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#1 |
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Recycles dryer sheets
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 61
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TurboTax Basic vs. Turbo Tax Premier
My tax preparer has retired. So, I'm thinking of doing my own taxes this year. I'm looking for a recommendation regarding tax software. TurboTax comes in a variety of flavors. I have a federal return, but no state return. My taxes should be relatively straightforward, but I did sell a few mutual funds this year. Would TurboTax Basic serve my needs, or do I need to opt for the "Premier" edition as it is apparently tailored to those who have stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.
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#2 |
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,906
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Basic will be fine for your situation.
__________________
Over all was the silence of the wilderness - Sigurd Olsen |
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#3 |
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Dublin, Ohio
Posts: 2,448
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Tax Act is good too, and free.
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Proud Vietnam Veteran: Cu Chi 66, 1 Bde, 25ID & Pleiku 66-67 41st Sig Bn 1st STRATCOM - Army Retired Jun 1979. |
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#4 |
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,470
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We only use basic, and we always deal with a huge Schedule D and AMT as well.
Audrey |
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#5 |
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 4,100
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Turbo tax is usually offered thru Vanguard or your local bank at a reduced rate .
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#6 |
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ... ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,835
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I started using Premier now that I am self-employed, but I used basic forever when I was a W-2 employee, and it works great.
Basic will work fine for you.
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:) This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:) |
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#7 | |
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Moderator Emeritus
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Location: Oahu
Posts: 16,785
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It's always good to see a money person retire-- hopefully early-- and even more hopefully not because of what you've been paying them over the years!
Quote:
Premier has a ridiculously unecessary amount of hand-holding for stock & bond taxes. I buy it mostly for the real estate slog.
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* * For more info see "About Me" in my profile. |
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#8 |
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,957
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Last Year H&R's Tax Cut was free. That appears not to be the case this year. ANy other good free software available? I used Tax Cut to model future taxes (this year, as last we are using an accountant). I want to continue to do so using the best free tool I can find. In a few years, when our finances are simplified, I will file myself and then will be willing to pay for a package.
__________________
Every man is, or hopes to be, an Idler. -- Samuel Johnson |
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#9 |
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ... ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,043
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I also like TaxAct.
__________________
- Al -- Always serious, never joking. No, wait. Never serious... Always... I forget.
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#10 |
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,711
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I think Basic should be fine, especially if you understand your tax forms (esp. schedule D) or have past years' similar to use as a guide.
In the past what I have found is that the "Deluxe" or "Premium" walks you through more extensively with the guided interview mode and bla bla bla video support.. BUT in the Basic version you can switch to "Forms" at any time and you should have everything --all the forms you need, even obscure ones-- for a personal return. It's all there behind the scenes in the Basic.. just not gussied up. This is based on last year and previous years with TurboTax; can't vouch for the 2007 tax year version. I file online but opt for the s/w download rather than entering all my data via the Web.. I know TT can "see" it either way, but it's just a preference as I like the idea of having the software to keep for awhile in some local form. |
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#11 |
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Full time employment: Posting here.
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 601
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I just happened to buy TurboTax Delux today at Costco. It comes with one state too (how can you not need to fill out a state?). I've used it for years and it's nice to import some info from the previous year.
Also having it on your machine allows you to do some what-ifs for the coming year -- of course, the tax brackets are a little off and the program used for this purpose does not include the next year's tax changes. |
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#12 |
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Administrator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas Hill Country
Posts: 14,864
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Live in one of the 7 states with no state income tax?
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#13 |
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Moderator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 8,356
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Or live in Louisiana, where the state tax form is dirt simple? Here, you can go to the Louisiana Department of Revenue website to file online for no cost, finishing almost before you start.
__________________
Dreaming of retirement....129 days " - - my greatest skill has been to want but little - - " (Henry David Thoreau, in Walden) |
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#14 |
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Full time employment: Posting here.
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 601
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As a lifelong Californian I am shocked that there are people out there not paying state income tax
. Forgot all about that fact.
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#15 |
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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Posts: 3,941
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#16 |
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,576
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Geoffrey,
I agree TT basic should be adequate. Heres what I did when I left my CPA. I bought the prior year's TT on ebay, then worked on it with my CPA-prepared return until the numbers matched. Then it was easy to migrate that return's data to the current year. I should add that my taxes were complex and I'm a masochist.
__________________
In a panamax down by the river. |
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#17 | |
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Administrator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Pacific NW
Posts: 2,076
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Quote:
![]() Just remember it rains ALL the time here and when it's not raining, we have locusts, nuclear waste laying by the roadside and almost no one has all their teeth. ![]() I also use Premier - the standard version doesn't handle some corporate forms.
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Do or do not; there is no try. Yoda |
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#18 |
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Dryer sheet aficionado
![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 43
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My husband worked for years in Ill. and we lived in Indiana - no reciprocal taxes. Every year 2 state tax returns. The Very Best Thing about retirement is only ONE state return.
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#19 | |
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,349
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Quote:
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#20 |
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Recycles dryer sheets
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Posts: 102
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