Tax software functionality and deals

[braumeister]

Time2, post #46 here was very explicit and clear.

 

[Time2]

Open your 2020 return in TT 2020. Go to Forms View and then select Open Form. In the search box in the top, type in "What-If" and select What-If Worksheet in light gray and then Open Form.

Be sure to select the "Check box to use 2021 tax rates".

Perfect, found it, now need to use it.
Thanks

 

[SnowballCamper]

Any drawbacks or significant limitations to using taxhawk.com ? It's free federal filing, but yes, only online as far as I can tell... with optional upgrades that seem very reasonably $$.

 

[rickster55]

With the H&R Block CD, if you stop installation just short of giving payment info they will offer you a further $5 discount to continue with the install. Been doing this for several years. Might even work with the download version. Someone give it a try and let us know.

 

[JeKa]

H&R Block is offering $15 off Delux + State - $39.95, download available November 7.

What has been the history of those offers to pre-existing customers?

My experience with the different software offerings is that the past years customers do not get any deals or offers for using the same program years after year. I look for the lowest deals late in December before I buy.

 

[Raymond01]

Does Credit Karma free tax filing support 1099-B and most other things that we might need?

 

[RobbieB]

I only need it after the first. And then well into January as the 1099's come in. Nobody sends them before, so what's the rush?

 

[sengsational]

The rush for me is that I don't wait for the 1099s... It's easy enough for me to know those values before the 1099s come. Why go through the trouble of estimating? Because I can fine-tune a December Roth conversion so it works with the PPACA tax credit. The conversion must be done before year-end, and it is nice to have confidence of a "completed" tax return to support the conversion amount.

 

[RobbieB]

Ah yes, ACA credits.

 

[USGrant1962]

I only need it after the first. And then well into January as the 1099's come in. Nobody sends them before, so what's the rush?

I'll do a mock tax return in December to figure if my 4Q estimated tax payment is right and explore contributions to my i401(k). Due to ARP stuff, which won't be covered in 2020 tax software, things are different this year. So for plus or minus $5, I might as well buy it on Black Friday.

But yea, if you have a standard and predictable income there is no rush.

 

[Brat]

In a moment of distraction I purchased the 2020 version of H&R Block Delux with state software from Amazon... I can't return it, it hasn't been downloaded. If anyone can use it send me a PM.

 

[swakyaby]

I have been using TurboTax Premier which is provided by T.Rowe Price, fed & state. It’s an online version and must be accessed through the TRP website. Prior, I received TT Premier through Fidelity, but their offer was sometimes hard to find or access, and sometimes didn’t include the state.

 

[RunningBum]

I only need it after the first. And then well into January as the 1099's come in. Nobody sends them before, so what's the rush?

ACA and Roth conversion final tweaking for me, and now that my mom is in memory care, maximizing IRA withdrawals at 0% tax with high medical deductions for the parents. All could be done with a tax estimator but I'd rather do it in the actual tax program. I'll get it on black Friday or whenever some kind of sale is on, and not worry about saving another possible $5 or $10. BTD, ya know?

 

[Souschef]

I have been using TurboTax Premier which is provided by T.Rowe Price, fed & state. It’s an online version and must be accessed through the TRP website. Prior, I received TT Premier through Fidelity, but their offer was sometimes hard to find or access, and sometimes didn’t include the state.

I could get TT through TRP, but all the data entry is through the Internet. I bought TT Deluxe through Walmart. I felt that investing $40 was worth it for the security

 

[Al in Ohio]

Ah, we are probably not far away from having the discussion on who gets the free Turbo Tax from Fidelity.

That will be next month. Too soon for that.

 

[swakyaby]

I could get TT through TRP, but all the data entry is through the Internet. I bought TT Deluxe through Walmart. I felt that investing $40 was worth it for the security

I pondered your concerns about internet security regarding online TurboTax vs having the TurboTax app residing on your device. I asked DH, who has some experience providing online security to small business owners, what his thoughts were about security. It was a long discussion, but the conclusion he made was that he was very comfortable with the level of security that TurboTax provides via the cloud. In fact, he favors the cloud—stating that patches are installed via the cloud in real time whereas if the app resides on your device, most likely the user has to seek the patch and apply it, reboot the computer, and continue. He also felt the connection with my financial institution, TRP, would be secure.

Of course, that’s assuming one does not do TurboTax in a coffeeshop using a public Wi-Fi!

