Is it worth it to jump on the TurboTax bandwagon?

[knightrider]

I've been using 1040.com for 10+ years. It works ok, but often I find missing forms and fields and have to open a support ticket for them to add them in. Most times they add them in, but sometimes I get a clueless support person who doesn't get what I am asking.. So I am wondering if I should just switch to Turbo Tax, the defacto standard.

My tax return can be fairly complex, sometimes 100+ pages.. Will it be a long painful process to learn TurboTax? Or should I just stick with 1040.com ? I don't like answering questions to do the tax returns. I do everything by just the forms.

[daheld]

I personally think TurboTax is by far the most instructive, intuitive program I've used, and I've used a few. People around here always want to complain about the cost, but it is a one time per year cost, and not that expensive.

[JBTX]

I've been using 1040.com for 10+ years. It works ok, but often I find missing forms and fields and have to open a support ticket for them to add them in. Most times they add them in, but sometimes I get a clueless support person who doesn't get what I am asking.. So I am wondering if I should just switch to Turbo Tax, the defacto standard.

My tax return can be fairly complex, sometimes 100+ pages.. Will it be a long painful process to learn TurboTax? Or should I just stick with 1040.com ? I don't like answering questions to do the tax returns. I do everything by just the forms.

Turbo tax works by doing an overall "interview" with sequential questions, or you choose the specific area and go straight to those sequential questions. If your preference is to just manually fill out forms then turbotax isn't for you (although you may be able to do that in turbotax)

[BogleMelon]

Yes it worth it. Go for it. $40/year or so is only $3.33/mo for peace of mind.

[flyphotoguy]

I will probably shift to TurboTax this year. I've been using H&R Block software for years but I might shift to Turbo Tax because last year I had to wait for some forms to show up or get corrected in H&R Block and there were some weird stuff that was going on software wise. Hopefully TurboTax have better updates/forms and makes it easier than H&R Block.

[sycamore]

Long-time TT user here. I've gotten used to the interview mode; I don't recall it being difficult to learn. Switching from the interview mode to forms view is helpful if you want to drill down into form-level details though sometimes the UX/user experience seems a bit clunky to me. It's worth the $30 (on sale) once per year.

[elvisimprsntr]

+1

Been using TurboTax since 1987 (formally MacInTax).

Now I get it free from Fidelity. What’s not to like?

[engineerartist]

I used MacInTax starting in 1988 and have used TurboTax every year starting in 2000 (when they acquired MacInTax). It seems to get better each year and like daheld I find the annual cost trivial - especially compared to most tax services.

[02nz]

Have used either online or desktop TurboTax every year for around 15 years, no real complaints except for one. They try to deceive you into thinking you need higher-priced versions like Premier for rental income or investments, when cheaper ones like Deluxe do just fine. Don't be suckered into that like I was for many years.

Best time to buy is between Dec and Feb. Right upon release in November is more expensive (and many updates are required anyway before the software becomes usable), and as the tax deadline approaches in April prices tend to go up.

[02nz]

Long-time TT user here. I've gotten used to the interview mode; I don't recall it being difficult to learn. Switching from the interview mode to forms view is helpful if you want to drill down into form-level details though sometimes the UX/user experience seems a bit clunky to me. It's worth the $30 (on sale) once per year.

I've learned a lot ]about my taxes and the tax code by switching between the questions and the forms, to see how my inputs change the numbers (or don't). This takes some effort and isn't required to produce a correct return but is incredibly valuable for tax planning.

[quantAndHold]

I don’t love TurboTax. It’s tax software, so I doubt anyone loves it. And they like to charge a low, low base price, then you find out that you need to spend more to upgrade something. But if you have a 100+ page return, TT will probably get it done with the least fuss. You need to pay attention to which version you buy. With a 100+ page return, you probably need one of the more expensive versions.

[Luke Duke]

Have used either online or desktop TurboTax every year for around 15 years, no real complaints except for one. They try to deceive you into thinking you need higher-priced versions like Premier for rental income or investments, when cheaper ones like Deluxe do just fine. Don't be suckered into that like I was for many years.

This. You also can't downgrade if you initially select a higher version than you need. If you are unsure about which version you need, select the cheaper one and upgrade when/if you find it necessary.

