TurboTax vs TaxAct accuracy

[braumeister]

I've been using TurboTax for many years, and have always been pretty satisfied. I used it again this year, but thought I'd try TaxAct side-by-side with it, to see whether I might like it better.

Entered the exact same data in both applications, and there was only one significant difference. TaxAct showed that I'd get a larger refund from the state than TurboTax did.

That sounded great, but on further investigation, I found that TaxAct was giving me a credit I didn't qualify for, and that would have probably raised a flag at the state tax office. Looking into the help file, TaxAct explained the line correctly (not authorized for me), but gave it to me anyway.

On the whole, I found TurboTax slightly easier to use (I enter everything manually instead of downloading info), and certainly more accurate on this one item.

So despite the higher cost, I guess I'll continue with TurboTax.

 

[haha]

I've been using TurboTax for many years, and have always been pretty satisfied. I used it again this year, but thought I'd try TaxAct side-by-side with it, to see whether I might like it better.

Entered the exact same data in both applications, and there was only one significant difference. TaxAct showed that I'd get a larger refund from the state than TurboTax did.

That sounded great, but on further investigation, I found that TaxAct was giving me a credit I didn't qualify for, and that would have probably raised a flag at the state tax office. Looking into the help file, TaxAct explained the line correctly (not authorized for me), but gave it to me anyway.

On the whole, I found TurboTax slightly easier to use (I enter everything manually instead of downloading info), and certainly more accurate on this one item.

So despite the higher cost, I guess I'll continue with TurboTax.

I once tried Tax Act. It could not do everything I needed, so I bought Turbo Tax and re-did my taxes with it. I should never have bothered to try it.

Ha

 

[Alan]

The first year my son started work after he graduated I did his taxes with TurboTax but back then it would have cost to e-file and since TaxAct was free we used that and it came up with $35 extra tax back. When I compared the two returns, TaxAct had correctly picked up a credit that TT missed. Because he was such a low earner that part year, and he participated in his 401k, he was entitled to a credit.

The following year I tried TaxAct myself but it didn't handle my Foreign pension very well.

My son and I still use TaxAct for his return.

 

[ERD50]

On the whole, I found TurboTax slightly easier to use (I enter everything manually instead of downloading info), and certainly more accurate on this one item.

I imagine someone out there could provide an opposite story. I have no idea about accuracy (are there any published studies?), but TT PO'd me so bad one year that I jumped ship to TaxAct online. TT had a bug, and the only way I found it was to search through their forums - in some deep dark corner a mod gave a workaround. But they never acknowledged it or fixed it publicly. The only way I caught it was that I was pretty sure of the tax code, so I questioned it. I thought the tax programs were supposed to know more than me? And it would not have resulted in any kind of actual tax error, it would have just incorrectly limited how much I could put into an IRA. So no audit is going to call out that I put in less than I could have, people do that all the time. So any guarantee to represent me in an audit was worthless in this case.

But hey, Turbo Tax 'worked' for Timmy, so why not go with it?

-ERD50

 

[jimnjana]

I like tax act, guess I'm used to it now. I do 3 other family members using it as well. Next year may do my Dad's at the VITA site, where I volunteer using the software provided. That way can e-file his federal and local free. I've used TT and HR Blocks software before and each has pros and cons. Price and ease of input tipped the scale in favor of tax act for me.

 

[jazz4cash]

Thanks for posting the comparison. Which versions did you compare?

I am pretty much disgusted with TT but continue to use it. I do admire how well if handles multiple dependent education deductions/credits. I have stuck with the download version of Basic. I did not lose any features necessary for my return by dropping to Basic from Deluxe. On the basis of 4 federal returns in the family the cost is trivial. Dependent children also qualify for Free Federal E-File anyway. I always get a glitch when I efile, so I just file a paper return by mail anyway. My state has free online efile, so not much value to the state software except maybe saving me from re-entering some data.