Turbo Tax users preparing multiple returns...

[jIMOh]

Would someone please tell me if you can use Turbo Tax to play "what if"
without paying for each trial?

I recall that Turbo Tax provides a bottom line "tax owed" output as you
progress through the input screens. It seems to me that one could alter
inputs all you wish and see the tax impact.

I suppose that once you complete the report and print the output then you might not be able to start a new return without paying an additional fee.

It seems awkward but doable. Please comment if you know a better way or if my approach won't work.

Thanks and Cheers,

charlie

I do this with TT online all the time. You pay to file. You don't actually have to save your what if return.

 

[ERD50]

So TurboTax is $55 plus $10 for each additional filing? I poked into Amazon - look at the customer reviews:

Customer Reviews
76 Reviews

5 star:

(3)
4 star:

(1)
3 star:

(2)
2 star:

(1)
1 star:

(69)

Average Customer Review

(76 customer reviews)


I'm glad I switched to TaxAct a few years back, after TT had errors that they knew about, but provided no warnings or info. Took me weeks of trying this and that, and finally found an acknowledgment and 'band-aid' fix in their forums buried deep. TaxAct has been OK for me so far.

Tax Act is $12.95 for the on-line version, that gives one state and fed efile. For what ifs, you can either modify your return and print to pdf for that, or create a new one under a bogus name for free, but you need to re-enter the info.

I do the kids with the free version (I can do their state on-line through IL for no charge), it lets you print and efile the fed for FREE. The only thing it does not do is save the info for import the next year, but that is not a big deal with the kids.

Looks like Intuit is going to lose a lot of customers. I can't say that I'm sad, I really think they have lousy products.

-ERD50

 

[SteveL]

To do what-if in Turbo-Tax, open the forms window, and look for the what-if form. Open that form, and it will allow you to do up to three variations of your situation.

 

[ziggy29]

So TurboTax is $55 plus $10 for each additional filing? I poked into Amazon - look at the customer reviews:

Customer Reviews
76 Reviews

5 star:

(3)
4 star:

(1)
3 star:

(2)
2 star:

(1)
1 star:

(69)

Average Customer Review

(76 customer reviews)

That said, the vast majority of the people giving one star are doing it more as a statement about their new pricing policy and not the quality of the product itself.

I've been satisfied enough with the product -- I've used it for nearly a decade now, and for an Intuit Mac product it's not bad -- but the new pricing scheme has lost me as a customer.

 

[harley]

It appears you can print as many copies of your one return as you want, which is better than what I thought they were doing. However, I was on the Intuit website researching a couple things and ran into an interesting issue. One user appears to have completed his return, printed it, then exited without saving it as the one return. When he went back to the file TT didn't recognize it as the accepted return (due to the no save) so he couldn't print it again. The file existed because he had saved it previously, but it appears there is a flag set in the file when you do the print. If you print, then exit without saving again, you are hosed. He was saying he's getting no love from Intuit in his attempt to resolve the problem.

 

[chinaco]

What happens if one needs to correct their tax return and reprint? It sounds like its time to avoid TT...

I have used both. For the last 4 years, I have used Tax Cut. IMO - it is not much different that TT.

I am not surprised... it was just a matter of time before intuit looked for ways to increase revenue.

Vote with your $... use software that does not charge by the return!

 

[RustyShackleford]

It appears you can print as many copies of your one return as you want, which is better than what I thought they were doing. However, I was on the Intuit website researching a couple things and ran into an interesting issue. One user appears to have completed his return, printed it, then exited without saving it as the one return. When he went back to the file TT didn't recognize it as the accepted return (due to the no save) so he couldn't print it again. The file existed because he had saved it previously, but it appears there is a flag set in the file when you do the print. If you print, then exit without saving again, you are hosed. He was saying he's getting no love from Intuit in his attempt to resolve the problem.

Rumor has it that for Mac OSX users, it creates a file:

~/Library/Preferences/com.intuit.TurboTax.2008.plist

... which you can delete in order to defeat this nonsense. Not that
I'm advocating software fraud Nor have I tried this ...

 

[thefinancebuff]

I have used both. For the last 4 years, I have used Tax Cut. IMO - it is not much different that TT.

I am not surprised... it was just a matter of time before intuit looked for ways to increase revenue.

Vote with your $... use software that does not charge by the return!

Exactly. I used both TaxCut and TurboTax before. Really not that much difference. Vote with your $$$. Indeed. If TaxCut sees what TT can get away with, it may follow suit. Let's try not to make that happen.

 

[harley]

What happens if one needs to correct their tax return and reprint? It sounds like its time to avoid TT...

I have used both. For the last 4 years, I have used Tax Cut. IMO - it is not much different that TT.

