Web Hosting Talk : Other Forums : Web Hosting Lounge : Best US Tax software?

[Techno]

It's that time of year again. What is the best tax software for personal & small business? I'm thinking of getting TurboTax.

[MP2]

I like TurboTax. I used the Deluxe version when I had to do taxes on my web hosting business. I will probably purchase it again this year to do my personal taxes.

I haven't used anything else because I haven't had the need to.

[Disgruntled]

I like TaxAct. I know it is good enough for salary, interest, dividends, and capital gains. I have no experience with more complicated tax issues. I have heard that TaxAct will not import data from Quicken or Microsoft Money.
TaxAct is nice because its pricing is straightforward, with no rebate coupons to mess with. Requires Windows 95 or higher. There is no Mac or linux version that can run within the computer, although they do offer online filing service that could be accessed from Mac or linux.

[AHS_Wrestler]

How come you have to buy a new Tax Software each year?

[Disgruntled]

Originally Posted by AHS_Wrestler

How come you have to buy a new Tax Software each year?

Technically you don't have to buy software. Just use a pen, a calculator, the forms, and some stamps.
Assuming you want to use software, last year's program can't calculate this year's tax accurately. There will be changes in the schedules. Also the forms themselves will be noted as being for Tax Year 2005. Last year's program will show them as being for Tax Year 2004.
Could the software companies sell you a plug-in that updates last year's program for less than the price of a new program? Maybe, but why would they want to? As it is they do already encourage sticking with the same brand by importing a lot of the data from last year's tax file, assuming that you have saved it.

[AceWeb]

Has anyone tried TaxCut? If so, how did it go? Do you like it?

[AceWeb]

Has anyone tried TaxCut? If so, how did it go? Do you like it?

[Disgruntled]

I haven't tried Tax Cut recently. Several years ago I bought it, and they annoyed me by not having Idaho state ready by Jan 31 as promised. I returned it and bought Turbo Tax. (Checking online, it was about the middle of February that Tax Cut had Idaho state announced as being ready.) Then there was a struggle getting my money back on the Tax Cut money back guarantee. Then there was the email trying to sell me more Tax Cut, and then the violations of my remove instructions of the email list.
So maybe the software works, but I long ago learned to dislike them as a company.

Turbo Tax has worked well for me in the past, but all that rebate stuff was annoying, and last straw was when they tried to refuse a rebate coupon that had everything in it and attached correct. One performance issue with Turbo Tax: It seems like the recommended paper printouts when e-filing are needlessly redundant. Yes, I know paper backup copies are needed, but I think some of the paper forms were in duplicate or triplicate.