Tax Software Deals

[MachineGhost]

I missed the Amazon deals (what is "Premium"?), but I snagged both Quicken Premiere 2015 and TurboTax Premier 2014 for $50 net, so I'm quite pleased.  I did it by calling Staples and having them price match both items to Costco.com and then using a $30 off $60 coupon I bought off of eBay for $15.  Then filed for the Staples $40 Easy Rebate when you buy both Quicken and TurboTax together (for at least the Deluxe level of either).  Could have got it cheaper all around with a $30 off $80 coupon for $11 (but I didn't see any) or buying Quicken Deluxe but I need investment support.  My coupon was good only until the 10th so if anyone is interested, time is ticking.  This is good for the Mac versions too.

Unlike past years, TurboTax Deluxe no longer offers Schedule D; you need Premiere for that.

Sure beats the $98 I was charged just for TurboTax Premiere alone!!!  Eat my shorts, Intuit.

[stuper1]

I've been happy with TaxAct.com.  Costs about $18 for state and federal.

[WiseOne]

Decided to take the plunge and do my own taxes this year!  Let the audit man cometh...

The IRS offers free online tax filing.  It's not open yet though.  Has anyone used this?  The price is right and frankly I remember spending way too much time struggling with weird software glitches in Turbo Tax in years past.

I also checked out the Amazon Prime deal for Turbotax.  Turbotax is essentially free if you a) have a refund, and b) use some of it to get an Amazon gift card.  The gift card gets a 10% bonus tacked on.  I'd probably end up using their new "Prime Pantry" service, paying $6 per box to get groceries delivered.  Which I'm sure is the intent!

[MachineGhost]

The free online federal filing is only for very simple returns and only if you don't make too much income and its only employment wages or something.  It's like a 1040EZ type of deal.  Nothing complex.  Same for free online state filing.

I may not get the $40 EasyRebate because it is Staples corporate policy to only price match after all coupons, refunds, etc. are accounted for, but it is up to the individual CSR to know/obey it or not.  I did get e-mailed the EasyRebate offer code for both pacakges but it didn't seem to be available when I went to file it and it will notify me when it is.  We'll have to see.  $90 will suck but at least I got two for one.

[MachineGhost]

The IRS offers free online tax filing.  It's not open yet though.  Has anyone used this?  The price is right and frankly I remember spending way too much time struggling with weird software glitches in Turbo Tax in years past.

I've never had any problems but it is a good idea to wait close to 15th or file an extension so all the updates and final forms are fully in.

[Xan]

The IRS offers free online tax filing.  It's not open yet though.  Has anyone used this?  The price is right and frankly I remember spending way too much time struggling with weird software glitches in Turbo Tax in years past.

I've used their "Free Fillable Forms" for the past several years and have been extremely happy with it.  That works for returns of all complexities and income levels.  It does most of the math for you, and generates a nice clean PDF for your records.

This year I jumped on MangoMan's deal on the H&R Block software.  I think I might get my money back, though.  It doesn't seem to have a way to deal with a couple of scenarios I have regarding self-employment and the disposition of a rental property.  And even when it does cover my situation, it's just asking me questions which correspond to blanks in the forms I normally deal with.  I still don't really see the point of tax prep software.

[WiseOne]

Thanks Xan!  There is a free fillable form version for more complex returns.  I like having more control over the process...too many errors have happened with Turbotax, and I always seemed to run into something the software just wouldn't do.  But if they don't open up the website soon I might just jump on the Amazon deal.

Since I had a CPA doing my taxes last year I have an excellent template to work from, so no worries about forms.

[Xan]

While fillable forms does also do the math for you, it doesn't help you determine what needs to be filled out and submitted. It also doesn't keep track of last year's numbers and automatically carry them forward to the current year's return.

I have rental property, and H&R Deluxe will handle the income, depreciation and disposition, last I checked. If not, you might need to move up a level or two.

I've got the "Premium" version.  What I'm hung up on is that I need to exclude /some/ but not all of the gains on my wife's condo.  The time during which it was rented isn't eligible for the "was a primary residence for 2 of the last 5 years" capital gains exemption.  H&R asks whether or not it was rented, but then never asks for details (how many days being the critical one).  I can easily compute the number myself, but since this is software rather than a form, I can't just put it someplace.  It's really frustrating.

Also, it doesn't seem to understand that partnership income reported on a K-1 needs to have self-employment tax paid on it.

[MachineGhost]

Unless your return is very simple and straight forward, I highly recommend the downloadable software that runs from your computer vs the online style. Burn the software to a cd or back it up. If you ever have to amend your return, you will be grateful you still have access to the software without having to pay again.

There's no point in buying the downloadable versions when the boxed versions costs exactly the same and you already get a "free" media backup.  I also like to receive something tangible for my hard-earned money.

[MachineGhost]

This year I jumped on MangoMan's deal on the H&R Block software.  I think I might get my money back, though.  It doesn't seem to have a way to deal with a couple of scenarios I have regarding self-employment and the disposition of a rental property.  And even when it does cover my situation, it's just asking me questions which correspond to blanks in the forms I normally deal with.  I still don't really see the point of tax prep software.

Stick with TurboTax Premier+.  None of the others even come close in reviews, specially for less common scenarios.