[02nz]

I don’t love TurboTax. It’s tax software, so I doubt anyone loves it. And they like to charge a low, low base price, then you find out that you need to spend more to upgrade something. But if you have a 100+ page return, TT will probably get it done with the least fuss. You need to pay attention to which version you buy. With a 100+ page return, you probably need one of the more expensive versions.

But in most cases you don't "need" to upgrade, they just want you to think you do. I (and many others here) have paid more for Premier; this year I switched to Deluxe and don't notice any differences or reduced functionality on investments and rental income, which are the main areas where TurboTax really pushes you to upgrade to Premier. Maybe there are some edge cases where Premier gives you more hand-holding, but I went through all the questions for these, and can't tell any difference.

[knightrider]

With a 100+ page return, you probably need one of the more expensive versions.

Can anyone confirm if I can skip all the Questions and go directly to filling out the forms? And if I can, will the basic version have all the forms? Or do I need premium for that?

[BuckyBadger]

With a 100+ page return, you probably need one of the more expensive versions.

Can anyone confirm if I can skip all the Questions and go directly to filling out the forms? And if I can, will the basic version have all the forms? Or do I need premium for that?

You may not prefer the questions, but could you just try to survive them? It's really quite a painless process.

There are ways to get to the forms directly, but if you can just allow it to ask you the questions you'll be done quickly and then can review all the forms. I don't know if there's an easy way to go from form to form without going back out to the main interface.

Perhaps you could try the questions once and see how much you dislike it.

If answering questions is a deal breaker i wouldn't recommend TurboTax.

[Texanbybirth]

If you really just want the forms, and are resistant to an interview style, then just use https://www.freefilefillableforms.com/#/fd

I'm a CPA, and I use TurboTax every year.

[WarAdmiral]

Long time TurboTax user. One of the best features of TurboTax is it's ability to automatically pull-in all your data from various financial institutions. Makes my life so much easier.

Do other Tax Prep Software offer this feature ?

[knightrider]

You may not prefer the questions, but could you just try to survive them? It's really quite a painless process.

Does one have to answer the same questions every year?

[abuss368]

Try Free Tax USA. Worked very well. Federal is free and you only pay for states.

[stan1]

With a 100+ page return, you probably need one of the more expensive versions.

Can anyone confirm if I can skip all the Questions and go directly to filling out the forms? And if I can, will the basic version have all the forms? Or do I need premium for that?

Most of the time you wouldn't go to IRS forms, you would go to TurboTax worksheets that in turn feed forms.

There are some things (like IRA contributions, RMDs, Roth Conversions where it is definitely BEST to use the interview as multiple forms need to be properly synced up.

I've found that it is very easy to move back and forth between forms, worksheets, and questions. There have been several times over the years where I have had to spend a lot of time finding the right box to check on a worksheet somewhere to get the right calculation. There are advanced or rare situations where the interview is not sufficient and the default behavior is not correct for your situation. I don't blame the software I blame the tax code but usually by spending the time with it I am incentivized to save money.

[BuckyBadger]

You may not prefer the questions, but could you just try to survive them? It's really quite a painless process.

Does one have to answer the same questions every year?

Some of them, but not all. After you've done it once they will ask things like, "has this status changed some last year," or "is there anything in this list that applies to you this year."

It's painless, really.

[chw]

Been using TT for 12-15 years, after using H&R Block for 10 yrs or so. TT seems to be a better product for me, and have come to learn it’s uance over time. It has handled several complex situations for me over the years, and their phone support is generally good (I believe phone support is only available with Premier).

Others here will try and convince to use cheaper or inferior products. They may work for folks with a less complex return. IMO, TT saves me time in the prep process, which is worth the cost of the software.

[BuckyBadger]

With a 100+ page return, you probably need one of the more expensive versions.

Can anyone confirm if I can skip all the Questions and go directly to filling out the forms? And if I can, will the basic version have all the forms? Or do I need premium for that?

Most of the time you wouldn't go to IRS forms, you would go to TurboTax worksheets that in turn feed forms.

There are some things (like IRA contributions, RMDs, Roth Conversions where it is definitely BEST to use the interview as multiple forms need to be properly synced up.

I've found that it is very easy to move back and forth between forms, worksheets, and questions. There have been several times over the years where I have had to spend a lot of time finding the right box to check on a worksheet somewhere to get the right calculation. There are advanced or rare situations where the interview is not sufficient and the default behavior is not correct for your situation. I don't blame the software I blame the tax code but usually by spending the time with it I am incentivized to save money.

