WORST TAX SOFTWARE EVER (US)

[kejedo]

Having been a professional tax preparer for a number of years, I usually get Block tax program   (comes with 5 free e-files), I primarily worked for them. I have used Tax Act once before. Turbo Tax is fine, but it's a bit more expensive than Henry and Richard's. This year husb bought a promo (tax act) pack from HSN claiming to be free for FEd and State.  It took me some days to get their website  to recognize my promo voucher code. After that, every time one backs up, you have to sign out and log in with a diff code that has to be sent back to one's email.  I wanted to just enter numbers on the forms, which it says it offers, but open forms would not accept direct entries.  So I had to go back and answer each question.  Now it wants 9.99 per tax entry for this free program.  Since NY only accepts efile. the program insists on charging  for Fed and State efiling.   This has demanded too many of my hours  for processes that should be painless, free, and expeditious.  Not, Not, and Not.

[Qapla]

I have been using TurboTax for many years. When I first started efileing my taxes I had talked to a nice guy with the IRS and he told me that they can't recommend one package over another but, when they, the IRS, decided to start accepting efile they, the IRS, went to Intuit and asked them for the format for electronic forms and then told all the other companies that they had to make their software compatible with that format.

 

Since the IRS trusted them to design the format, I have just stuck with them. .... has worked for many, many years.  

[kejedo]

Since NY is a mandatory efile state, I went on the NY website and it offered links to free Fed and State efiling, with a phone number to call it the program asks you for money. Went to link 'efile for free' and entered the entire info. Then it asked me for payment for filing, so I called the phone number on the NY free-efile state site, and the person on the phone helped me click a different link. It was a free Federal and State, including efile for both, by HR Block. The program was painless, e-filed both State and Fed for free, and allowed me to make copies (also for no charge.) One of the other programs wanted to charge for a hard copy. So, now both Fed and State are e-filed and I netted about 500 more in the return than the original taxact program from HSN.  I will leave this paperwork mess on my table until tomorrow, at which time, I will sort and file this conglomerate.  I am not sure if other states are eligible for free Fed and State prep plus no charge for either e-file. Many programs offer free Fed, then charge about $20 (per return) for state. Hope all US taxpayers are flying through this season.  I'll watch for that DCN

[Qapla]

With the Turbo Tax we use we get enough free Federal that we all can file our taxes with the IRS without being charged. We also get one (1) free State filing and that is good because one of the family lives in Georgia. While Florida does NOT have State taxes, Georgia does.

 

So, in all, there are eight (8) of us who file Federal IRS for free and one (1) State for free.

 

Some of these are simple filings, using the "short form" while others are more complex including self-employment and farm income.

 

I usually do seven (7) of the eight (8).