What Tax Software Do You Use? 202
r_jensen11 asks: "I know this topic has been asked at least once before, but seeing as how 6 years have passed, I figured the question is due again. It's about that time of the year again when we find out how much we owe Uncle Sam (or as in my case, how much Uncle Sam owes me). Software has changed drastically in the past 6 years, since the previous query I found on Slashdot, as well as many tax rules. Does anyone here use tax software other than TurboTax and TaxCut? I know that there are also online forms I can fill out, but which ones are accessible to people that use OSes other than Windows and Mac OS X? I'd preferably use a program that I can use off-line and store my information locally instead of using eforms, but if I have to resort to eforms, which ones should I investigate and which ones should I stay far away from?"
i'm old school (Score:3, Insightful)
me too (Score:5, Interesting)
It's still pen and paper for me
Sure, but it's easier to get the forms with a browser and KPDF than it is to drive to the library. Also, it's easier to add the stuff up with gnumeric than it is to use a calculator. After that, the check's in the mail.
Of course, all of it's a stupid curse. Uncle Sam knows exactly what you made and has the resources to present it to you over the web. Taxes should be as easy as going to a web site and choosing between "I agree" and "I have something else to report" then doing it.
I'm going to continue to use paper as long as Uncle Sam does, mostly because the programs made to do taxes have proved themselves less than trustworthy.
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Not really, especially if you're a small business owner (like me) who accepts payment from clients. Some of the payments are income, others are reimbursements for expenses and purchases of equipment. Unless you're just working for wages and don't qualify for any credits and deductions, it isn't really that simple.
-b.
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If you owe less than 10% of your total year's liability or less than $1000 on April 15, you don't get any penalties assessed for late payment. If you can make sure to adhere to those limits, it's better to underpay a bit during the year and send a final (small) payment on April 15 rather than getting a check back. Why give them an interest-free loan for 3 months?
-b.
H & R Block (Score:2, Informative)
Re:H & R Block (Score:4, Informative)
As complicated as the US tax code is, this is the BEST advice for anyone above the poverty level. It is also why our tax code will not be reformed. There are way too many accountants out there who make too much money on handling taxes, and they support the candidates who will keep the status quo. Tax reform is very much needed in the US. I lean towards a flat tax or national sales tax.
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The qualifier "for anyone above poverty level" applies especially to H&R Block. For anyone needing more, a qualified tax accountant is often the better choice.
The analogy here is that an H&R Block preparer is like a poorly trained Windows sysadmin who subscribes to the policy of locking down users in the interests of job security. Or better, yet, a Help Desk employee who's memorised the phrase, "That c
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The skill level of Block is a little erratic, but then there are scores of "1 W2" returns that are simply too cut and dried to make any serious money for the top Accountants. Block usually does a passable job on these.
I believe the tax code is not deliberately complex to suit the accountants; some of us get grumpy at being dragged into obscure s
Re:H & R Block (Score:4, Interesting)
Doing it myself keeps me informed of what is being taxed and how.
Having a program helps reduce the time it takes to enter the data and make the calculations and find help and forms when I need them. I can get into it as much as I need to (which you might say is true for an accountant too), I have all the records and processes when I need to consult them later to see what the tax implications are of doing or not doing something, etc.
Plus to use an accountant I have to assemble all my documentation myself anyway (all the taxable records) which is a major part of the tax effort - once I got all my papers the rest is not so bad.
Given that, I use one of the major programs, and I don't believe it matters much which you use.
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I'm getting to where I don't use any of the major tax programs because they cop a patronizing attitude "taxes are very very VERY complicated. You NEED tax preparation software" and then try to show they're right by driving you all over the tax code with those "interviews", all the while trumpeting how easy their fantastic linear interview process is making it, and nagging you to upgrade to their premium software. The user doesn't chose what data to enter or what order to enter it in, the tax program choos
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Only if the time saved is worth the money spent. Or if you really have a complicated return (business owner for instance). Or are a blithering idiot.
Tens of million of people can fill out the 1040 form and be done with it faster than getting the info to the preparer. Add this to the fact that two preparers will likely get different answers for the same dataset if it has any significant complexity....
If you hav
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Part of the reason is that we're already basically paying a national sales tax anyway. I mean, where does an employer get the money to pay payroll taxes? It's embedded in the price of goods and services you already get. A national sales tax just eliminates the complexity.
The problem when discussing a system like this is that people feel compelled to bri
Swift move... (Score:2)
It's better to use real accountants.
Re:H & R Block (Score:4, Insightful)
In Florida the CPA association filed a advertising complaint against H&R block because several of their commercials implied their people were better than accountants "We'll catch the refunds that your accountant missed" and crap.
