Tax software deals

[explanade]

This topic amuses me every year. A bunch of fairly well to do people trying to save $10-$20 on tax prep software. Heaven forbid any of us pay full price

BUT, buying Tesla's is OKAY

Well if price is really not a concern, we'd be paying someone to prepare the returns for us.

 

[target2019]

I just got an e-mail from Turbotax letting me know that the program will be available at retailers Friday November 27th.
Their pricing which is always far more than I've ever paid on Black Friday
Deluxe $70
Premier $100
Home and Business $110.

Yeah, those prices are list, and you can always do much better. I've been getting H&B through Amazon for a while now. That is beneficial if you need to go back and download old versions too.

Just checked and H&B cost $79.99 in 2019. Placed the order 11-6-19. I expect there will be an early order benefit this year also.

 

[VFK57]

I used both H&R Block and Turbo Tax. They are both good yet Turbo Tax is a bit more convenient in use, while H&R is less expensive. I will wait for the Turbo Tax

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

Talking to the lady who just ordered 6 tubes of hrr toothpaste on Amazon bc it was on a special deal. Yes I can pay full price, but why??

Only if I can get it on a deal..... like free oil changes for life [emoji23][emoji23]

 

[MisterBill]

This topic amuses me every year. A bunch of fairly well to do people trying to save $10-$20 on tax prep software. Heaven forbid any of us pay full price

BUT, buying Tesla's is OKAY

I was at a mall today that charges for parking ($3 minimum). They have an area where you can park free for 30 minutes to run in and pick something up. There was a Maserati SUV parked there today. Those go for $100k and up. Similar concept to getting TT free/discounted even though we could afford to pay regular price.

 

[gerntz]

Talking to the lady who just ordered 6 tubes of hrr toothpaste on Amazon bc it was on a special deal. Yes I can pay full price, but why??

To be able to make valuable end-of-year financial decisions early that may be missed if you wait too long.

 

[sengsational]

I hope I hope the H&R Block works on my (currently extended support) Windows 7. I ran it on XP when it was not supported, so I expect it will run fine. I'm not planning to move to the steaming heap that is Windows 10. I'm off to *nix land when extended support ends.

 

[Sunset]

I hope I hope the H&R Block works on my (currently extended support) Windows 7. I ran it on XP when it was not supported, so I expect it will run fine. I'm not planning to move to the steaming heap that is Windows 10. I'm off to *nix land when extended support ends.

I've been using *nix for at least 8 yrs now. But still keep a Windows machine available just for running tax software. I don't like doing it online, prefer it on my machine.

How will you run tax software

 

[sengsational]

How will you run tax software

I thought it would work on Wine compatibility layer. But if you asked the question, it makes me believe my plan is faulty. I could always do it on the web, but like many of us, I feel better about having the software and the data on one local machine.

 

[teejayevans]

I thought it would work on Wine compatibility layer. But if you asked the question, it makes me believe my plan is faulty. I could always do it on the web, but like many of us, I feel better about having the software and the data on one local machine.

Wine seems to only work with old XP type software (I still run Quicken 2000), you’d be better off running a virtualbox image. There are free to use Windows images (7, 8, 10), with limitations of course.

 

[target2019]

I'd look for a cheap Windows 10 refurb and run tax software from there.

An emulator is fine, but no guarantee things work into the future.

 

[Sunset]

I'd look for a cheap Windows 10 refurb and run tax software from there.

An emulator is fine, but no guarantee things work into the future.

I also worried that a virtualbox machine with a test image, would not work during 7 yrs into the future, as I upgrade my machine over the years.

 

[sengsational]

Wine seems to only work with old XP type software (I still run Quicken 2000), you’d be better off running a virtualbox image. There are free to use Windows images (7, 8, 10), with limitations of course.

I like that idea. If the tax software just will not run at all on anything I already have, I could stomach a temporary virtual box. I found this page [ https://www.scivision.dev/free-windows-virtual-machine-images/ ] for an official way to run Windows 10 for 90 days. That's plenty of time. As to buying separate hardware to run one program on the latest heap that Microsoft produces, I can't make myself do that. It's not that I couldn't afford it, it's that I don't want to encourage Microsoft in any way, including buying a used license.

