Tax Preparation Software for 2003? 112
Aaron asks: "After last year's debacle with TurboTax's copy protection system, I want to avoid their software (even though they say they won't do it again). But after reading some of the reviews on TaxCut, it sounds a bit buggy. What tax preparation software are people using for their 2003 taxes? I've heard of TaxACT, the free tax software - is that any good? I don't suppose any decent tax software works on Linux..."
TaxCut (Score:5, Informative)
frist spot?
I've used TaxCut for years (Score:3, Informative)
Re:TaxCut (Score:2)
As a long time Turbotax user, I had initially investigated their Turbotax-on-the-Web, which I thought would be a great cross-platform solution, but it required a certain version of Internet Explorer. I complained to the company but they did not indicate that they had any flexibility on this. What's the point of the web if it
Tried it, wasn't much impressed (Score:2)
It may just be a matter of taste, but there was a distinct lack of continuity to TaxCut, from my POV.
Re:TaxCut (Score:1)
Get a pro (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Get a pro (Score:3, Informative)
As a general rule, if you qualify for the 1040-EZ, you won't get any real advantage from a professional accountant...
Re:Get a pro (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Get a pro (Score:2)
The thing that most ppl forget is that if you make a deduction, you have to keep your records for at least 5 years. Meaning that if you bought a bunch of books and deducted them as a business expense, you have to keep reciepts for 5 years (or longe
Re:Get a pro (Score:1)
My $0.02
Re:Get a pro (Score:2)
Actually - becareful, the Wall Street Journal annually sends a set of paperwork to 4 accountants/tax preparing firms to see what the tax bill will be. Turns out the ammount of tax owed as calculated by the four firms aren't even close. If I recall from last year the numbers were almost double from low to high
Just remember there are numbers, accountants, an
Re:Get a pro (Score:2)
If however they subtract 3 from 5 and get 4 - they can be held liable for that
Opposite experience (Score:2)
The following year I did it myself with TurboTax - I actually found it quite satisfying.
The same thing we do every year Pinkie (Score:2)
TaxAct (Score:5, Informative)
I don't understand (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally I will be VERY happy to go back to TurboTax this year - TaxCut sucked horribly and I have liked TurboTax for almost a decade now
Moral of the story - company does what I want them to - I will send my business back to them
Re:I don't understand (Score:2, Interesting)
I had the exact opposite experience. Turbotax worked just fine for me. Intuit became a gang of boneheads last year so I tried TaxCut. TaxCut also worked fine for me and H&R Block has little history of boneheadedness. I'll stick with TaxCut - who knows what the PHBs at Intuit are planning next time around.
Re:I don't understand (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I don't understand (Score:1)
The way I heard it was:
Re:I don't understand (Score:2)
Re:I don't understand (Score:2)
I think the axiom you stated has to do with a situation that hasn't changed.
e.g.
...
"Your shoelaces are untied."
*looks*
*gets flicked in the nose*
"Your shoelaces are untied."
*looks again*
*gets flicked in the nose again*
Re:I don't understand (Score:5, Interesting)
Because its the strongest thing you can say to future companies.
Marketing guy A: "We should have a really restrictive DRM lock that requires the user to mail a sample of their blood."
Marketing guy B: "Wait a second. Remember the mess TurboTax got into when they did something like that?"
Alternative answer 1:
Marketing guy A: "Yes. But they did it wrong. Look how they are doing now, didn't hurt them in the long run. We can try to introduce it in the sneaky and slow way which owners will accept. Even if its less than sucessful, we can always bounce back like they did."
Alternative answer 2:
Marketing guy A: "You mean from that dead product? The one idea that sank the entire company? Maybe you have a point, I would hate to follow in that company's steps"
Re:I don't understand (Score:2)
Re:I don't understand (Score:3, Interesting)
It's not that TaxCut was buggy, it's just that, unlike Turbo Tax, (where an ordinary human can understand the program's questions) the questions in the TaxCut "interview" were written *by* tax geeks *for* tax geeks.
While my tax situation isn't complex enough to require a paid tax preparer, it's still complex enough to be easy to screw up. There were lots o
Continuous improvement can really suck. (Score:1)
Re:I don't understand (Score:1)
I wanted Intuit to clean up the software I bought from them last year. Intuit never did that, and they insulted me by telling me that I had an agenda beyond actually getting my taxes done.