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Maybe not H&R Block, but a trained professional.
However I've had good luck with H&R. Go in the off season and you'll find actual accountants who are full-time employees. Go in April and you'll find it almost all temp data-entry people.
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A couple of years ago I cheaped out and went with H&R instead of a real accountant. Eight months later the IRS notifies me that they screwed it up and I owe an additional $750. Well, good thing I paid extra for the goof proof insurance that they advertise on TV -- the stuff where H&R promises to go with you to the audit and pay for the mo
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Not everyone uses tax prep software or needs to - I just spend some time every year and calculate my taxes by hand and using a spreadsheet. I keep all paper receipts for deductions and bank statements to prove earning in case of an audit. And signing off on something an accountant does for you without evaluating it carefully isn't a great option anyway since you might be liable for
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Hmm.... One can only wonder:
1) Was the mistake in filing as *married* when one is not?
2) Was the mistake filing *separate* returns with both marked as "married, filing jointly"
3) Was the mistake getting *married* in the first place?
4) Was the mistake in filling out the returns *jointly* (or not?) with (or without) one's spouse?
lol......
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why not just use the forms? (Score:4, Informative)
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Once you get past the surface, the tax laws are not clear. Many of them use phrases like "reasonable proof" or "adequate documentation", or doing something by "industry standards", or "commonly accepted methods". You have to be an experienced accountant to have some idea what those phrases mean, and that meaning may change depending on which IRS agent you talk to.
This, IMHO,
Re: Explicit Laws!? (Score:2)
Don't sidetrack down those alleys based on 1957 cases talking about "voluntary taxes"; that's a deliberate mis-interpretation out of context of the word "voluntary".
The basic idea is that people submit their information of their own accord; the IRS does not send "door-to-door" agents.
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Those phrases are perfectly clear. If they aren't then you shouldn't be taking the deduction (and probably don't have sufficient documentation t
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Print the Forms, Get a Calculator and...
Figure out the partial reductions on child-benefits that interact with other parts of the code;
Disover that when you moved from one state to another you end up with Dual Status state returns;
You decided it would be fun to rent that side building next to your house to a guy needing a room, and now you have to figure out the depreciation.
Sorry; software is where Taxes are today. TaxAct, being free as in Beer, is a strong force on the scen
Re:why not just use the forms? ... TaxAct (Score:2)
TaxAct, free as in beer, doesn't require any $$$ for the Federal side. Not all states are equally complex, so you may not need to spend any money on the state side either. The choice was between paper and TaxAct. Unless you like the IRS form of Sudoku,
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I made $7000 last year gross income and Turbotax printed nearly 16 pages of various forms. Of course, the reason for that is because I work 1099 jobs, so I become a mini-little business and quite a lot of things become deducting-eligible. TurboTax did in about 1 1/2 hr what I couldn't do with days of research into the awesome complexities of Schedule C.
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BTDT as a freelance 1099 consultant for the past 2 years. It's easier than you'd think. Sure, there's a lot of grunt work involved (addind up receipts, etc) but it's doable. And at least you understand what you're signing before you send it.
-b.
TurboTax online (Score:3, Informative)
Re:TurboTax online (Score:5, Informative)
I think it's the same service (provided by Intuit), but other students or such like myself who have an AGI of $27,000 or less can go to taxfreedom.com [taxfreedom.com] and do their federal taxes online for free. The program this year is actually quite good from both a technical and interface point of view.
For state income, some states let you do free filing online via their own websites (like UT [utah.gov]), but AL, AR, AZ, GA, ID, IA, KY, MA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NY, ND, NC, OK, OR, RI, VT, and WV are all members of the Free File Alliance, and you can usually file taxes in these states for free online.
I'm a poor student, so my only goal is to get my refund back as fast as possible. Granted, my return is simple, but it took only 6 days last year from submission to direct deposit. In any case, I've found that there's no reason not to file online, especially if it's free.
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Don't get a refund. Adjust your allowances on your withholding forms so that you'll owe 10% of your total taxes or less than $1000 on April 15. Under either of those conditions, you don't pay penalties. To hell with giving the government an interest-free loan for 3 months (actually the best part of a year)...
-b.
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taxact (Score:5, Informative)
already done and efiled - no charge if you go directly to their site. DO NOT visit the IRS site first or you will pick up a cookie which will make them try to charge you for efiling if your AGI is above $52k regardless of how you actually enter the taxact site later.
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I've already filed! And with Direct Deposit, I'm looking to get my refund in just a few more days!
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On line is the way to go vs. software.
It automatically imports all your personal information from last year so you don't have to enter info on your family again. It will also give you a PDF of all your forms filled out.