I am not surprised... it was just a matter of time before intuit looked for ways to increase revenue.

Vote with your $... use software that does not charge by the return!

As long as you are printing the same file, even with corrected information, you should be OK. It's just if you start a new file, or if you accidently mess up your allowed file, then you are [-]screwed [/-] out of luck.

 

[Tadpole]

Well I received my "Risk-Free TurboTax CD Try Before You Buy!" and tossed it in my dead bin. I can just see it - About the time you have entered a bunch of numbers, it says "Click here to buy before continuing" or "Click here to buy and download the 2008 tax laws". Ever got one of these? What does it do?

 

[Dennis]

Doing Own Taxes? Not for me..Thank you

Being Self Employed, I used to do my own taxes in my early yrs. and yes used Turbo tax and everyone else on and off the Planet..
But, It also is upto the Individual to Put all the figures together accurately and not make mistakes..and having a couple of Update Books like JK Lassers and a few others handy..

Then Making even one Little Mis Interpetaton? And Bingo! You have an Audit....Ever go thru an Audit? You should.. It can take Not just a few Hours and you done, Try Returning over serveral Days! Not to mention all the stress and anquish overnite, while your 2nd Guessing yourself..
and I was just Lucky not to be audited sooner and more often...

My Audits always came out Fine, just Some Mistakes and Paid the Minor taxes.. but none the less.. It just wasn't worth it to me to Be a " Penny Wise and Dollar Foolish"...

And if your financially able to Retire Early? You should be able to afford to use a CPA Firm or a Enrolled Agent Firm and pay the man as they say.. Mine cost me about $750-$1,000 yr and they do it ALL..

Sure, I keep the Monthly records, but turn them over to them per their Forms filled out and everyone is a happy camper..

and as investments get more complex? You need a More Attuned to detail person than just yourself...that has checks and balances... they triple ck their figures... and then another person looks them over again..

For avearge Income and working class? Sure let them play with their Turbo tax programs..but if your making DECENT $ and are a Pro? Why not hire a Pro in that profession .. Don't be a "Penny wise and a dollar Foolish"

and we all are finanically able too, so why bother doing anything else?

 

[samclem]

Dennis,
Is there a Particular method you Use to determine Which words you will capitalize when you Write? It is unusual--like Reading the Declaration of Independence in the original form (but without all those "ff"s).

 

[tightasadrum]

Being Self Employed, I used to do my own taxes in my early yrs. and yes used Turbo tax and everyone else on and off the Planet..
But, It also is upto the Individual to Put all the figures together accurately and not make mistakes..and having a couple of Update Books like JK Lassers and a few others handy..

Then Making even one Little Mis Interpetaton? And Bingo! You have an Audit....Ever go thru an Audit? You should.. It can take Not just a few Hours and you done, Try Returning over serveral Days! Not to mention all the stress and anquish overnite, while your 2nd Guessing yourself..
and I was just Lucky not to be audited sooner and more often...

My Audits always came out Fine, just Some Mistakes and Paid the Minor taxes.. but none the less.. It just wasn't worth it to me to Be a " Penny Wise and Dollar Foolish"...

And if your financially able to Retire Early? You should be able to afford to use a CPA Firm or a Enrolled Agent Firm and pay the man as they say.. Mine cost me about $750-$1,000 yr and they do it ALL..

Sure, I keep the Monthly records, but turn them over to them per their Forms filled out and everyone is a happy camper..

and as investments get more complex? You need a More Attuned to detail person than just yourself...that has checks and balances... they triple ck their figures... and then another person looks them over again..

For avearge Income and working class? Sure let them play with their Turbo tax programs..but if your making DECENT $ and are a Pro? Why not hire a Pro in that profession .. Don't be a "Penny wise and a dollar Foolish"

and we all are finanically able too, so why bother doing anything else?

It's true that I could afford to pay a CPA to do my taxes. And when the audit letter comes, I suppose I will wish I had. But there's something about paying someone $600-$1000 to do my taxes when it should be a process that every US citizen should be able to do easily and voluntarily without forking over 4 figures of extortion money to get it done for you!! If it's that complicated, then excuse me, it's too complex.

 

[samclem]

Also, if you just fill out a question sheet and send your receipts off to someone else to do your taxes, it's less likely you'll understand how the sausage is made, and how to make financial decisions that reduce taxes. If you are a passive participant as the tax code has its way with you, the fee paid to a tax preparer is only the smallest part of the costs you are likely to pay.

 

[Dennis]

"But there's something about paying someone $600-$1000 to do my taxes when it should be a process that every US citizen should be able to do easily and voluntarily without forking over 4 figures of extortion money to get it done for you!! If it's that complicated, then excuse me, it's too complex."


