2024 Tax Software

[cathy63]

Anyone using the IRS Direct File?

I really wish I didn't have to buy software to calculate how much the government gets to take from me. I know I don't have to buy software, but my return would take so long to complete by hand. Taking my money is bad enough, but taking my time really sucks.

I wish the government would just collect my info and send me a bill.

IRS Direct File was very limited last year when it began, so I'd be surprised if anyone here could use it. It didn't support pensions, IRA withdrawals, dividends, stock sales, rental income, self-employment, foreign income, etc. This year they've added pensions and IRAs, but you still can't do any of the other things.

You don't have to pay for software though. FreeTaxUSA, CashApp or IRS Free Fillable Forms will e-file for free. CashApp also does state returns for free.

 

[Original Wally]

I couldn't figure it out- state isn't very clear about what it was.

If I may ask... which State?

 

[Al18]

IRS Direct File seems too limited.
These types of Income are NOT supported:
• Gig economy (Form 1099-K)
• Non-employee compensation (Forms 1099-MISC
or NEC)
• Individual Retirement Account distributions
(Form 1099-R)
• Dividends (Form 1099 DIV)
• Business income
• Capital gains
• Rental income
• Self-employment income

Also, you must live in one of the 24 participating states according to
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5917.pdf

 

[TheWizard]

IRS Direct File seems too limited.
These types of Income are NOT supported:
• Gig economy (Form 1099-K)
• Non-employee compensation (Forms 1099-MISC
or NEC)
• Individual Retirement Account distributions
(Form 1099-R)
• Dividends (Form 1099 DIV)
• Business income
• Capital gains
• Rental income
• Self-employment income

Also, you must live in one of the 24 participating states according to
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5917.pdf

Yeah, that's basically USELESS for retirees...

 

[athena53]

If I may ask... which State?

Missouri. When the Fed disagrees with your return you get a line-by-line comparison of what you filed and what they consider correct. MO just gives you THEIR version in broad categories- e.g., Adjusted Gross Income, Total Itemized Deductions, etc. Very hard to find out what exactly they disagree with. Very cumbersome to drill down and figure out the discrepancies. They couldn't even bother to say, "You didn't include Schedule A from your Federal Return so we're assuming you're taking the standard deduction".

I just did a Roth conversion for $20K. I hope the dinkytown calculator is reasonably close to correct since the purchased software hasn't been updated yet.

 

[FiveDriver]

Alright, so where are we with the AMZN offer as of mid-day Friday ??
Our State Tax Form is easy.....I don't need the SC State forms.

I see one offer for Deluxe FED only + $10 Gift Card for $57.99 (is that price after the GC ??)

Amazon.com

And another AMZN offer for Deluxe FED only no Gift Card for $47.99

Amazon.com

Is this as good as it gets this year ? Worth waiting, or is it Limited Time ?

 

[robls]

FYI, talked to two different people/two different phone numbers at Fidelity Investments, and they both said that the $5 TurboTax Premier will be posted in Mid-January when you log in to your account.

 

[JoeWras]

FYI, talked to two different people/two different phone numbers at Fidelity Investments, and they both said that the $5 TurboTax Premier will be posted in Mid-January when you log in to your account.

Do you have a note on your front page saying so? It seems some of us do, and some of us don't.

 

[qwerty3656]

Some people have the dialog box below on their summary page:

 

[robls]

Do you have a note on your front page saying so? It seems some of us do, and some of us don't.

Logged in to my account, and both of them said to type in "Turbotax discount" in the search box at top right. Clicked on the first link, and it brought this up. They said it would also have a link to download the software instead of doing it online. We will see.

 

[GenXguy]

Anyone using the IRS Direct File?

I really wish I didn't have to buy software to calculate how much the government gets to take from me. I know I don't have to buy software, but my return would take so long to complete by hand. Taking my money is bad enough, but taking my time really sucks.

I used OLT.com the last couple years. It's free for Federal (including e-file) if you don't need additional support, and it includes state, which is $9.95 to e-file if you want to. Edit: The state may be free if your AGI is low enough - I always had to pay for state e-file.

It supports dividends, retirement income, and such and no income limits.

 

[Original Wally]

Missouri. When the Fed disagrees with your return you get a line-by-line comparison of what you filed and what they consider correct. MO just gives you THEIR version in broad categories- e.g., Adjusted Gross Income, Total Itemized Deductions, etc. Very hard to find out what exactly they disagree with. Very cumbersome to drill down and figure out the discrepancies. They couldn't even bother to say, "You didn't include Schedule A from your Federal Return so we're assuming you're taking the standard deduction".

I just did a Roth conversion for $20K. I hope the dinkytown calculator is reasonably close to correct since the purchased software hasn't been updated yet.

