FYI.: Taxes Online

[Joey]

For anyone who uses the on-line free tax sites...well I have been using Turbo Tax but for a change tried TaxAct.com and got a much better return....I wonder why?

I followed all the prompts on both sites and tax act was easier, better return.And free!

[rocket]

I have never tried TaxAct.com and don't know anything about it. When you are imputing information, is that information encrypted and secure? If not then it might be available to identity thieves.

[Joey]

I have never tried TaxAct.com and don't know anything about it. When you are imputing information, is that information encrypted and secure? If not then it might be available to identity thieves.

The below info is from their website.....

Keeping your tax return information private and secure is our top concern. At 2nd Story Software, we use the industry-standard Secure Socket Layers (SSL) protocol which provides data encryption, message integrity, and server authentication when your data is sent to us. In addition, TaxACT takes pride in being PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant, demonstrating that we take security of our customers' data very seriously. For more information, see our Security Information page.

[Joey]

I received confirmation from the Fed and State they accepted my return.Last year I had both in my account in 4 days.

[rocket]

Thanks for the info, I'll have to look into that next year. Do they charge to e-file or is that free also for both State and Federal?

[Joey]

I paid to do the State $14.95....FED is free...last year I did my State on my State page that's free but opted to go this way.Just wanted it done and copied.

There are alot of pop ups trying to get you to pay for extras like deluxe...and additional things like to have W2 's automatically loaded...but I plugged it in myself...said no to all the pop-ups.

[Qapla]

My FIL buys Turbo Tax each year and we use that one copy to file his,his son, mine and my daughters, my brothers, my brothers SIL all FED returns ans well as my brothers SIL State - they live in another state - ours doesn't have a state return. We end up e-filing 8 FED and one State, all e-filed free.

We started using TT many years ago when I first was notified by the IRS that I was eligible for "electronic filing" back when it was still new. I called the IRS to ask what software the recommended, but they could not say they recommended one over the other. What they did tell me, though, was that they (the IRS) based their electronic format off of TT's format and made everyone else (all other software developers) use that format if they wanted to offer e-file.

I will say, I have never had a problem using TT.

Some years back my brother used to have another of his SIL's do his taxes. They used Tax Cut because they said it "allowed them to get larger refunds" and to "declare things TT didn't allow". My brother ended up owing the IRS several thousand in back taxes and penalties/interest because some of the things that the other tax software allowed, the IRS did not.

[rocket]

I would rather pay a little more taxes than go through the hassle of an audit. I try to be completely honest but even the honest deductions can flip a red flag. I was audited once 30 years ago over an honest mistake on my part and it was no fun at all.

[LeslieDean]

Oh great! Just what you wanted to here, huh Nancy? Is it possible to do your taxes on the TT -not actually resubmiting them but just to compare what the differences may be and then keep a copy just in case anything shoud ever come up? Hope that was just a fluke the brother encountered but I know hearing something like that can cause loss of piece of mind. Especially since you mentioned it got a bigger deduction for you. One I am sure you deserve! It will be nice when we don't have these concerns.

[Joey]

Oh great! Just what you wanted to here, huh Nancy? Is it possible to do your taxes on the TT -not actually resubmiting them but just to compare what the differences may be and then keep a copy just in case anything shoud ever come up? Hope that was just a fluke the brother encountered but I know hearing something like that can cause loss of piece of mind. Especially since you mentioned it got a bigger deduction for you. One I am sure you deserve! It will be nice when we don't have these concerns.

Well, I am glad I mentioned this because there was slight mistake with a decimal point....but I can fix it.....so actually both Turbo Tax and TaxAct had the same return amount......I just can't go on that vacation to the Outer Banks now.

Yogi Bear Campground it is.

[dubois]

John, I've never used Turbo Tax, because I heard it can only be used 3 times and then it locks you out. From your posting, it appears this isn't the case at all! Maybe I'll check this out this year.

[GrumpysWife]

I have mine done by a sister who is a bookkeeper. I have to pay for it but never had any problems. My son's also use her for taxes and bookkeeping.

[palmhat]

Can anyone help me find a thread discussing which moneys are Caesars and which are not? As Christ's disciples we want to be sure to pay "to Caesar what belongs to Caesar" and give Caesar none of what belongs to God. Any suggestions would be appreciated. The search criterion I am using isn't getting me there.

[perspective]

I've used Tax Act for years for my businesses with no problems. It is great, and costs less than similar programs.

[Qapla]

We install the Turbo Tax CD on three diferent computers when we do our taxes. we do two of them on my FIL computer - we used to do three when his sister was still alive, I do 4 on my computer and two plus a State return on my brothers. It has never refused to install or lock up.