Tax Preparation Software for 2003?

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

[elmegil]

Kiplinger's Tax Cut even says on the front "no product activation required". Given that TaxCut and TurboTax have been the de facto standards for years, and H&R Block partners with Kiplinger's, it's a no brainer.

frist spot?

Re:Get a pro

[OneFix at Work]

Only if you have deductions...unless you have a house, family, investments, etc you won't find a professional any better...

As a general rule, if you qualify for the 1040-EZ, you won't get any real advantage from a professional accountant...

TaxAct

[Gildenstern]

I've been using TaxAct since 1998 now. I've never had any problems with it and it seems to work well. It has a very nice interface. I get the 20 dollar version from their website. That gets me the State and Federal versions. I used Turbotax the year before and and this seem almost the same to me.

turbotax via the web.

[reaper20]

Except the fact that it's IE-only I've enjoyed using turbotax's web feature.

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.

[hatless]

I've used Web TurboTax with Netscape/Mozilla browsers 2 of the last 3 years -- with Netscape 4.x under Linux one year, in fact, with no bugs at all. I can't promise it'll still be compatible this year, but it's never been Windows-only or IE-only for me. They might say it only works with IE, but that probably just means they won't give support for other browsers. Give it a try; you don't have to pay until your return is finished and ready for transmittal or printing, and if you make it through the first couple of screens, you're all set.

I've used TaxCut for years

[BoomerSooner]

I use it for my Federal & State and my Business (S-Corp) Federal & State. It's very easy to use and is a first class piece of software. 5 years in a row now for me. My accountant charges me around $1200 to do all those filings where I paid $145 for TaxCut. Plus, they offer to pay your penalties & interest if there is a miscalculation that causes a problem with your return! Now that is standing behind your product.