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Customer Reviews Collected from turbotax.intuit.com |
TurboTax Basic Federal + E-File 2013 - Mac/Windows
Average Customer Rating:
4.5
Rating breakdown 2,831 reviews
5 Stars
1,829
4 Stars
697
3 Stars
167
2 Stars
69
1 Star
69
Customer Reviews for TurboTax Basic Federal + E-File 2013 - Mac/Windows
Customer Rating
4
3rd use of TurboTax
on March 27, 2014
Posted by: NodNomar
from Medford, OR
Overall, TurboTax is not difficult to use. But there were occasional questions or options that I had to guess the answer, i.e., "Which method did you use to calculate the entry: A or B?" I didn't use either but had to choose an answer, which neither was correct, before I could proceed. By the time I fully entered all data, I owed over $1,000 in unpaid taxes. This led me to use a tax preparer to verify that I had used TurboTax correctly. When comparing the preparer's results with TurboTax the final calculations were within $1.00. But the main issue was having to consult, and pay, a third party to do my taxes because of confusion in TurboTax. However, I do plan to use TurboTax again next year.
What's great about it: Generally, easy to use.
What's not so great: Some occasional confusion about what data to enter or how my calculation was determined.
Written by a customer while visiting turbotax.intuit.com
Customer Rating
4
Not Bad
on March 27, 2014
Posted by: CAandAJ
from Fairfield Glade, TN
Pretty good stuff but sometimes clarification is not as clear as it could be.
What's great about it: Quick Access
What's not so great: Loading software could be faster
Written by a customer while visiting turbotax.intuit.com
Customer Rating
5
Protection and Peace of Mind
on March 27, 2014
Posted by: happyindc
from Washington, DC
TurboTax saved me a lot of aggravation this year. It identified forms I didn't even know I had to file, and then with a few questions dispatched them without my needing to understand their intricacies. What a time-saver and audit prevention tool -- it caught AMT issues on my return and revealed my child's need to pay at the parent's rate (due to a windfall in the stock market in her small college fund). State returns are a bit pricy, but overall I couldn't ask for more. Thank you, Intuit, for a great product that truly meets the customer's needs.
What's great about it: Identified forms I didn't even know I had to file
What's not so great: State returns are a bit pricy
Pros: I bought or sold investments
Written by a customer while visiting turbotax.intuit.com
Customer Rating
5
easy to follow
on March 27, 2014
Posted by: mntmnt
from Colorado
hope it continues to be this successful in coming years!
What's great about it: easy to transmit
Written by a customer while visiting turbotax.intuit.com
Customer Rating
2
Very difficult to use and calculation on IRA
on March 27, 2014
Posted by: disappointed298
from Austin, TX
Next year I will seriously look for alternatives to Turbo Tax.
First problem: I have social security income plus worked and wanted to get maximum IRA deduction. Since amount of social security income that gets taxed depends on IRA deduction and IRA phase out depends on amount of social security that gets taxed these two calculations are circular. I expected to be able to deduct $6500 but Turbo Tax indicated that it was only $5060. Using the IRS forms and plugging in Turbo Tax numbers I got $6100. Since the calculation is circular expect that I would eventually get to $6500. Spent an entire day on this and could not find a way to change. In the end I switched to a Roth IRA instead.
Next problem was with sales tax deduction. Not clear that local tax is included in estimate. I bought a new car which only had state sales tax. Plus used Turbo Tax estimator to calculate sales tax. The estimated sales tax should include local taxes (2%) as well. When I tried to see this in the editor, it was very confusing since the first screen presented only the estimated state tax and not the local tax. The total include estimated sales tax plus state tax on car plus local tax. I could only tell this by using IRS sales tax calculator. The IRS calculator displays the results in an extremely informative way.
Now I'm trying to determine if I can still convert a traditional IRA to a Roth or if the deadline has already passed. When I go to help center someone has asked my question "can I still convert from traditional ira to roth for 2013." But the answer just references an IRS publication and discusses recharacterizing the IRA. Guess I spend tomorrow researching this simple question.
Also had a major problem with entering information for ESPP stock that I sold. Turbo tax did not have a place to enter regular income that was included in stock transaction. Turbo tax included this incorrectly as capital gains.
I've used tax preparation software for 23 years now and the information seems to get worse overtime. Seems that software is designed to hide the details and it is extremely difficult to understand whether the product is working correctly.
What's great about it: Puts numbers in tax forms and selects tax forms
What's not so great: Very difficult to use calculations don't seem correct
Pros: I bought or sold investments
Written by a customer while visiting turbotax.intuit.com
Customer Rating
3
Good do it yourself tax program
on March 28, 2014
Posted by: jfja
from california
2013 version was difficult to install and for first time after years of using turbo tax trouble free was quite frustrated with this version. Could not get CD disc to load, kept geeting error message and no online assistance available to address issue. Downloads of updates also kept bringing up error and after following instructions for solution it would not correct itself and could not file electronically without the updates. It was the first year I have had such trouble with turbo tax. All other years it has been basically zero problems. Not sure what was different this year with the software but hope it gets addressed. I was running on Windows 7 this year and in past years was running windows xp. The Turbo Tax Program itself is great, just had problems loading this year.
What's great about it: Easy and user friendly
Written by a customer while visiting turbotax.intuit.com
Customer Rating
1
Promoted to the level of incompetence
on March 28, 2014
Posted by: EastTex
from East Texas
I have used the program for 14 years. At first it annoyed me by loading extra junk that was hard to uninstall at the end of tax season, but it got much better over the years. Now, this year, it became almost useless to enter the same data I had been loading for years except for the actual numbers. The separation of 1099-MISC from the rental data was most confusing. Whether the use of new pin numbers was driven by IRS or not, the lack of warning that there was something amiss with the furnished 2012 pins for 2013 until after e-filing and rejection is unconscionable. I will be looking for an alternative next year.
What's great about it: Nothing to distinguish it
What's not so great: Frustrating changes year to year in the presentation
Written by a customer while visiting turbotax.intuit.com
Customer Rating
4
on March 28, 2014
Posted by: Clarion
from Pittsburgh, PA
I thought this product was awesome. I only wish the fee options were more clearly outlined.
Written by a customer while visiting turbotax.intuit.com