I feel similarly. The only thing i do that's the slightest bit tricky is a backdoor Roth. And i just know that at one point i click a box that makes my tax shoot up, then like two questions later i click a box that fixes it. It's easy because i know what it's supposed to be doing.

[quantAndHold]

I don’t love TurboTax. It’s tax software, so I doubt anyone loves it. And they like to charge a low, low base price, then you find out that you need to spend more to upgrade something. But if you have a 100+ page return, TT will probably get it done with the least fuss. You need to pay attention to which version you buy. With a 100+ page return, you probably need one of the more expensive versions.

But in most cases you don't "need" to upgrade, they just want you to think you do. I (and many others here) have paid more for Premier; this year I switched to Deluxe and don't notice any differences or reduced functionality on investments and rental income, which are the main areas where TurboTax really pushes you to upgrade to Premier. Maybe there are some edge cases where Premier gives you more hand-holding, but I went through all the questions for these, and can't tell any difference.

So you can download 1099-B’s and have 20+ pages of stock sales auto populate a Schedule D in Deluxe?

[michaelingp]

Can anyone confirm if I can skip all the Questions and go directly to filling out the forms? And if I can, will the basic version have all the forms? Or do I need premium for that?

As others mentioned, I don't think you'll be happy doing this. Almost all the actual IRS forms aren't filled in directly. If you click on a field on an IRS form, it will show you which worksheet (another field) the value came from. That field may itself have come from another field. I believe you can override the linking of fields, but TurboTax won't be happy, and it will complain and say you have errors.

[02nz]

I don’t love TurboTax. It’s tax software, so I doubt anyone loves it. And they like to charge a low, low base price, then you find out that you need to spend more to upgrade something. But if you have a 100+ page return, TT will probably get it done with the least fuss. You need to pay attention to which version you buy. With a 100+ page return, you probably need one of the more expensive versions.

But in most cases you don't "need" to upgrade, they just want you to think you do. I (and many others here) have paid more for Premier; this year I switched to Deluxe and don't notice any differences or reduced functionality on investments and rental income, which are the main areas where TurboTax really pushes you to upgrade to Premier. Maybe there are some edge cases where Premier gives you more hand-holding, but I went through all the questions for these, and can't tell any difference.

So you can download 1099-B’s and have 20+ pages of stock sales auto populate a Schedule D in Deluxe?

That may be one of the "edge cases" I mentioned. Even with three different brokerages, entering the 1099-B's takes me at most 10 minutes, but I don't have any non-covered securities.

[LookinAround]

So you can download 1099-B’s and have 20+ pages of stock sales auto populate a Schedule D in Deluxe?

Yes. I've been using Deluxe for 10+ years. It imports from 100's / all the major investment firms. It will auto populate 1099-INT and -DIVs, 1009-Bs, Schedule D, Form 8949. It also populates my 1099-R

I think Premiere might be useful for rental property but otherwise Deluxe is just fine.

[tadamsmar]

My tax return can be fairly complex, sometimes 100+ pages.. Will it be a long painful process to learn TurboTax? Or should I just stick with 1040.com ? I don't like answering questions to do the tax returns. I do everything by just the forms.

I looked up 1040.com. It says: "Just sign in and start. We’ll ask all the questions—all you have to do is answer. Reporting tax info has never been this easy."

Looks like you are already answering questions! Right?

Anyway. 1040.com sounds similar to TurboTax.

In TurboTax, you can always look at the forms and see the form/worksheet level view. I think you can sometimes fill in the form, but you usually don't want to override a field that comes from a worksheet. You can go to the worksheet and find where your data is filled in.

I use to use TurboTax, but I use HRBlock these days.

I try to avoid directly filling in the forms, myself.

[criticalmass]

I've been using 1040.com for 10+ years. It works ok, but often I find missing forms and fields and have to open a support ticket for them to add them in. Most times they add them in, but sometimes I get a clueless support person who doesn't get what I am asking.. So I am wondering if I should just switch to Turbo Tax, the defacto standard.

My tax return can be fairly complex, sometimes 100+ pages.. Will it be a long painful process to learn TurboTax? Or should I just stick with 1040.com ? I don't like answering questions to do the tax returns. I do everything by just the forms.

I'm not sure where TurboTax, the defacto standard is coming from. Many former TurboTax customers bailed out when they raised prices and quietly deleted features to entice customers to spend more money on premium versions. I've between using H&R and have found it can do basic things that TurboTax never could do at similar levels.