THX - California here & it seems to work fine.

 

[JoeWras]

That's what I thought robls, and qwerty. Your dialog talks about that future January link.

Some (most) of us don't get that dialog. I guess I'll be hoping for the Amazon offer this year.

 

[Original Wally]

OK - Retired CPA/ Financial Officer. I have a spreadsheet that contains income levels back to 1999. Income, all withholdings, etc. It ALSO has TONS of projections - I am only 70 1/2 but I am already forecasting my RMDs. It ALSO contains investment balances back to then. Shrug. I am a numbers weenie.
Some years ago I added a tab to calc the taxes. Our life is pretty simple: Pension + SS + SOMETIMES the odd income item. Dividends and Interest (input them monthly into a different tab that feeds into the tax calc tab. FEDERAL = Std deduction - at least if/until the law goes back to the old system. Quicken gives me the Calif Itemized. The LAST nut to crack is the "ordinary vs capital gains" divs. Will STRONGLY study the Vanguard EOY report to see if I can figger it out. [Treating it all as ordinary income simply makes MY estimate conservative by a touch. I USUALLY come pretty close to the final tax return numbers. Close enough for ME.

As a retiree I don't mind playing with the spreadsheet. Keeps me outta cheap bars.

 

[imjustawarrior]

You don't have to pay for software though. FreeTaxUSA, CashApp or IRS Free Fillable Forms will e-file for free. CashApp also does state returns for free.

Thank you.

I'll take a look at these. I doubt IRS Free Fillable will be a good fit. I really don't want to become a tax expert. CashApp would be painful doing taxes on my phone. I doubt I'm the intended audience for that.

FreeTaxUSA looks the most promising.

 

[cathy63]

... CashApp would be painful doing taxes on my phone. I doubt I'm the intended audience for that...

You have to install the app on your phone to setup a login, but once you've done that, you can use your computer to do your taxes. I haven't tried this, and I suspect the computer screens look the same as they do on the phone, but at least you could use a real keyboard.

 

[teej1985]

Anyone using the IRS Direct File?

I really wish I didn't have to buy software to calculate how much the government gets to take from me. I know I don't have to buy software, but my return would take so long to complete by hand. Taking my money is bad enough, but taking my time really sucks.

I wish the government would just collect my info and send me a bill.

if you recieved any dividends or capital gains, you cant. So, most ER'ers wouldn't qualify.

 

[rembrandt]

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Anyone using the IRS Direct File?

I really wish I didn't have to buy software to calculate how much the government gets to take from me. I know I don't have to buy software, but my return would take so long to complete by hand. Taking my money is bad enough, but taking my time really sucks.

I wish the government would just collect my info and send me a bill.

Somebody coded (nearly) all of the IRS forms into a large and helpful Excel spreadsheet. It is available for free. An amazing job, really: Federal Income Tax Spreadsheet Form 1040 (Excel Spreadsheet) Income Tax Calculator

 

[camfused]

It is starting to look like we are not going to get "the TurboTax deal" from Amazon this year. Maybe sometime in the coming weeks?

 

[JoeWras]

If we don't, I'll have to file this under the "examples of inflation" thread. Price is already up. No discount makes it worse.

 

[imjustawarrior]

If the Amazon deal does not come, then it will give me more time to see if I get the free Fidelity TT. So far, not looking good on either front this year.

I guess no new shoes for the children this year.

 

[braumeister]

I think back to the days when I would just go to the library in the Spring and get the forms and instructions I needed. They always had piles of them available to take. Then I'd go home and fill them out, mail them in and forget about it until next year. I wonder how many of us still do it that way?

 

[Sunset]

I think back to the days when I would just go to the library in the Spring and get the forms and instructions I needed. They always had piles of them available to take. Then I'd go home and fill them out, mail them in and forget about it until next year. I wonder how many of us still do it that way?

I'd always get about 4 copies, so I could redo various entries repeatedly until I got it correct.

 

[athena53]

I think back to the days when I would just go to the library in the Spring and get the forms and instructions I needed. They always had piles of them available to take. Then I'd go home and fill them out, mail them in and forget about it until next year. I wonder how many of us still do it that way?

That had its flaws, though. I had a friend who worked for a company that had lots of field engineers. They needed a NJ tax form called NJ-1040-NR. I can't remember whether it was because they worked for a company based in NJ bit lived elsewhere, or were legal NJ residents but needed to claim exemption for work they did outside of the state. In either case, they had had NJ taxes withheld and needed to get a partial refund. Those forms were nowhere to be had. Of course they weren't. They just meant NJ had to pay someone money. My friend called the Department of Revenue 3 times (this was back in the 1980s when a human answered). Three different people promised to send them to him. None ever arrived. Not sure how he ever got them.