Income tax --looking ahead

I've used Turbo Tax for years and it is very easy and walks you through every step.

We've used it for several years. It's easy in some respects--it feels like there's a lot of questions, but it's very honest in saying "this is rare" for certain things. The investment parts were some of the harder parts, but I think that had more to do with our types of investments (stocks from DH's company) so I made him do that part. The first year can be the hardest because after that it remembers things for you.

It was called Tax Cut.

I've used the at home H&R Block product for at least 20 years. It's so easy. And I've actually used Turbo Tax to help someone else who already purchased that program but was scared to use it. Both programs are similar and if you just read and click step by step it's pretty fail proof. I had some weird private stock sale and payback that had to be done over several years and it was a non issue using the at home software.

I’ve done HRBlock. Super easy. Even connects to our investment account and puts it all where it’s supposed to go. That’s really the only complicated thing we have though.

I’ve used TurboTax for 10+ years and love it. We have had these scenarios at various times: two incomes, small side business, investment accounts w/capital gains/losses, retirement accounts, 2nd home, so a variety of issues and working through them has been very straightforward. Some tips to help you…
1. The fees are discounted the earlier you pay, so pay early and file later. That’s what I do. Will need to pay before you can print, FYI.
2. There are 3-4 paid tiers depending on how complex your return is, but you decide. I generally go with the lowest level paid version.
3. There’s a great support area where you can look up topics or questions and see responses from experts or get online help. I’ve used this feature several times.
4. W2’s and investment account tax forms provided to you can be electronically imported which is a nice feature and you still have the option to review/edit if needed. I import both and haven’t had problems, even if I get a revised statement, it’s easy to delete the old record.
5. General info about home/work/dependents etc rolls from year to year so it only needs a review/quick edit, which is nice.
6. I especially like the multi-year comparison worksheet provided with the return…nice to see trends, etc.
7. You can e-file and print/download copies as needed…return only or return + worksheets. Refund and payments are also addressed within the software.

If I think of something else, I’ll let you know. Feel free to send questions to me…

We have been using Turbo tax for 5 years now.  There is an option for a service that includes personal assistant from the Turbo Tax experts that we use.  I used it a couple of times last year because I was dealing with stock options that had matured.  Each time I was able to make an appointment at a time that was convenient for me, letting them know my issue.  At the appointed time, someone would call me and walk me through the issue.  There was no rushing me off the phone, and they were VERY patient as they went over the issue multiple times with me.