I've waiting for the day when we don't need any of these third party lobbyist/software packages. That day may now be closer since IRS recently called out deceptive practices by Intuit/TurboTax and removed their voluntary non compete above a certain income level for IRS direct filling options. No doubt Intuit lobbyists are now working overtime to keep their gravy train rolling.

[JBTX]

You may not prefer the questions, but could you just try to survive them? It's really quite a painless process.

Does one have to answer the same questions every year?

There are 2 modes: an interview mode, for the novice or first timer, and a mode which let's you pick and choose which area you want to work, such that you don't waste time answering questions for areas that aren't applicable to you. Within those subtopics you will have answer a few questions but they are generally relevant. TT typically picks the most common answer.

It also carries over information from the prior year, such as personal, dependents, how much you owed and paid prior year etc. TT tends to get easier every year you use it.

It is absolutely not filling out forms Directly, which is by design. You can go into forms and plug numbers but I wouldn't recommend it. It would be like typing over formulas in an excel spreadsheet.

[OAG]

Try Free Tax USA. Worked very well. Federal is free and you only pay for states.

+1 I have used FreeTAXUSA for 4 years now. Return filed and final return can be printed as a PDF file so no hard copy necessary. Has worked well for me. In my case (OH) the state site has a free return for that too. I pay enough taxes why pay more to tell the IRS what I did.

[abuss368]

Try Free Tax USA. Worked very well. Federal is free and you only pay for states.

+1 I have used FreeTAXUSA for 4 years now. Return filed and final return can be printed as a PDF file so no hard copy necessary. Has worked well for me. In my case (OH) the state site has a free return for that too. I pay enough taxes why pay more to tell the IRS what I did.

Good feedback. Our state has a direct website where we log in and file. So does local. Thus no filing costs incurred.

[BogleMelon]

With a 100+ page return, you probably need one of the more expensive versions.

Can anyone confirm if I can skip all the Questions and go directly to filling out the forms? And if I can, will the basic version have all the forms? Or do I need premium for that?

You may not prefer the questions, but could you just try to survive them? It's really quite a painless process.

There are ways to get to the forms directly, but if you can just allow it to ask you the questions you'll be done quickly and then can review all the forms. I don't know if there's an easy way to go from form to form without going back out to the main interface.

Perhaps you could try the questions once and see how much you dislike it.

If answering questions is a deal breaker i wouldn't recommend TurboTax.

Actually you can choose that little icon "Forms" on the top right of TT desktop version, it will take you straight away to all the forms where you can review them form by form, line by line.

[jabberwockOG]

If you use Fidelity for investment accounts, check your portfolio "home" page for a link to free TurboTax Premier for Federal and State. I think there may be some minimum account $ value required for this option to be available in an account, not sure what it is.

I have used TT for my taxes for at least 20 years. Works great and is fast and easy to use.

[campy2010]

I'm going to buck the pro-TurboTax commentary and say no because 1) there are much cheaper alternatives like taxfreeusa.com and 2) TT, which is owned by Intuit, have been lobbying Congress to stop Americans to from filing their taxes for free for 20 years or so (https://www.propublica.org/article/insi ... s-for-free).

I don't reward businesses with scummy lobbying practices.

This. I refuse to buy anything from Intuit.

[nydoc]

After using H&R for last three years, I switched to Turbotax this year. Definitely better.

[BogleMelon]

Freetaxusa is cheaper by $17 (if you bought TT on the annual sale by end of December).
However, there are some key differences here:
1- With TT you can see Form 1040 and other forms once you fill in your tax questionnaires (W2, 1099-INT..etc).
2- You can also go from one specific number in the form 1040 to its worksheet by a single click, to see where the calculation is coming from.
3- With TT you can import your W2 (for some employers), most of 1099-INT and most of the 1099-DIV...etc forms. Not the case with Freetaxusa.
4- You can use TT desktop for scenarios and various tax situations by simply copying the data file and rename it. Of course you can't do that with Freetaxusa.
5- To be fair, only one caveat, you would have to mail in the state forms with TT. Freetaxusa, on the other hand, file it electronically at no additional cost. If you live in a state where you can e-file for free, you can still use TT state forms to fill your state website section and e-file.

Again, the cost difference is $17/yr, $1.42/mo or less than $0.05/day!

I am staying with Turbotax personally.