"Victor Roberts" <xxx[at]lighting-research.com> wrote:

- quote -

Are you saying there isn't something that sez hide mini-work sheet?

- quote -


<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

<snip> > > I'd go for Tax Act.

- quote -

I have a friend who tried it a few years ago, after TurboTax put in it's
C-Dilla nonsense that drove so many people away. Formatting issues made
it very difficult to enter information in a number of places. The box
you enter information in truncated (visually) the number, so you couldn't
see the complete entry. Entry boxes were hidden by "information"
screens. And other such instances that were "just plain stupid design".
More crucially, we tested this same return on TurboTax and got
significantly different numbers on several forms. Overall they seemed to
cancel each other out, and the total tax difference was only a few
dollars, but it was certainly disquieting to see substantial differences
between the two programs. Considering how little thought had been given
to users actually using the TaxCut program, our consensus was to not
trust it.

Other reports I have heard from other people over the years do not lead
me to think any more highly of TaxCut than my introduction to it
warrants.


<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

<jbk[at]piasystems.com> wrote:

- quote -

I found a couple of very annoying bugs. One got fixed eventually.

First, it decided that capital-loss carryforward was a preference item
for AMT. That's the total carryforward, not just the $3K usable.
That led to tax well in excess of total income.

Customer support was clueless, even after I sent them numbers to play
with.

But it eventually got fixed anyway.

The second problem was a form where I'd sent money for the previous
year. When it imported that year's data, it decided the money was
sent for _this_ year, and nothing I could do would disabuse it of the
notion. (I had to do an override eventually.)

Seth

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

- quote -

I was not the person who said that TaxCut was "junk" but let
me tell you the two reasons why I don't like it.

First, it does not work properly if my computer display is
set to Large Fonts. When the display is set to Large Fonts
certain dialog boxes and the data they contain are not fully
visible. (TT and TA do work properly in this mode by the
way.) I have confirmed with TC tech support that this is
related to the way TC is programmed, they know about it and
have no intention of changing the design of the program.

Second, TC has mini-work sheets imbedded in the on-screen
tax forms which make them very hard to read IMHO. When I
choose "forms" I want to see the IRS tax form as the IRS
designed it.

You may or may not be bothered by these "features" but they
bug me enough that I moved to TA.

--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

- quote -

Why is TaxCut junk?

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

- quote -

I used TT for 14 years and now TaxAct for 2 years. TA is
much more reasonably priced, has better support, and IMO is
easier to use in the "forms" mode than TT. Also, I consider
TT to be spy/bloat ware.

--
To reply to me directly, remove the XXX characters from my email address.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

- quote -

Other than that, Tax Cut is, IMHO, junk, and Turbo Tax will
drive you crazy with the embedded ads. Plus, you still have
to check every imported piece of data to make sure it's a)
right, and b) in the right place.

I'd go for Tax Act.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

- quote -

TaxAct will not import information from Quicken or Microsoft
Money. TurboTax and TaxCut will.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

larry.ellis[at]gmail.com wrote:

- quote -

A personal note: I tried TaxAct for the web in a previous
year. The CA depreciation adjustments were prepared properly
on the CA 3885 (CA depreciation and amortization
adjustment), but not copied to the 540 Schedule CA for
actual adjustment of adjusted gross income.

Your milage may vary.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

Don Priebe wrote:

- quote -

E-filing (Federal only) is free but you must use the Web
interface and you must access their web site via the IRS web
site (www.irs.gov). Follow links to e-filing and from there
go to TaxAct's site.

TurboTax also claims to be free when accessed through the
site, but I think I'll stick with TaxAct.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

Just a very minor clarification. Parson's Tax Edge was
produced by Parsons Technology, a now defunct company.

TaxACT is produced by 2nd Story Software.

Technically, there is no relationship between 2nd Story
Software and the now defunct Parsons Technology.

It is true, however, that 2nd Story Software was founded by
former employees of Parson Technology. In addition, several
current employees were part of the original Parsons team.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

- quote -

As I live and breathe! I, too, am still using Parsons
Address Book. I am also using Tax Act. Had no idea it was
from the same company. I thought they were long gone.

My only complaint with Tax Act so far, is the lack of the NR
or part-year resident. But the cost of the product
certainly makes up for this shortcoming.

Kate, EA in PA

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

- quote -

And they still carry the same Parsons ethics - they tell the
truth! I e-mailed them several years ago about their lack
of support for (then still available) five year averaging.
They responded that since it was going away in a year it
didn't make business sense to invest any money in supporting
it. This year their Federal program was released exactly on
schedule and their NY was a day early.

The disadvantage with TaxAct is limited support for
non-resident state forms and the high cost of e-filing. But
those details are all on the website.

I'm still using Parsons Address Book. Unfortunately Parsons
Calendar (which is a 16 bit application) has some problem
with Win2K and NTFS so I had to switch to something else for
my primary calendar.

--
Don EA in Upstate NY

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

"Florida" <lelliot3[at]earthlink.net> wrote:
- quote -

Parson's! I had no idea. I used to use their software and
thought that were MIA. Great to see them still around.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

- quote -

=========================
The original poster claimed that Tax Cut doubled his W2
figures ... and he never noticed problem....until after he
filed...???

I just can not believe that....

Sorry but doubling the figures from a W2 form or recording 2
copies of a W2 would hit me pretty damn fast,....even if I
worked 2-3 jobs ....

Anyone who does not print out his tax return and really look
it over BEFORE filing is foolish..at best...damn stupid is
more like it..

Bob G.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

Rhickey wrote:

- quote -

Client came to us to prepare their 200X return. In
reviewing their 200Y return, it became apparent that the HRB
preparer had deducted investment advisory fees as investment
interest expense. Client wished to amend the returns and
pay the tax. According to the terms of the Peace of Mind
product they'd purchased, HRB would pay the interest and any
penalties only if the IRS caught the error, not if the
client found the error and wanted to voluntarily fix it.

I do agree that if you don't have a method of determining
even whether your taxable income is right before it's
e-filed, you deserve whatever mistakes you make.

Phoebe

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

"nospam" <masticol[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

I have used TaxACT since 2000. It comes from the folks who
created Parson's Tax Edge. I love it and I have found it
very easy to use. If you don't like it, I'm sure they will
give you your money back.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

"nospam" <masticol[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

I used TaxCut last year and didn't see this issue. Was this
a known issue for a lot of users of the software? I am
using it again this year so I better be weary of it. How
did you discover the problem? Did you see two W2 forms
submitted or a doubling of the W2?

Andy

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

"nospam" <masticol[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

I've used TT (14years), TC (2 years) and TA (2 years). I
like TA the best. TC was too buggy and I haven't trusted TT
since they tried to foist that hideous copy-protection
scheme on me.

--
To reply to me directly, remove the XXX characters from my
email address.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->

"nospam" <masticol[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

If you filed a tax return w/o reviewing same before
transmission , you deservedly get what you got. Go to a
Block store this time. They will competently prepare your
return. Buy Peace of Mind. You are insured then against
any errors.

<< -------------------------------------------------> << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org > << ------------------------------------------------->