Also, I usually do my taxes on paper and then do them on line, just so I know what to expect.
I'm a fairly smart guy but it seems EVERY YEAR the TaxAct web site comes up with a slightly different
number than I did on the form and I can always trace it back to a mistake I ma
Hire an accountant (Score:2, Funny)
A great accountant will have a tax loophole named after him/her.
I hope you don't think (Score:5, Insightful)
If you are getting a large refund - look into talking to an accountant that can tell you how many deductions you REALLY need to be closer to break even. My goal is to hit somewhere between a 100 dollar refund to paying 500 dollars. I can afford 500 dollars, and I'd just assume be making the interest while the money sits in my bank account before giving it to the Man.
But PLEASE don't take my advise - talk to an accountant (IANAA) to find out what is correct for you
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Lets start with 60 being a 12% annual rate of return on 500 dollars
Lets move to the government only has your money on average for 6 months - doubling your annual rate of return
Lets just say that I don't plan on earning 10% in the market - some years I've done 25%, I've had a few years of "bad luck" in the market recently
Lets just say the 25 dollars I'd expect to earn in interest on that refund can keep me in WoW for a bit over two months
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A lot of people have very simple taxes: one paycheck, one residence, no real p
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Yea I really am that poor..
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A bigger falacy. (Score:5, Informative)
That Uncle Sam returning that nice interest free loan you have given them by over witholding is "Giving you money back". Biggest fallacy in the book ...
The biggest fallacy in the book is that fiat currency has an intrinsic value. Look up Alan Greenspan's little essay on the gold standard, and realize that you are not free without a secure store of value. The withholdings are a time consuming but insignificant part of the bigger scam.
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Not an unreasonable point, if that IS what he's getting at.
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Not an unreasonable point, if that IS what he's getting at."
Debatable. Gold has value for the same reason paper money has value. People value gold. While gold is finite, it isn't very rare-we could destroy the value of gold if we desired. Pape
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The price of gold is just as arbitrary as the 'price' of a dollar. Having no intrinsic value means that extrinsic value -- price -- is its only value.
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The biggest fallacy in the book is thinking that gold has any intrinsic value outside of its industrial uses. The price of gold is just as arbitrary as the 'price' of a dollar. Having no intrinsic value means that extrinsic value -- price -- is its only value.
The problem that Mr. Greenspan noted forty years ago is that you are not free to chose your store of value. When people are free to chose, government has no choice but to follow. Fiat currency only has value because you are not free to chose anot
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Things are, and have always been, worth what someone is willing to pay for them, and that includes currency. It is impossible to tie currency to an actual standard, because no single thing has the same worth to every person, including gold. Sinc
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Some people take the safe approach out of fear.
On a side note, the burden of income taxes affects us all. If the government is by the people, for the people, and of the people, then why don't we just have them change it to something less regressive? A few ideas...
1. A national sales tax, but not on the essentials. Might as well make used items exempt
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You want a less regressive tax, then propose a more regressive tax? Under your scheme a billionaire could live a normal lifestyle and not pay any tax!
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That might work if they plan on living in a third-world country, but most modern countries don't allow foreigners to become residents without following strict requirements. You can't just buy your way in.
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That's just as soon, you'd just as soon be making the interest while the money sits in your bank account before giving it to the Man.
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So the government takes money from a citizen, then after a year returns it to him or her. To you, this is not "giving you money back"? Isn't that basically the definition of giving something back?
Here's a test. See if *you* can get a stranger to just give you a bunch of money, and tell them you'll repay them the exact dollar amount in a year (so technically less money after inflation). No takers, huh?
There's value in HAVING the money. If the government is holding it, they can use it however they want until refund day (but not paying you a dime in interest). If YOU'RE holding it, you can earn interest on it from your bank, you can invest it, etc..
In the normal situation, if you loan the governme
"At least once before" (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course its asked again... (Score:2)
I personally have used quicktaxweb.ca (canadian) for the last few years, but this year i bought the desktop app because my household plans to file more than 1 over the free filing limit.
Excel 1040 (Score:2, Informative)
FreeFile (Score:5, Informative)
Most of these were browser and OS agnostic last year & a good choice for those with AGIs low enough.
Mod Up, people should know this... (Score:5, Informative)
The result is that people who make less than a certain amount (Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $52,000 or less) are entitled to free software by the "Free File Alliance, LLC" (ie, the tax software industry). During the Bush administration, the # of people who has qualified for this has gone down every year...
The government believes that private industry, given its established expertise and experience in the field of electronic tax preparation, has a proven track record in providing the best technology and services available. In addition, the government believes a partnership with private industry will: provide taxpayers with higher quality services by using the existing expertise of the private sector; maximize consumer choice; promote competition within the marketplace; and meet objectives in the least costly manner to taxpayers.
