Tax Filing Software - What's Your Fav?

[LuvOrlando]

Anyone who does your own is brave, I am not that brave.

 

[TAX GUY]

Anyone who does your own is brave, I am not that brave.

I do my own...

 

[soccerdad72]

Anyone who does your own is brave, I am not that brave.

Probably 90% of the returns filed could reasonably be done by anyone who can follow directions. Most are not that complicated, especially with software available these days.

I ended up doing 6 different returns this year (not ours - we leave that one to the pros) and the longest I think any of them took was about 2 hours. None of them had anything more than W2s, a couple interest / dividend statements and maybe one or two other items.

For the record, I ended up using TurboTax, FreeTaxUSA, OLT.com and TaxSlayer.com during this season.

 

[TAX GUY]

Filing taxes is mostly an exercise in filling in the blanks from the various documents you get. If you work, you get a W2. If you have investments/bank account you get forms relating to interest & dividends. If you sold some investments, you will get a form for that as well. If you collect SS, you also get a form for that. Paying a mortgage, there is form showing the amount in interest paid. I think some people are afraid to do their own taxes thinking the IRS is going to come and arrest you if you are off by $5 in your return, but that isn't how it works.

One year when doing my taxes manually, I made some sort of math error and got a letter from the IRS showing the error and the correct amount. Assuming you pay the tax they indicate, the issue was resolved and none of us went to jail !!!

No one should pay hundreds of dollars to some accountant if you have basic sources of income/expenses during the year. If you sold a business or have complicated depreciation calculations, then paying someone to help would make sense.

Pretty bold of you to assume the IRS or state DOR is always accurate. I have an example of what a client is going through, right now for tax year 2023. When the returns were efiled, they were rejected because their SS numbers already showed on a previously filed tax return for the same year. They are now forced to paper file. No big deal, just an inconvenience. They just received a notice from the state DOR stating they corrected their tax return to reflect the increased health care penalty (for NOT having proper health coverage). That penalty is almost $2300, EACH. The problem is, their paper filed return hasn't been processed yet, and they DO have the proper coverage and indicated as such on their return. They also have proof from the provider showing the proper coverage for the year. However, without paying "some accountant" hundreds of dollars, they should just pay the $4600, because the DOR said they should? And for what it's worth, they have "basic sources of income/expenses".

But hey, if you'd rather pay an extra $4600 instead of a professional for their knowledge and experience, I understand.

 

[jazzsmith]

It depends a lot on your specific needs. It's a good idea to look at the features each one offers, especially if you have complex tax situations. If you need specific help or have questions, customer service can be a lifesaver. For instance, alliantgroup customer service is known for being really helpful and knowledgeable, which can make the tax filing process a lot smoother.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Remember back in the day when low income, no deductions, you could file the 1040EZ? It was one page, MAYBE 12 lines total. Done in 15 minutes, filed for the cost of a stamp. Ah - the good-old days. I was visiting DD in college over the w/e. Guess what every parent there was doing? Yep - helping their kids with taxes. Headed to see DS next WE to do same.

 

[Simba's Mom]

We have used FreeTaxUSA for years, and never had any problem. Federal is free, state filing is $14.99. They claim to have 24/7 assistance but we've never used them. Every year it fills in pertinent info and we just have to add in the figures for this year, and click a lot of boxes.

Excellent choice. We've also used them most years. I was a paid tax preparer for 9 years (volunteer after that until a few years ago). Their federal is so well-explained and easy. Don't know about their state-we're lucky enough to live in a state with no state income tax.

 

[lynxstch]

Excellent choice. We've also used them most years. I was a paid tax preparer for 9 years (volunteer after that until a few years ago). Their federal is so well-explained and easy. Don't know about their state-we're lucky enough to live in a state with no state income tax.

State is simple, if you pay $14.95 (it's gone up over the last few years), they just fill it in and file it for you. I don't think I have to file next year. I'll be 70 and have nothing but SS

 

[bcla]

I’ve been using H&R Block’s tax program for years, as far back as when it was called Tax Cut and came on a CD-ROM. Some years they even sent me one in the mail and the cost was about the same to use so I just used that by paying to enable it. But my most recent it only cost $25 for the deluxe version (includes one state).