As a result, I put an in-house three-year moratorium on Intuit purchases. So I'm looking at new provider. From what I've read in this topic, it'll probably be TaxAct. I've heard that TaxCut spams its users, and TaxAct doesn't necessitate sending in those annoyi
Re:I don't understand (Score:2)
Basically, they ruined whatever good reputation they had with their little stunt. I have no reason to believe that they won't do it again, except next time it'll be less visible (until, that is, you're hit with an IRS audit 4 years later and discover that you can't open your old files anymore).
Re:I don't understand (Score:2)
Any company that comes out and puts something like that on their page AND THEN changes their license agreement to allow the software to be used on multiple machines is a winner in my eyes.
turbotax via the web. (Score:3, Informative)
I remembers past years and it takes me about 10 minutes to do my taxes. I pay the 15 dollar fee or whatever it is and I have my refund in 2 days. Not bad and I can knock it out the day I get my W2's.
If you drink heavily afterward and try to remind yourself that it's not an ActiveX buttraping waiting to happen you get over it.
Re:turbotax via the web. (Score:2)
Re:turbotax via the web. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:turbotax via the web. (Score:2)
Tax Software for Linux (Score:2)
In Canada... (Score:1)
Re:In Canada... (Score:1)
I'm a LOSURS [losurs.org] who brews his own beer. [thebrewhouse.com]
Re:In Canada... (Score:2)
The browser form from CCRA [netfile.gc.ca] is free (as in beer) and GNU/Linux friendly incase that wasn't clear. (Or at least it was last year, and my Moz 1.5 passes the test they have currently)
Re:In Canada... (Score:1)
What is the point of preparing your tax's with Microsoft Windows Software like Quicktax and then switching to GNU/Linux to submit the result. I would like to do both with Mozilla and GNU/Linux.
Re:In Canada... (Score:1)
The thing I used last year, was a form in my browser, that was set up exactly like the paper document that you can file, except that it lead you from one box to the next like Quicktax does, afterwards you could save the content in a file that you could review in Quicktax if you felt the need. So Quicktax wasn't needed to prepare it, or in any stage of the process. But it was still an option.
Re:In Canada... (Score:1)
Windows free tax reporting from my home.
I will look for it on the cira website.
Re:In Canada... (Score:1)
NetFile is a means of filing your tax return with the CCRA over the Internet. In order to netfile, your tax return must be prepared using certified tax software. Certification is a rigorous testing procedure required by and undertaken with the CCRA to ensur
Tax laws never change, right? (Score:1)
TaxAct (Score:2)
Best part: You can file as many paper returns as you need for free. Filing online is free for the first federal+state, and I think it's $7.95 for each additional filing (max of 1 free + 4 additional).
The downloadable version is Windows only. However, they do have an online web-based edition here. [taxact.com]
TaxACT (Score:2)
Re:Tax-cut has online product also (Score:1)
Tax Act is the bomb (Score:5, Interesting)
It was very easy to use and about as enjoyable as software can get before telling you that you owe a couple hundred bucks to someone. There wasn't any ambiguity -- it explains every step concisely, and even gives some tax saving tips for the coming year when you're through.
I was done in about ten minutes, and didn't feel anything had been unclear or "weird." The interface impressed me enough that I sent some feedback about it. (Least Painful Windows App Ever)
I'm looking forward to using Tax Act again this year; it promises to import last year's data so I should pretty much just have to punch in my W2, some money earned on the side, and then be done with it.
btw -- Anyone tried it with Wine?
Re:Tax Act is the bomb (Score:2)
It's not really off the record. They state on their web site that you can file 1 free federal tax return + up to 4 additional federal returns using one copy of the software...
Re:Tax Act is the bomb (Score:4, Insightful)
BTW: for simple cases, under certain levels of income (about 25k I think) you can do your taxes for free on TurboTax.com (or could do it in years past, anyway)
Now here's the deal. I was a dependant for half of 2003, but then I got a full time job in May. I was a resident of NYC for half of that year, and half of the year I was not. I have a W2, and some 1099's. Some business expenses. Some charitable donations. I paid for college. I invested in a 401k....
