To my chagrin, she sometimes manages to catch me putting figures in the wrong place. But my wife, a C.P.A., likes to check where and how the software is using the information provided. Those forms scare me, and I would prefer not to see them. forms.Ī shortcoming of the online versions is that you can’t easily jump back and forth between the interviews and the underlying forms. You provide the pertinent details from your records, and the software fills out the welter of I.R.S. ![]() As with the desktop versions, each program uses an interview to elicit information. It’s nearly as easy as making a purchase on Amazon. You open up a browser, create an account and start plugging in numbers. If you’re filing just one return, the online programs are cheaper than their desktop counterparts. I also have to file the Internal Revenue Service’s Schedule C, because of freelance income, and all three handled that without problems. (Prices can change throughout the tax season.)īased on the 2013 return for my wife and me, any of the three will work fine for a straightforward filing - consisting of, say, wages, interest and dividends, and common deductions like those for mortgage interest and charitable contributions. Filing a state return costs an additional $36.99 with TurboTax and Block. At $17.99, its Ultimate Bundle, which includes a state return, was far cheaper than TurboTax Home & Business, at $74.99, and Block Premium, at $49.99. Block’s help is best - when I had a tax question, I got an answer from a Block staff member within five minutes. TurboTax makes doing taxes about as easy as it can be, short of hiring a preparer. I learned that each online offering has strengths and weaknesses that recall those of its desktop forebear. This year, I made peace with modernity, forsook the desktop and went online, trying out each program there. But the makers of all three - TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxAct - say that most of their customers, and nearly all of the new ones, choose their online offerings instead. I prefer the downloadable desktop versions of the leading tax preparation programs. ![]() My wife, Mary Ellen, says my taste in music does, too - my apologies, Mr. My choice of tax preparation software brands me an old coot, or at least out of sync with the modern moment.
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