- quote -

The best place for questions about TurboTax is the TurboTax
User Forums at http://forums.turbotax.com. It is very
active.

Bob Sandler

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- quote -

The Mac and PC versions come on the same CD.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

kade714[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

Not prohibited, just discouraged. I am sure our esteemed
Moderator will let us know if the discussion gets out of
hand.

- quote -

Not sure of other groups but often
alt.comp.software.financial.quicken" often has TurboTax
discussions this time of year since Quicken is a related
product. I don't know about other products.

--
-Ernie-

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

Sorry, I didn't know we weren't supposed to talk about tax
programs here.

I will try searching around elsewhere.

Thanks everyone!

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

Ernie Klein <ecklein[at]pacbell.net> wrote:

- quote -

Ths is my first year with a Mac. I have used turbotax
before with the usual frustrations about it taking so long
to go through all those questions.

Is the Mac a separate version or do you use the same disk as
for the PC?

Wendy Baker

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

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

- quote -

Also, apologies for continuing this tax software discussion, but I just
want to point out that as far as I know, TurboTax is the ONLY tax
software available if you are running a Macintosh operating system.

None of the installation problems, browser requirements or any other
computer related problems that Victor pointed out, exists with the Mac
version of TurboTax. The activation fiasco that Victor referred to was
a PC only problem and never affected the Mac version at all (only
because Intuit couldn't figure out how to implement it on a Mac). I have
used TT for years, trouble free and highly recommend it if you have a
Mac.

--
-Ernie-

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

ade714[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

Two comments. First, any decent tax prep program will allow
you to compare MFS with MFJ with a click or two. That is a
big advantage over doing your taxes with pen and pencil.

As for TurboTax vs. TaxAct. I know this is not the proper
forum to discuss tax software, but let me quickly say that I
have used both. TurboTax is a very nice program but messes
too much with my computer. It installs advertisements on my
desktop and demands certain versions of IE, even going so
far as to install the version it wants instead of just
living with the version I have. In addition, it has been
reported that TurboTax will not allow updates to be
installed if you are running certain operating systems and
do not have administrator rights.

TaxAct is a bit less slick, but doesn't mess with my
computer. I have been using TaxAct ever since the TurboTax
"activation" fiasco of 2002. And, there is a very good
Yahoo Group for discussion of TaxAct issues, with some of
the friendly people you have already met here.

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

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

- quote -

I just had to laugh out loud when I read that. Again, I
won't say who I work with, but it's a standing joke in the
office that we're always having to clean up the messes left
by the "other guys." No doubt they say the same about us. I
had an "other guy" return (and not just any other guy, but
our arch-rival) come in for a double-check just the other
day and saw that they had missed a pretty obvious adjustment
(forced-itemize on Federal to save big on State) that would
have increased their client's net refund by $300. They left
pretty upset at the other guy... Stories like this are just
part of the business, but I'm going to go out on a limb and
say that most of the people working in a seasonal tax office
(whether HRB, JH, Liberty, independent, or whatever) do a
pretty good job and take pride in their work.

--
John D. Goulden

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

I live in California. Should I file MFJ then?

Just checked out TaxAct and it is definitely cheaper (~50%)
than TurboTax. Anyone have anything to say about how the
two compare? I've just never heard about it until now... so
it's hard to defend saving a few bucks for something I've
never heard of.

Thanks as always

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

"Phil Marti" <prm20871[at]verizon.net> wrote:
- quote -

Which state you live in does make a difference. Texas is a
community property state and the only reason I've seen in
real life NOT to file joint is if the taxpayer or spouse is
so angry and bitter that even saving hundreds or thousands
of dollars can't get them to agree to work together long
enough file.

Crystal
Houston, TX

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

"Phil Marti" <prm20871[at]verizon.net> wrote:
- quote -

I will add one note to this that hasn't been mentioned yet
(I think), and that is many married people work the numbers
and FALSLY think that there is a huge advantage to MFS
because they max out itemized deductions for one filer and
take the standard deduction for the other.

They do not know or realize that doing this is a huge no-no
and not allowed. When they redo the calculations following
the law (if one itemizes, both MUST itemize, even if the
second filer has no deductions) they find out that the
advantage swings the other way, to MFJ.

If they have made that mistake in the past they will be in
for a rude awakening when the IRS matches their returns down
the road and presents them with a huge tax bill.

Hopefully, that is not what is happening here.

--
-Ernie-

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

<kade714[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

It may or may not be. For example, if you live in Ohio it
may well be to your advantage to file Married, Filing
Separately because of the effect of the Ohio income tax.
Ohio requires that you use the same filing status as the
Federal.

OTOH, DC, which has a rate structure similar to Ohio's,
allows a different filing status for state than for Federal.
Thus it's common for DC working couples to file joint
Federal returns and separate DC returns.

The way to find out for sure is to compute your returns,
including the state, both ways and see which gives you the
lesser total tax. If you find you've been doing it wrong
you can amend 2003 and later. The deadline for 2003 is
April 17.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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- quote -

Amen,
I say again amen........

Regards,

Mark Rigotti

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

Thanks for all the help everyone!

It's a long story, but my last preparer hasn't been very
responsive with my current Examination, so I will not be
going back to him. I've also used H&R before and once or
twice the person didn't look very sure of himself.

After everyone's advice, I'm leaning towards buying TurboTax
Deluxe (desktop) and preparing the returns myself. I've
read over Pub 17 so that should help a little.