With these more complex tax situations, it's not going to take you 10 minutes to file no matter what software you use. In fact, in the past I noticed that after all the permutations, where was no way that TurboTax and TaxCut agreed on how much my return should be
(I was running TaxCut on the PC and TurboTax on the website, they've got their full version on the website and it's free around to fuck around with, just costs money to file once you're ready)
I believe that last year, TaxCut gave me a better refund. It's just a question of what items of the tax law the software is aware of. I certainly know fuck-all about it. Until Tax Cut asked me whether I had put more miles on my car for business purposes than I did for going to the store (something of that nature anyway) I didn't know that shit would have any relevance to my tax return whatsoever.
If you have a tax situation of any complexity, using the right software makes financial difference. If all you've got is a W2 then you're probably OK using any of them.
I'd like to see some feedback as to who had a good experience with any of these programs when it came to tax nuance.
Re:Tax Act is the bomb (Score:2)
I am radically pro-accountant when it comes to taxes. Mine is honest to the point of pedanticism, which means that I know my taxes have been filed correctly without any shady "let's move this line over here..."-type stuff. And in the event that something does go wr
Re:Tax Act is the bomb (Score:2)
If you have a tax situation of any complexity, you should consider hiring somebody to prepare your taxes. And I mean somebody with some serious training, not one of those H&R Block idiots. It won't pay for everybody, but if you miss a lot of legitimate deductions, not hiring a good preparer is false economy. And if you're self-employed,
Re:Tax Act is the bomb (Score:2)
running on linux (Score:3, Interesting)
(And besides, they've repented, why keep bitching about it? They do a good job.)
Another reason to use Windows (Score:2, Interesting)
Where does Stallman think a free (as in yadda, yadda), reliable, continually updated TurboTax clone is going to come from? How does Stallman do *his* taxes (assuming he even does them)?
Re:Another reason to use Windows (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd also love and pay well (up to 2x the price of windoze software!) to be able to get a copy of quality Linux tax software.
What would be interesting is if someone made a FOSS project that did everything but the specializations inherent between state and federal [and potentially other countries]. It'd then be up to a legally certified group to provide files [strucured with XML?] that provides the list of specializations (e.g. what counts as a deduction, the various worksheets, etc.).
There is a common t
Re:Another reason to use Windows (Score:1, Insightful)
I don't know about RMS, but I think the software would come from the same place as all other free software: from developers who write code. After all, the free software community has developed all kinds of software, even a whole operating system. Some of the brightest computer minds of our generation are involved in writing free software. Tax software isn't exactly rocket science. The
Re:Another reason to use Windows (Score:3, Interesting)
And even with a small army of testers, so many issues still slip past QA that the first thing TurboTax does when you start it up is look for new
Re:Another reason to use Windows (Score:1)
How about using the online version?
I filed online with H & R block (which is Kiplinger's TaxCut behind the scenes, IIRC) the past two years. I did have to use a Windows box at the end to download a PDF, because their software was too dumb to understand that I had a PDF viewer installed on my Linux box. Otherwise, it went ok.
heh (Score:1)
Security through obscurity I suppose.
The nice thing is I can do the state form on the phone, and the fed form isn't a big deal as I don't own a house yet. One W2,
Re:heh (Score:1)
If you don't notice the $20, why not sign up for a payroll deduction into a 401(k) or some sort of interest-bearing account? You'll still end up with the ~ $1,000 PLUS interest instead of giving Uncle Sugar an interest-free loan for a year.
Re:heh (Score:1)
also, my job has bonuses, of large amounts, that can bump my overall tax bracket up for the year (similar to being on commission). that extra money usually comes back, but not every year. cya i say.
Has it occurred to anyone here... (Score:5, Insightful)
That a tax system that requires spending money on complication-processing software, or having to hire an accountant/tax preparer, is a tax system in dire need of reform?
Re:Has it occurred to anyone here... (Score:3, Funny)
Would it really be that hard to rewrite the command as "Check box C if you finally moved out of your parent's basement.".
Yes it has. (Score:2)
Re:Has it occurred to anyone here... (Score:2)
But instead the government uses my taxpayer dollars to send out postcards encouraging people to buy software like TurboTax or pay accountants like H&R Block to file electronically.
Free e-filing should pretty much be a right, IMHO.
