- quote -

Looks like TaxAct http://taxact.com/ has a FREE federal
calculate, print and e-file offer this year.

--
Don EA in Upstate NY (no, I don't own stock in any tax s/w company)

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

Bob Sandler <bob_usenet[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

One more reason to not buy Turbotax.

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

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

- quote -

Not this year. Each federal e-file is $15, including the
first one.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

- quote -

TurboTax is not priced the same way as ProSeries. You buy
the software for anywhere from $20 to $70 depending on the
version. There is no per-return prep charge. Each federal
e-filing is $15.

Bob Sandler

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

Rick Merrill <rick0.merrill[at]NOSPAMgmail.com> wrote:
- quote -

Intuit includes one "free" Federal e-file when you buy their
software - or at least some versions. You need to pay Intuit
extra for every Federal and State e-file after the first
"free" one.

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

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

joeu2004[at]hotmail.com wrote:

- quote -

Are you sure about that $15 for e-file? Seems that that was
the cost for return prep last season, with an additional
$3-4 for e-filing the return (based on ProSeries/Intuit PPR
charges). BTW, the IRS does not charge to e-file a return.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

joeu2004[at]hotmail.com wrote:

- quote -

The fed filing is probably free, it is the STATE e-file that
Turbo tax is allowed to charge for as far as I know.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

<joeu2004[at]hotmail.com> wrote

- quote -

That's the fee Turbo Tax charges. There are no government
fees to e-file.

- quote -

Yes, you can shop around, and any other e-file service will
require you to re-key the data, so either pay up, or don't
buy TurboTax.

It would be best to shop for the entire package, software
and e-file costs (if that is what you want to do).

- quote -

It's not like you can walk in with your data on a memory
stick and expect to get it e-filed.

--
Paul Thomas, CPA
paulthomascpapc[at]bellsouth.net

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

joeu2004[at]hotmail.com wrote:

- quote -

TurboTax charges the fees, not the government. You are
paying for the technology of the software. We pros get to
pay several thousand dollars *every* year for the software.
The software companies have to go by IRS regulations to make
the software.

Missy Doyle

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

joeu2004[at]hotmail.com wrote:

- quote -

TurboTax.

- quote -

Maybe, but there's a good chance you'd need to do
significant additional data entry. The upside is that you'd
know what numbers you were aiming for.

Phoebe

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

- quote -

Intuit (TurboTax)

- quote -

TurboTax does use its own format, but that does not mean
that you cannot find some other service that can read a
TurboTax file and process your return. As far as I know
there it is not a Copyright violation at read data from a
proprietary file format. You may also want to take a look at
alternate tax prep programs, such as Tax Act at
www.taxact.com. (I have no connection with TaxAct other than
as a generally but not completely satisfied customer.)

Better yet, why not print and file a paper return. As long
as the government continues to force taxpayers to pay a
third-party for to file their tax returns electronically, I
believe we should refuse to pay this fee and flood them with
paper. If the IRS wants to have tax returns filed
electronically, there is no reason why the IRS cannot setup
a free e-file service for all taxpayers. They are just
pandering to companies like Intuit that make money from
their e-file services.

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

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

<joeu2004[at]hotmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

TurboTax. Even the government doesn't have the nerve to
charge you for saving it money.

- quote -

I would. Last year for less than $30 you could get the
souped-up version of TaxAct, which included 1 state and 1
e-filing. (The state return "piggybacks" on the Federal, so
1 e-file is all you need.)

- quote -

I would assume that only TurboTax would be able to process a
TurboTax data file, but I don't know for sure. The file
that eventually goes to the IRS is the same no matter who
transmits it, but what happens in between input and data out
is up to the program.

Remember that paper returns have not been outlawed. You can
also check www.irs.gov for information about free e-filing.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

Turbotax says that federal and state (Calif) e-File costs
$15 each. Who is charging that fee: Turbotax or the govt?
If Turbotax, is that the going rate, or should I shop for a
cheaper service? If the latter, can I use another service
if I use Turbotax desktop to fill in the forms? I am
worried that Turbotax might use a proprietary file format
that cannot be understood by another e-File service.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >