what free tax return service do you use?

[Beryl]

Intuit has generated an amazing amount of negative sentiment in recent years and, more than other companies, disregards user concerns.

Not good. They probably have the largest market share, largely due to repeat users. Maybe it is time for me to check out the competition now that I'm retired and have more time to experiment and re-enter data.

 

[W2R]

I'll look into Vanguard. Do you need an account there?

If I am not mistaken (which is always possible/likely), you have to be a Flagship customer at Vanguard to get free TT, and you have to have over $1,000,000 at Vanguard to qualify as a Flagship customer.

I buy mine at Best Buy.

 

[Beryl]

If I am not mistaken (which is always possible/likely), you have to be a Flagship customer at Vanguard to get free TT, and you have to have over $1,000,000 at Vanguard to qualify as a Flagship customer.

I buy mine at Best Buy.

Dang! You only need $500K at Fidelity to special benefits. I'll be picking up mine on a Costco run.

 

[ERD50]

Has anyone compared TT with Taxact?

You can probably search those terms and my screen name for the full story a few years back, but I used TT until a bug affected me, and their 'help' was unbelievably poor. They knew about the bug, but rather than tell you, they let me spend hours and hours searching their forums to stumble upon a work-around.

So I switched to TaxAct online. It seems fine, but I have not knowingly run across a bug so I have no idea if TaxAct would deal with it any better.

I have no problem paying for 'Deluxe' tax software that costs less than .1% of my average tax liability.

+1. Free is good, but (unless these free programs are different), the free versions I used don't store any data from one year to the next. So you need to do a lot of entering, and there is the opportunity for a mistake. $14 is fine by me.

-ERD50

 

[Ronnieboy]

Dang! You only need $500K at Fidelity to special benefits. I'll be picking up mine on a Costco run.

Make sure you wait for the coupon at Costco that starts 1/5/12 I believe

 

[veremchuka]

I go to the library when AARP does free returns for anyone 60+. You don't have to be an AARP member.

2 years ago I used TT and found it amazingly easy to use. I calced my federal and state taxes then went to the AARP people. I was surprised that it came out the same. Now they know what they are doing and I don't but I was able to use TT to get it right. That amazed me because I learned a long time ago to never do my taxes! It's not that they are that complex because they are not but I can't understand the IRS directions. Maybe if they used English to explain things... Maybe if the tax code was simpler...

 

[easysurfer]

If you make charitable donations, do the software besides TT, have something like Intuit's Itsdeductible website?

TurboTax® ItsDeductible Online - Track Charitable Donations for Tax Deductions.

A little while ago, I finished entering all my charitable donations in 2011 in Itsdeductible. I like the way TT just imports the entries from Itsdeductible.

Got my ducks in line, so when the time comes (in Feb, after football season), I'll install TT and file the taxes as painlessly as possible.

 

[MichaelB]

If you make charitable donations, do the software besides TT, have something like Intuit's Itsdeductible website?

TurboTax® ItsDeductible Online - Track Charitable Donations for Tax Deductions.

A little while ago, I finished entering all my charitable donations in 2011 in Itsdeductible. I like the way TT just imports the entries from Itsdeductible.

Got my ducks in line, so when the time comes (in Feb, after football season), I'll install TT and file the taxes as painlessly as possible.

Thanks for the link. The Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries also publish thrift shop values for commonly donated items, and both are accepted by the IRS.

 

[mickj]

got a cd with free state and federal with e-file returns in the mail this year for taxcut.. nice

 

[meekie]

Has anyone compared TT with Taxact?

Quite a few years ago I did my taxes with the online versions of each. TT gave me more back than Taxact, and I don't think I was able to track down why. I'm sure it varies from year to year. Once I had all the papers together, it didn't take me long to do them in both softwares.

(full disclosure) My hubby is working for intuit now, but it sounds like they're really stepping up their support options this year. Their iphone app for 1040EZ filers is really cool too. Take a photo of your W2, it'll ocr it.

 

[Amethyst]

Does this imply Vanguard has figured out that high-net-worth folks also tend to be cheap and not pay other people to do their taxes?

Amethyst

If I am not mistaken (which is always possible/likely), you have to be a Flagship customer at Vanguard to get free TT, and you have to have over $1,000,000 at Vanguard to qualify as a Flagship customer.

.

 

[jazz4cash]

In Maryland, we have a free online service called iFile. I generally dispise online tax software, but this one is OK. I use TT Basic which is cheaper without the state tax filing and manually put the numbers into the state's website. I am certain it saves them money over a paper return. I get refunds by direct deposit within 2 days. I would encourage anyone to see if thier state has this service.

 

[11522914]

I used TurboTax at least for the last 10 years. Got tired of them increasing prices and eliminating coupons. I finally tried H&R Block At Home Deluxe last year after Target had it on sale and had a $10 off coupon. Saved $20 over TurboTax. I was nervous as I was so use to TT's interface. I really liked At Home and bought it again this year at Target with a $10 coupon and $10 rebate. Paid $30 less than TT.

 

[easysurfer]

I used TurboTax at least for the last 10 years. Got tired of them increasing prices and eliminating coupons. I finally tried H&R Block At Home Deluxe last year after Target had it on sale and had a $10 off coupon. Saved $20 over TurboTax. I was nervous as I was so use to TT's interface. I really liked At Home and bought it again this year at Target with a $10 coupon and $10 rebate. Paid $30 less than TT.

Ah..those TT rebate coupons. Brings back fine memories -- NOT. Was happy when they just charged a higher price and got away from the coupons. Happier now that I get TT as a freebie with Vanguard.