Re:Has it occurred to anyone here... (Score:1)
http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=1
Not up yet, but a bunch of different sites offer free e-filing based on your income for the year. Last year I was able to use Turbo Tax for the web for free. Probably won't this year since I worked the whole year instead of only half the year.
It was pretty much the "full" version of their software, just didn't do the over zealous look into your deductions. I was able to file my state and federal free.
Re:Has it occurred to anyone here... (Score:2)
Re:Has it occurred to anyone here... (Score:2)
Re:Has it occurred to anyone here... (Score:2)
Welcome to America !!
You must be new here. The thing I dread most from our government is when congress decides to "simplify" the tax code.
It's no wonder that things are the way they are. Any country that allows itself to be governed by a committee of lawyers is in trouble by definition.
Yes, of course people have thought that. (Score:2)
This is what we think you owe us / we owe you.
Of course, only free software should be trusted for such a system. Their PDF forms online are a great start, but much more can be done.
I know they learned their lesson (Score:2, Interesting)
TaxAct is good (Score:2)
No, there's no Linux version, but I use my wife's Win98SE PC for it and it takes me less than an hour to go through everything and print out the forms. It's a free download for the basic version, but if you buy a house or need forms not included with the free download the more complete version they sell is quite reasonably priced.
TaxCut (Score:2)
21st Century Income? (Score:1)
By hand on paper (Score:2)
They charge a lot of money for this software. Last I checked (this changes every year though) they want you to pay to e-file.
Alternativly, you can do it all by hand on the free paper they send you, and for the cost of 2 stamps (normally my return is just more than one stamp) you can send it in. It doesn't actually take that much longer because the bulk of the work is getting all the papers you need no matter who/what does your taxes. (Okay, it takes me twice as long, but only cause I do it twice, the s
Be lucky that you're not german (Score:2, Interesting)
You definitely need a pro AND a programm, if you want to save money.
A side node:
60 % of the world tax literature is written in german for Germany.
It seems as we invented the damn thing!
Re:Be lucky that you're not german (Score:1)
TaxCut buggy? (Score:2)
One more vote for Tax Cut (Score:2)
Taxwiz - if yr. Canadian (Score:1)
Quick and dirty.
Before automatically using software, use a second (Score:1)
The thing to remember is that tax law is very, very complicated, and tax software is programmed to work for the lowest common denominator of user. Thus the software is not neccisarily going to give you the biggest refund. And more importently, the tax software cannot give you advice on how to best position yourself to reduce your tax liabilty i
Go With Tax Cut (Score:1)
Re:Go With Tax Cut (Score:1)
Re:Go With Tax Cut (Score:1)
Intuit does it again! (Score:1)
Re:Intuit does it again! (Score:1)
Turbo Tax (Score:1)
State Tax rebate hassles (Score:2)
But, my problem with TaxCut is that they make you play the rebate game for state tax software. They don't offer a combined Federal/State package. And, even if you buy both from their WWW site, downloading the software, they still make you pay full price for the sta
Re:State Tax rebate hassles (Score:1)
The kind folks at Intuit ("D. Jerry") have just informed me that if you buy the boxed version of TT this year at a local store (the Deluxe or Premiere versions, of course) then you will still have to fill out and mail in the rebate form. If, on the other hand, you purchase the download OR boxed version of TT directly from Intuit, then you don't have to fill out the rebate
Paper Form - just as good & takes just as long (Score:1)
- The computer tax software doesn't get me any more of a deduction than what I get on my own.
- I understand all of the questions & what is legal & not legal.
- I know how to modify my behavior for the rest of the year.
- It only cost postage. [Unless you are working on an open source salary
Depends upon your situation (Score:1)
Tax Cut (Score:1)
Some people have complained about the way it's structured, and I slightly agree. It seems to be designed for people that have all their f
TurboTax - Deleting C-Dilla Spyware (Score:1)
Invest in an accountant (Score:2)
A vote for TaxCut (Score:2)
However, my tax situation is a bit more complicated than the EZ form, so I've been paying for tax prep for the past few years.
I have found that typically in mid-January you can begin to see deals for the Federal and State versions of Tax Cut along with free e-filing and including MS Money (if you're so inclined) for approx $25USD after rebate.
It's been money well spent.
Just my
Regards,
Anomaly
Marylanders can efile for free (Score:2)
IRS to make e-filing available for free (for some) (Score:2)