal with rollovers; basis values disappear if wrong box is checked (box is marked "uncommon")
Pros: My job status changed this year (switched jobs, lost a job, got a raise or promotion), I bought or sold investments
TurboTax Basic 2013 is another great product for federal income tax preparation. The e-filing option was easier this year, with a link to the IRS window for obtaining PINs. The order of steps would be hard to improve upon. I also like the clarity of the process of calculating the refund amount.
What's great about it: I really liked the multiple opportunities to enter or change information. There were numerous prompts and reviews.
What's not so great: There are a lot of points at which I had to open a page before I could say that it did not apply to me.
I've used Turbo Tax for 16 years now. It's always been a relatively easy and effective way to do my own taxes. This year was the first year in which I had great difficulty though. There were MANY new questions and data blocks related to the new health care law... and where Turbo Tax usually guides me through (I used to do rental properties and depreciation schedules fairly easily), the new health care requirements are not well explained... and several questions that were laden in acronyms had HUGE impacts on my net tax bill. In one case, answering "yes" to a question about "HDHP" (I now know what it is... but still don't know if I'm eligible) changed my tax liability by more than $1200. Maybe i'm just getting too old... but next year, I'll probably pony up the money for a CPA. Thank you Washington for making our taxes so complicated.
What's great about it: Straight Forward - mostly simple
What's not so great: not enough info on the new health care laws
I completed all the forms, but when I reviewed the printout, I saw that no name or personal data had been entered on the forms. I did run check for errors. Perhaps you should have the program check to determine whether all personal data is entered. I do not know how, but the program skipped that section. I returned to the program and completed it.
What's great about it: In general, very reliable, but one must check the final results
I have used Turbo Tax for years after testing it against other products and manual filing several years in a row. I find it easy to use and the GUI and functionality changes over the years have been well done.
What's great about it: Easy to use, good search function
What's not so great: If you go back to a previous section, it does not keep the section answers
Pros: My job status changed this year (switched jobs, lost a job, got a raise or promotion)
The software is easy to use and definitely saves time and frustration over doing it yourself plus a WHOLE LOT less money then paying a tax service for them to key in their own tax preparation software and submit.
What's great about it: easy to fill out schedules
What's not so great: keep trying to sell additional services