Re: I agree.... but in the Real World? I guess if you own only Things like CD's, Treasuries or other More Simple Items to have on your returns and take just a Standard Deduction, you can Keep it easy and simple.. But when people get involed in more complex Investments, then their are counter Laws and Rules to keep them from Stealing to Cheating... So Eliminate those and it would be Simple as well or Maybe how aobut a simple everyone pays a 20% Flat Tax.. no mater what they make or deductions they have?

Or I think we ought to have More of the Lower and Middle Class be paying More, since they Want & Use More from their State and Fed. Gov't...Just like they do in some other countries like Canada, UK, Europe, Sveeden, etc.. and that's working out fine too..Like this Health Care Business..Sure give it to them, but better raise taxes enough to pay for it...and/or force All of them to pay into it, like they do in Mass. & other states now...

And something like starting with Them Paying Taxes On their Health Insurance Benefits being paid by their Employers... With the Ave of some $10,000+ yr Premiums Employers are paying now, that's a pretty nice Free and Tax Free Benefit.. while the Employer gets to Deduct it off it's taxes or a Double Whammy on the Gov'ts of From County, State up to IRS levels...not to mention Alot of $ Being lost from No Medicare and SS taxes taken out of it as well..


"Is there a Particular method you Use to determine Which words you will capitalize when you Write? It is unusual--like Reading the Declaration of Independence in the original form (but without all those "ff"s)."

Re: Yes...at best? I am a marginal typer and entry level PC user... Not interested in wasting my time usein' spelled ck or paying Video games, etc.. The PC , like the TV and other things are Tools and Toys.. I don't foucs on the Details, just to get the main jest of the message accross so the other person(s) get the general idea.. It's the old " Look at the Forest Thru the Trees, not only each Tree" ....

and to aggravate The Likes of Acedemic adn Teacher, stikler Types..!

and it also comes from spending a couple of semesters at schools like Northwestern and Harvard..
Knew I souhld have Done gone to Stanford or USC..

While it ened up? My HS Principal who kicked me out 5x, was my Co. Commander in the Army during the late 60's-V. Nam Period..He was a Reserve Col. and I really surpised him when I showed up at his Office..after saving his Son's "6" a few times as well..from boot camp all the way up the line..

;-)

 

[NW-Bound]

I am a user of TaxCut, not TurboTax, but happened to find the following post from Bob Meighan (VP, TurboTax) on Amazon. Is it real or a hoax?

Thought I'd pass it on. The post is dated today (Dec 11, 2008 3:06 PM PST).

Further details are at

Amazon.com: Any Work Around for Printing One Return Limit ?? - turbotax Discussion Forum



Bob Meighan says:
To all... I want to thank you for your candid comments here about TurboTax. I realize that some of you are long-time customers and TurboTax fell short of your expectations. For all TurboTax customers, we regret we caused you such angst.

A number of factors, including your feedback, have prompted us to now enable TurboTax customers to prepare and print multiple returns at no additional cost. Plus, as we've previously communicated, free e-filing is included with every federal return. These changes will be reflected in a TurboTax One-click Update scheduled for release around December 20. As you may know, the IRS limits the number of e-filed returns to five.

We believe these changes make TurboTax the best value for consumers. Including free e-filing with every federal return means a savings of nearly $75 for some of our customers versus last year and a savings of up to $40 compared to our original pricing this year. I believe this now truly reflects our commitment to helping our customers keep more money in their pockets.

We have over 17 million loyal, passionate customers who genuinely care about what we do and who take the time to tell us. Our decision recognizes that your opinions really do count.

Let the tax season begin.

Bob Meighan
VP, TurboTax

 

[Bestwifeever]

Interesting. I got a "personal" call from TaxCut a couple of days ago, which we used last year instead of TurboTax (I thought I had used TT last year but now that I look over my stuff it was actually TaxCut). Ms. TaxCut told me in her prerecorded message I would be receiving TC in the mail in the next week (presumably I will pay for it when I receive it) and that it now includes 5 free e-files for federal tax returns.

So the posting on Amazon from Mr. TurboTax is probably valid.

 

[hogwild]

From the TurboTax web site this morning (12/12/08):

TurboTax CD/Download

• NEW! Free Federal Efile Included — There’s no additional cost to efiling your federal tax returns. Efiling your state personal return(s) costs $17.95 per efile.**
• Filing Multiple Returns? — It’s easy. Prepare unlimited returns and efile up to five federal tax returns (the limit set by the IRS) at no additional cost.
• Want to Print and Mail Instead? — No problem. Prepare and print as many additional returns as you like for no additional charge.
• Efiling a State Return? — Efiling your state return costs $17.95 per state efile.** Note You can efile only up to three state returns per federal return.