 

[target2019]

I also worried that a virtualbox machine with a test image, would not work during 7 yrs into the future, as I upgrade my machine over the years.

I have very little experience with that. Might be something to tinker with next shut-in phase...

 

[Sunset]

I like that idea. If the tax software just will not run at all on anything I already have, I could stomach a temporary virtual box. I found this page [ https://www.scivision.dev/free-windows-virtual-machine-images/ ] for an official way to run Windows 10 for 90 days. That's plenty of time. As to buying separate hardware to run one program on the latest heap that Microsoft produces, I can't make myself do that. It's not that I couldn't afford it, it's that I don't want to encourage Microsoft in any way, including buying a used license.

I'd just download an actual MS windows 10 trial version from MS, and install it on a VM. It works.
Of course I cannot find where I got it from but here is a MS VM

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virtual-machines/

But what do you do in 3 yrs or more if you need to run that software again? I suppose a person could keep an image of the entire VM so not to rely on finding another ?

Let us know what you end up doing as it may save me from buying another Windows machine in a few years.

 

[teejayevans]

I also worried that a virtualbox machine with a test image, would not work during 7 yrs into the future, as I upgrade my machine over the years.

So what, why would you care that your 2020 tax software won’t run on your machine in 2027?

 

[explanade]

I keep tax software from over a decade ago.

It should have all the supporting docs in there but I suppose I can go in and save all those forms with supporting data in PDF format,

 

[teejayevans]

I like that idea. If the tax software just will not run at all on anything I already have, I could stomach a temporary virtual box. I found this page [ https://www.scivision.dev/free-windows-virtual-machine-images/ ] for an official way to run Windows 10 for 90 days. That's plenty of time. As to buying separate hardware to run one program on the latest heap that Microsoft produces, I can't make myself do that. It's not that I couldn't afford it, it's that I don't want to encourage Microsoft in any way, including buying a used license.

I ran HR block software on a VM image, actually works better than a native windows system, I think it’s because of less junk, just pure OS. They do allow you to renew the license to extend the trial period, at least they did with Windows 7 image. I just saved pdf to usb drive and transfer to my native (Linux) system for printing and archival.

 

[Sunset]

So what, why would you care that your 2020 tax software won’t run on your machine in 2027?

I would care if the IRS decided to audit my return, it would be much easier to run the software, than to re-do everything on paper changing the numbers due to some disagreement on 1 item.
Often changing 1 number makes many forms and numbers change in the flow of the calculations.

 

[camfused]

Buy a used windows 10 mini pc for cheap on eBay, or a windows 10 pc stick for $79 from Amazon.

I keep a cheap used sff windows 10 box, turned off, in case my Macs can’t be used for something...pretty darn rare.

 

[imnontrad]

I am thinking of pulling the trigger on this deal. I have used Taxcut for years. I figure if I get even the unfinished version before December, I can use it to plug in numbers and may be able to convert more pre-tax IRA to Roth this year.

 

[MisterBill]

I would care if the IRS decided to audit my return, it would be much easier to run the software, than to re-do everything on paper changing the numbers due to some disagreement on 1 item.
Often changing 1 number makes many forms and numbers change in the flow of the calculations.

You should save a complete return to PDF after filing, including all supporting documents.

 

[MisterBill]

I am thinking of pulling the trigger on this deal. I have used Taxcut for years. I figure if I get even the unfinished version before December, I can use it to plug in numbers and may be able to convert more pre-tax IRA to Roth this year.

Unless you're planning to start now I'd really suggest waiting at least until Black Friday for a better deal. The early deals are never the best.

 

[Paulz]

Has anyone had issues with transitioning the old data from H&R to TT or vice-versa?

Been on H&R for the last 7-8 years, so want to make sure I can create based on last year's data.

 

[Sunset]

You should save a complete return to PDF after filing, including all supporting documents.

That's great for records to look up, and I agree.

I do save PDF versions and documentation sent to me (divs, interest, etc).
I save the official PDF submit version, and the all inclusive version.