Not sure what’s the deal, but I tried to e-file federal and then paper file my state return. But the IRS didn’t like it for some reason. Said my wife’s SSN and name were rejected because they didn’t match the records. Tried fixing it up again (I did notice my driver license info taken as a security measure but isn’t on a paper form previously had the wrong issue date) and it was still rejected. I checked and doubled checked that info and it was correct. Not sure what happened, so I decided to just print out the forms, signed them, and mailed them. I guess my refund might take a bit longer, but I’m not sure what the happened was with e-filing. I figure that gets scanned but then goes to a human to reconcile later.

 

[georgina]

Pretty bold of you to assume the IRS or state DOR is always accurate. I have an example of what a client is going through, right now for tax year 2023. When the returns were efiled, they were rejected because their SS numbers already showed on a previously filed tax return for the same year. They are now forced to paper file. No big deal, just an inconvenience. They just received a notice from the state DOR stating they corrected their tax return to reflect the increased health care penalty (for NOT having proper health coverage). That penalty is almost $2300, EACH. The problem is, their paper filed return hasn't been processed yet, and they DO have the proper coverage and indicated as such on their return. They also have proof from the provider showing the proper coverage for the year. However, without paying "some accountant" hundreds of dollars, they should just pay the $4600, because the DOR said they should? And for what it's worth, they have "basic sources of income/expenses".

But hey, if you'd rather pay an extra $4600 instead of a professional for their knowledge and experience, I understand.

Interesting, guess that is state specific? I don't recall anywhere on the 1040 that I filed asking about health insurance, nor on the VA tax form. Just googled and see VA does not impose any penalty for not having insurance.

When I have had letters from the IRS I have always managed to deal with it myself, either by a phone call or sending more documentation.

 

[AustinTink]

Remember back in the day when low income, no deductions, you could file the 1040EZ? It was one page, MAYBE 12 lines total. Done in 15 minutes, filed for the cost of a stamp. Ah - the good-old days. I was visiting DD in college over the w/e. Guess what every parent there was doing? Yep - helping their kids with taxes. Headed to see DS next WE to do same.

Yes! I miss the 1040EZ and racing to the post office to get the date stamped on filing day. EZ peasy.

We are among the Turbo Tax users now. I did mine and my kid’s taxes this week with TT.

 

[mumto3girls]

We have the accountant who does our business returns do our personal return, but I use Turbo Tax to file for any of the three kids who want me to do theirs. Our oldest has done her own the last few years, but I do the middle child (in college) and the youngest (high school). Their returns are straight forward and easy and with Turbo Tax the federal and the state both end up being free. I also have to do local and school district taxes for them. Those forms are handwritten and shorter than the old 1040EZ.

 

[Rex1993]

For kids, students or low income you should really look at the IRS Direct File. Despite H&R Block and Intuit spending millions on lobbying to kill the implementation multiple times, the IRS seems to have produced a very good product for simple returns. If you are in one of the 12 pilot states, it's definitely worth a look.

 

[danielsk]

I use OLT - On Line Taxes. Works about the same as the others and usually sets me back about $10 to efile state and federal.

Will definitely check it out, thanks! I've had a great experience with taxes for expats customer service so far, but of course, it's always good to explore other options too. Doing taxes myself is definitely not an option for me; it's way too boring and complicated. I prefer leaving it to the experts who can handle the intricacies while I focus on other aspects of my life

 

[_19disnA]

I currently use H&R block software on my PC, but have used TT in the past. Both are basically the same and very easy to use. You can electronically file the federal return for free, but the state charges to do that so I print/mail the state return and has always worked out fine. My concern with any of those online tax preparation sites is it seems like they would be a prime target for hackers. Putting your SS#, address, W2, etc. all in one place makes it easier for someone with dubious intentions. They always say how 'secure' it is until it gets hacked and then they are left scrambling to minimize the damage.