FYI.
Always found it strange (Score:3, Interesting)
Are there other countries where such software would be worth it?
In the country I live in the income tax system seems simple enough that anyone who is too stupid to figure it out is unlikely to be making enough money to fall in the taxable bracket.
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Then after establishing your bona-fides with them using details from a previous tax cheque/bill that was mailed to you, it all gets submitted online to them, with the option of a direct transfer into a bank account of your choice once it's been proce
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> software...
That is not free. It requires the purchase of a Microsoft operating system.
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I know that the forms for UK tax returns are easier than US ones, but using software was still a better bet for me when I had to fill one in, especially since the online tool that the Inland Revenue supplied could not at the time deal with non-residents.
I was going to start ranting about the US tax code, but this is not the time.
The best tax technology on earth (Score:4, Funny)
It's quite a rush, get ready to ride the mongoose.
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Re: Software Overkill? (Score:2)
Re: Tax Software vs. Professionals (Score:2)
This many years into the program, I doubt it's a fault of the raw code. Usually it's a combination of a misleading interface and user error.
Professionals use software to do taxes. Therefore, a professional could probably bludgeon Turbo Tax into an accurate return. The engine is there. I have seen the interface, and it looks a little hokey. I did just fine with TaxAct.
TaxAct (Score:2)
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I can't recommendTaxCut (Score:2)
I contacted their customer support with a very detailed and specific query:
"When entering Mortgage Interest Statement Information, my 1098 doesn't have my real-estate taxes in block 4. I have a separate statement from the
My Web Browser (Score:3, Interesting)
OpenOffice Calc (Score:2)
(Disclaimer: I've only ever done UK tax returns this way, but the principle's the same...)
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I'll have to agree with this (I'm in the US). I have been using OpenOffice Calc to handle all the bookkeeping and taxes for me and my small (1 person) business for about 6 years now. Of course, I can no longer blame mistakes on someone else.
Paper return (Score:2)
Are you tax forms really that complicated?
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We all agree 1 W2 is a snap. "Tax Forms" is PLURAL, and once you start getting plural forms, it tends to get *very* plural, very fast.
Anyone who says "taxes are easy" simply hasn't performed the activities that tend to trigger the ugly wrinkles. Taxes beyond a certain point aren't allowed to be phoned in.
For Canadians (Score:2)
Taxman [pacificcoast.net] is what I've been using the last three years. It's free, and when you're done you just print off the necessary pages (no electronic filing, which the author says would cost him significant time and expense to implement due to red tape).
Windows-only, unfortunately.
Anybody use Taxsoftware.com? (Score:2)
But I haven't found reviews that give me a warm-fuzzy about trusting my data (and time) to the place n
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Re:How about... none? (Score:4, Informative)
Unconstitutional? There's a Constitutional amendment, the sixteenth, that explicitly authorizes income taxes, ratified in 1913. To quote:
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
Now, as most of our rights are guaranteed by amendments to the Constitution (like the right to keep and bear arms), and as most of the time when laws are struck down it is because the violate the terms of the amendments and not of the original articles (particularly those pesky first ten amendments), I think you're going to have a hard time arguing against the validity of the sixteenth amendment.
By the way, by definition, amendments have priority over the text of the articles - after all, they are *amendments*. Any discrepancy between an amendment and the articles must be resolved in favor of the amendment.
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There's also this [npr.org]. I'm not a lawyer. Punctuation is not the sole argument they're bringing forth.
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srsly. I've never filed a return myself, and haven't had one filed on my behalf since I used up all the college money my dad had saved. Had a regular job after teh college, and eventually filed a W2 with teh employer that told him to withold nothing, as I made less than $7k/year.
Be a small fish in a big pond, and it won't be worth their while to bother you.
Yearly tax returns don't bother me, because the governme
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Yes. It used to be not compatible.
Now there is a standard tax file format [gnucash.org] that a lot of software is implementing.
Quicken and other packages also import this. TurboTax will ask you if you want to import from Quicken. Just say "yes" and then choose .TXF format when it asks you. Smooth sailing from there.
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It's free of additional charge, for those who have already paid the high price of using Windows 2000/XP/Vista. It's not available for real operating systems or alternative hardware, and naturally the actual software is not available for review, just an opaque binary blob. So no, it's far from 'completely free.'
Re: Tax Software Interface (Score:2)
I think I had to make the dialogs go away and enter a couple of numbers by override on TaxAct a few years ago. But once the number got there, it was calculated correctly throughout the form.
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The State has an interest in collecting as much money as possible. This represents a conflict of interest.
-b.