My return should be fairly straight-forward since I am not
self- employed, but I do have two houses, and three
dependents. My wife's should be easier since she just has
one dependent.

From the comments here, it also sounds like we should be
filing a joint return?... I thought I read somewhere that we
should file separate if we both make close to the same
amount of salary. Is this not the case? What are the main
reasons to file joint vs. separately? Maybe I could run the
numbers for both and see which method saves us the most
money...?

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

- quote -

TurboTax is OK, but IMO TaxAct http://www.taxact.com/ is
much easier to use and it's half the price. Many pros use
the "Pro" version which is the same engine as the
home/personal version.

There is a TaxAct unofficial support group at

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/TaxACTors/

which is very helpful.

--
To email me directly, remove CLUTTER.

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The web versions of some of these products costs less. Your
bank or insurance company may offer these at lower price
from what I've heard.

Some peole debate about online security.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

kade...[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

It all depends on how complicated your tax return is and how
well you understand the tax preparation process. I did my
own return for years, using both TurboTax and later TaxCut.
The basic versions work fine, the deluxe just add in things
like tax advice or the ability to talk with reps. I have 2
schedule Cs, rental income, interest and dividends, and the
occassional stock sale and did fine on my own.

I now work for H&R Block and do my tax return there. If you
go to H&R, call to make an appointment and ask for someone
who has experience preparing a return similar to yours. This
will ensure that you get someone experienced and capable,
rather than just walking in off the street and getting the
next available preparer.

Unless your return is very simple, I wouldn't do it with
paper and pencil. It's too easy to miss something, and the
software interview helps avoid this. Plus, when you change
something, it carries to all the necessary places.

Dennis

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

kade...[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

Generally it is best to have someone help with your return,
as the average taxpayer misses a lot of tax attributes and
planning opportunities. Much of the work that I do (I am a
tax attorney who helps taxpayers with IRS controversies and
litigation) is a direct result of taxpayers preparing their
own tax returns. Given this perspective, I say invest the
few dollars and let a CPA prepare your returns for you
(besides, a good CPA can typically save you more in taxes
than the cost for their services -- and you get to avoid the
braindamage associated with doing your own return...).



Kreig Mitchell
www.irstaxtrouble.com
www.irstaxtrouble.com/blog.htm

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- quote -

This depends on (a) the complexity of your return, (b) your
comfort level, and (c) how quickly you need your refund.
Some folks are quite confident filing their own complicated
returns complete with schedules A, B, C, and D, but as a
seasonal tax preparer I have had clients happy to pay me
(or, more precisely, pay the outfit for which I work) to
tackle their lone W2 on a 1040EZ. Most of those just want a
refund loan, but others just aren't comfortable doing it
themselves - I really do get EZs where the client pays out
of pocket to have me do their return and has the IRS mail
them a paper check.

If your income is earned and interest and you have regular
W2s and 1099s for everything, pretty much any of the popular
tax prep packages or online services should be more than
adequate. If you itemize and have paper on all of the major
items (interest on home mortgage, real estate taxes paid, et
cetera) it's a bit more complicated but the packages will
walk you through it. If you have income from more than one
state or military pay, or took an early distribution from a
retirement plan, or think you may qualify for the earned
income credit, or have a small business or a farm or
oil-and-gas income, or any of a lot of other stuff, things
can get real complicated real quick.If you have copies of
last year's tax forms and your situation hasn't changed
much, it can be helpful to look that over as well.

Your mileage may vary with the big tax prep outfits like H&R
Block and Jackson-Hewitt. I'm not going to tell you which
one I work for, if either. I will say that in my case I got
plenty of training, both in tax law and on their tax-prep
systems, and the office in which I work always has
uberexperienced folks ready to deal with any complicated
issues that may arise on a return. For most people my outfit
is even a bargain this year; most have no idea about things
like the phone excise tax credit that we get for just about
everyone, and for a lot of people that credit offsets a fair
chuck of the tax prep fee. OTOH most clients at these
outfits this time of year are there for the refund loans,
not for any real expertise in tax preparation, and most of
the returns I'm doing now are quite straightforward (at
least when separated parents and grandparents aren't arguing
over who gets to claim the kids and grandkids The
complicated ones - and around here, that means farm and / or
oil-and-gas returns - will start to show up in about a
month.

Pub 17 is a good reference but a lousy textbook; essential
to have on the shelf, but reading it won't be of much help
to a novice.

You say you are also going to prepare your wife's return as
well. Married filing separately creates a whole 'nother set
of potentially troublesome issues, so be careful with that.

--
John D. Goulden

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

kade714[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

The Deluxe includes "free" state software, if you live in a
state with income tax.

- quote -

By all means, read PUB 17, then you will understand what the
software is doing (see below).

- quote -

I am not a tax professional but I have always done my own
taxes. I have used TurboTax from the start. I always use
the forms (manual entry) views rather than the interview
because I am a firm believer that having tax software is not
an excuse to not educate myself on the current tax law and
the proper way to fill out the forms. I just don't trust
the software enough to blindly follow the interview without
a full understanding of what the entries actually mean.

To me the software is a very useful tool to neatly fill out
the forms and do the math (and I do do a visual sanity check
of the math to see if it seems reasonable). I would never
again do taxes by hand. The software takes most of the work
out of it but doesn't replace a basic understanding of what
you are doing.

I don't want to discourage you from doing it yourself, but I
do encourage you to understand the forms and not just
blindly input data.

--
-Ernie-

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >