I use the same thing, I bought the program at Sam’s because it was cheaper
The problem I have is needing to have software in an online format which is more expensive then the downloadable version and only being able to see the tax return after I pay for it meaning I might be paying for an inaccurately prepared return
TurboTax also had a different return prior to and post e-file and then I was unable to get all the work papers for future reference. They also changed by login username and it was a struggle to get back to the existing return.
Worse, thankfully I had a saved return because I put in a hypothetical return and then couldn’t obtain the original e-files return
I use TurboTax. After many years of using them, i actually find their system much more intuitive now. It takes a while to get comfortable with it, but my favorite things are:
- its ease for getting support online via chat and screen share
- the navigation is well organized (personal details first, then income, then expenses or costs, then deductions, then preferences on how to pay turbotax and to complete the tax refund or tax bill.
I wanted to share my step by step of how i use the system in hopes that it helps others! If interested i’ve linked to the YouTube video below!
A DIY Pro’s Guide to Filing Taxes! FOLLOW ALONG with me
Many years ago, I took a tax course at a local community college. The course explained the process and was long before tax preparation software. Only paper forms were used. I paid a tax preparer one time to do my taxes. I did not feel that the time that was spent doing my taxes was adequate. I have used Turbo Tax for many years and spend much more time making sure my taxes are completed correctly. The interview process in Turbo Tax is excellent and makes filing easy.
This year, I went through an extra effort to check my taxes. I used H&R Block software to also do my taxes. The H&R Block software did not consider an Energy Tax credit that I was due. If I had filed using the H&R Block software, it would have cost me $385 due to not taking the credit.
The key to filing taxes and not paying any more than necessary is understanding and taking deductions and credits. The IRS is great at collecting information on your income, but collects no information on deductions and credits unless you tell them and you file accordingly. Find a program that has a good interview process. Make sure the process asks about everything.
If your taxes are not complicated, many of the software programs will allow you to file at no charge.
Why use software that you have to pay for, or use free but then have to pay to file your tax returns? The IRS now has the Fillable Forms program for ALL taxpayers.
Free File Fillable Forms
Fill out your forms online for free, then file them for free, regardless of your income level, high, medium, or low. How can you beat that anywhere?
I can only speak for TaxAct and others probably do the same. When beginning a new return, TA automatically populates all the forms from the previous year leaving the amounts blank, with options to skip.
If one has a lot of data to enter, this saves a lot of time, but more important, there is a “Review” link that checks all data and warns if any boxes are missing info.
It also has a compare feature presenting the past and current year amounts, side by side. If any new data is wildly different from the previous year it’s quickly obvious.
I like it and worth the money for me.
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My return for 2024 was immediately populated with the 2023 data the minute I finished my 2023 returns, both federal and state. This cost me nothing at all, because I use Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, one worksheet for each of the tax forms that I have to file each year. The formulas and calculations on all these worksheets are tied to all the other sheets, so I have to fill in very little manually. I have the year on each sheet to refer back to the year at the top of the Form 1040. When I changed that year to 2024, I then had all the new estimated tax forms for 2024. As new data becomes available for 2024, I just change the forms as needed for the new year. At the end of this year, I will have completed state and federal forms that can be copied to the stare and federal free-file online programs.
PS: I forgot to mention that for all these forms, where there are dates for the previous years or for the succeeding year, all those are changed automatically using look-up formulas on the form wherever a date occurs. All I have to change each year are the changes that the IRS makes due to tax law changes, and of course the increase in tax deductions and income levels due to inflation.
I have not used the free option from the IRS. Does the IRS free option provide any type of guide as to how to prepare a tax return and what forms should be used? Does the IRS ask about deductions and credits that might be due to lower taxes?
These types of stories are very misleading and meant to prompt an emotional response from those who do not understand business. Paying any type of tax by a company is a business expense. The tax would simply be passed along to the consumer buying the product or service from that company.
The IRS Free File option is in the development process, so right now is best suited for those who have done their taxes before. In a couple more years, as the commercial tax prep companies are forced to accept the inevitable, the IRS program will supersede most others. The IRS is of course the source for ALL tax prep information, the “horse’s mouth” for real, official, lawful information about federal taxes. All others have to use IRS information as the starting point for software and written documents. There are hundreds of IRS tax publications that tell all you want to know about all aspects of taxes, and much more than you need to know to fill out your little corner of the tax world. For me, I like to go to the source first, only then looking to see how it the source has been interpreted by commercial companies.
I sold IBM business accounting systems for 20 years and was an independent contractor for another 20 years. I understand business… it’s a special-interest taxpayer ripoff.
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Businesses aren’t anywhere near the top of the list of taxpayer ripoffs…
Paging Zelensky. Zelensky, please call your office.
You are correct in that most businesses are not dodging taxes. But the relativey few bad actors that buy or hide their cheating ways make a big dent in collected taxes.