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

I pondered your concerns about internet security regarding online TurboTax vs having the TurboTax app residing on your device. I asked DH, who has some experience providing online security to small business owners, what his thoughts were about security. It was a long discussion, but the conclusion he made was that he was very comfortable with the level of security that TurboTax provides via the cloud. In fact, he favors the cloud—stating that patches are installed via the cloud in real time whereas if the app resides on your device, most likely the user has to seek the patch and apply it, reboot the computer, and continue. He also felt the connection with my financial institution, TRP, would be secure.

Of course, that’s assuming one does not do TurboTax in a coffeeshop using a public Wi-Fi!

That's not how it works with Turbo Tax installed on the device. Each time you start the program, it checks for updates and if any are found, it asks you if you want to install all of them. You do not get to pick or choose which ones - it's all or nothing. No reboot is necessary, other than restarting Turbo Tax itself.

I think the security issue with the cloud version is whether one's comfortable with all your tax information being stored on Intuit's servers, where in theory it could be accessed by a hacker if they're able to break into their systems.

The device installed version has all the user's tax information stored locally on the device (so it's up to you to make sure the data is safe and backed up, etc.).

Disclaimer - I haven't used the cloud version so I could be mistaken on where the data is stored.

 

[Midpack]

The cloud is very secure, but not bulletproof…

https://blog.storagecraft.com/7-infamous-cloud-security-breaches/ 7 Most Infamous Cloud Security Breaches

https://techxplore.com/news/2019-09-major-firms-hacked-cloud.html 60% of major US firms have been hacked in cloud: study

 

[lauradrops]

Any drawbacks or significant limitations to using taxhawk.com ? It's free federal filing, but yes, only online as far as I can tell... with optional upgrades that seem very reasonably $$.

I have used Taxhawk for about 5 years now and have had no problems. We do have a pretty easy return though. Very basic stuff.

They also offer discounts for 10 and 25% off at different times.

 

[target2019]

TurboTax follows security standards cause it's smart business and required by some agencies. Refer to this page for their online security certs: https://turbotax.intuit.com/best-tax-software/secure-online-tax-prep/

I use download versions because I take advantage of additional features.

There's no valid way to apply cloud security breaches noted in an article to what TT or your bank or Vanguard does. Risk profiles change every moment. Company's security policy, enforcement, and incident response is what limits the damage.

 

[athena53]

I'll do a mock tax return in December to figure if my 4Q estimated tax payment is right and explore contributions to my i401(k).

But yea, if you have a standard and predictable income there is no rush.

I probably won't be able to file till March because I wait for downloads from the brokerages- too many moving parts to try and enter them in myself. Still, I'm looking at year-end right now anyway because I also want to know if my estimated payments will be enough or too much (and budget for 2022 taxes accordingly), I'm probably going to make a first distribution from an inherited IRA and that has to be done before year- end and I just decided to pay my dentist $3,000 in advance for the work he'll do after my implants are healed (likely February of 2022) so it's a deduction in 2021.

Sadly, my computer with TurboTax died and it was the downloaded version (I do have backups of the data files and the tax forms) so I'm working with on-line calculators right now. I'm looking forward to getting the real 2022 software.

 

[Al in Ohio]

I pondered your concerns about internet security regarding online TurboTax vs having the TurboTax app residing on your device. I asked DH, who has some experience providing online security to small business owners, what his thoughts were about security. It was a long discussion, but the conclusion he made was that he was very comfortable with the level of security that TurboTax provides via the cloud. In fact, he favors the cloud—stating that patches are installed via the cloud in real time whereas if the app resides on your device, most likely the user has to seek the patch and apply it, reboot the computer, and continue. He also felt the connection with my financial institution, TRP, would be secure.

Of course, that’s assuming one does not do TurboTax in a coffeeshop using a public Wi-Fi!

There’s always the option to download the full offline version of TT on Fidelity. The trick is finding that option, but it is always there buried in several layers.

 

[Midpack]

Sadly, my computer with TurboTax died and it was the downloaded version (I do have backups of the data files and the tax forms) so I'm working with on-line calculators right now. I'm looking forward to getting the real 2022 software.

You probably know this, but you can download your copy of TT to a new computer as long as it's the same year/version (PC or Mac, but not either).

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/t...urbotax-program-to-my-new-computer/00/1667852

 

[braumeister]

There’s always the option to download the full offline version of TT on Fidelity. The trick is finding that option, but it is always there buried in several layers.

I'm pretty sure that option is only available to those who get the offer of free TT Premier.

 

[Sue J]

I'm still using Free Tax USA www.freetaxusa.com

I got an email a few days ago that they are already open for 2021 filing. You can start putting your info in but of course IRS is not accepting returns until January, 2022. Our taxes are not all that complicated and I've found their software easy to use for many years.