[MachineGhost]

Got the software boxes in today.  Pretty pathetic from what I used to remember back in the day.  A CD and a small single-page flyer in a smallish box?  But at least its tangible!  Like gold.

On the Staples invoice it says that rebates are pro-rated after coupons.  So that means I would only get $10 back instead of $40 (if they don't notice or care about the price matching).  I still can't send in the EasyRebate online for this, so I'm going to send in the rebate form by mail.  I can't find the serial number.  All I see is a UPC code and other numbers on that sticker.  Overall, I would have been better off trying for the $40 EasyRebate alone instead of paying $15 just to get $30 off and only getting an additional $10 back.

First impressions of Quicken Premiere 2015 is you have to have an Intuit ID now.  It was optional in 2014.  It can be optionally used to encrypt the Quicken file, but it is mandatory in 2015 to be able to download transanctions and program upates.  Its part of their scheme to sync/link to the cloud via mobile but that part is optional, of course.  Optionally you can use the Intuit ID password for the Password Vault password, but its buggy in the first and second release, so I suggest sticking to the old method.  There's a new Portfolio X-Ray feature.  And believe it or not, 2015 (R3) is faster than 2013 and I would say 2010 going by memory.  It was a bit slow downloading transanctions the first time, but maybe they had to set the stuff up.  They also revised that clunky, scrolling OneStep Update window.  2015 is good for downloading transanctions until April 2018.  So overall, I'm pleased with it but still want that $40!

[MachineGhost]

Just got this e-mail unexpectedly, so I guess the EasyRebate process worked.  Crossing my fingers here.

Good news! We've started processing your rebate. If you’d like, you can track its status at any time.

[MachineGhost]

Intuit is getting on my nerves.  They're now offering Basic for $0, Deluxe for $20, Premiere for $30 and Home & Business for $40.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-ta ... ew=desktop

Pugstuff, does this software get discounted even more after the filing deadline?

[Mountaineer]

Intuit is getting on my nerves.  They're now offering Basic for $0, Deluxe for $20, Premiere for $30 and Home & Business for $40.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-ta ... ew=desktop

Pugstuff, does this software get discounted even more after the filing deadline?

Premier is even free if you have sufficient investments at Vanguard. 

... Mountaineer

[Mountaineer]

Intuit is getting on my nerves.  They're now offering Basic for $0, Deluxe for $20, Premiere for $30 and Home & Business for $40.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-ta ... ew=desktop

Pugstuff, does this software get discounted even more after the filing deadline?

That's Pugchief to you MachineGhoul. 

ROFLMAO

... Mountaineer

[MachineGhost]

It's really too bad you missed the 51% off deal at Amazon. That one may be tough to beat. OTOH, they have been known to sometimes repeat deals later.

If I get my $40 rebate, I will have gotten TurboTax Premiere for $25 and Quicken Premiere for $25, so I think that beats even the Amazon deal?  But next year, I don't know if I'll push my luck like this.  I won't be updating Quicken again for three years anyway, so no combo deal.

[MachineGhost]

This is what the new X-Ray feature is:

Quicken® has partnered with Morningstar® to bring you Portfolio X-Ray® which provides investors with key portfolio insights from a concise view of their underlying holdings. You can evaluate your overall asset allocation and sector weightings as well as uncover concentrated positions, view the stock holdings within your mutual funds, measure performance against benchmarks and industry indexes, and get a clear view of your portfolio’s strengths and weaknesses.

[MachineGhost]

Does the H&R version automatically populate the 28% Tax Gain Worksheet from Schedule D?  As I mentioned in the other thread, TurboTax doesn't do it at all.  I don't like having to do things manually; the point of tax preparation software in my book is to make sure you are guided and no fillable form is overlooked.

[MachineGhost]

Problem getting worse?

[quote=http://www.intuit.com/company/press-roo ... d-problem/]Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) today announced it is working with state agencies to address growing concerns over state tax fraud. During this tax season, Intuit and some states have seen an increase in suspicious filings and attempts by criminals to use stolen identity information to file fraudulent state tax returns and claim tax refunds.

After working with third-party security expert Palantir on a preliminary examination of recent fraud activities, Intuit believes that these instances of fraud did not result from a security breach of its systems and that the information used to file fraudulent returns was obtained from other sources outside the tax preparation process. The examination is ongoing.[/quote]

[WiseOne]

The state e-filing laws were passed before they thought seriously about safeguarding information, did they?  It doesn't sound like it's Intuit's fault.  And what's to stop someone from getting your SSN and job info, and filing a fraudulent paper form?

NY actually requires e-filing, so I have no idea how they would handle something like this.

[ochotona]

I have used TurboTax online for a few years, and it has worked OK, but I'm willing to look at something else. I can't use Win/Mac installed software, because I run Linux at home. Any suggestions for a Web-based tax software alternative to TurboTax?

[ochotona]

Linux operating system. 

The obvious choices would be H&R Block or TaxAct. But why would you want to use a web-based version? The downloadable software is superior, IMHO.

[stuper1]

I've used TaxAct for several years with good results.  Online reviews rate it highly.

[Pointedstick]

I like TaxAct too.

[ochotona]

Thanks