Turbotax Deluxe Changes

[nnuut]

Is this something you download from the Internet? What happened to the good ol' days when you could pick up forms from your local post office or library?! :notrust:

You actually do it on the internet!

 

[burrocrat]

You actually do it on the internet!

nnuut is right, everybody seems to be doing it on the internet nowadays. my 12 year old can't even look up a game cheat code for his xbox without getting popup ad videos for people doing things that i didn't even know existed until i was like 19 or 20. it's a brave new world.

 

[James48843]

Hey- just send ME your tax W-2's, all your 1098's and 1099's, and your social security numbers, and I will be happy to take care of everything for you!L

Lol!

 

[konakathy]

You actually do it on the internet!

You ..... Nevermind .... :laugh: :ban: I get it. Thanks for the info.

 

[nnuut]

You ..... Nevermind .... :laugh: :ban: I get it. Thanks for the info.

 

[PessOptimist]

Re: TurboTax Getting More Love!

I finally completed my 2014 taxes this morning. No hurry, I owe everyone this year.

My Turbo Tax experience was about normal.
I downloaded the free upgrade to Premier and later downloaded my second state.
I remembered to do the non-resident state first as recommended many years ago by Turbotax. I was asked for information I know was available in the 2013 return I imported but this is a normal aggravating ongoing bug.
I completed the second state (full year resident) and went through all reviews. Turbotax said everything was fine but I knew the number for the resident state tax for was wrong and printed some of the forms to do an idiot check.
I use the questions method and it never asked any questions about taxes paid to another state on income received from another state. I fixed that by creating the proper form for the resident state.
During the idiot check I found some idiot had entered on the fed form the resident state taxes paid amount as a refund. When I corrected this I had to force the change to flow to the state tax returns.
After one of the updates I was led to the file your taxes screen even though I wasn’t any way near done.
I have found in the past that if you have everything ready and sit down for a few hours and do all returns at once it works a little better. You should still NEVER accept the bottom line if it doesn’t look right.
The software asked me a few times about health care insurance and suggested I go to the healthcare.gov to see if I could get a better deal.
Turbotax offered to let me buy an Amazon gift certificate with my refund even though I had no refund due.

Bottom line:
If I didn’t have any previous experience with my filing situation and accepted the Turbotax returns I would have sent the resident state much more than needed.

It cost a lot (IMHO), between the original software, one additional state and e-file fees about $150.
Turbotax accepted my state returns but I have no confirmation they were accepted by those state or if someone has filed for me. The fed return was accepted immediately so I guess that means no one stole my identity and filed for a refund.

In the past I have resisted the idea of doing taxes “in the cloud” but have since realized the returns are “in the cloud” somewhere anyway.
Does anyone who uses taxact know if you can file two state returns. The website is vague. Same question for freetaxusa.

Update: the non-resident state return has been accepted.

Taxes are done for this year and I am thinking about withholding amounts or in the non-resident case prepayments. I have always thought based on the unpredictability of overtime in the current job that if I get back or pay <$1000 total to the feds and resident state I did pretty good.

PO

 

[nnuut]

Re: TurboTax Getting More Love!

Taxact did ask me if I wanted to inter a another state, so I think they can handle it.

 

[Scout333]

Re: TurboTax Getting More Love!

TurboTax filings were pretty smooth with Deluxe + State 2015 and 2016 tax filings. While price checking the 2017 versions on Amazon I saw tons of negative reviews mostly around the Sch. C and D's and the original installs on windows 10 machines. Has anyone purchased the 2017 Deluxe + State w/efile and installed it this year? Would you be willing to share your experiences? Thanks, fellow TSP'rs!

 

[evilanne]

Re: TurboTax Getting More Love!

Last few years I have purchased Turbo Tax Premier from Costco or Sam's Club. Premier covers Investments & Real Estate and I haven't had any issues with any schedules but I don't use Schedule C. My Brokerage Statement, once available, imports easily into Premier version. If you have a lot of investment trades or capital gains in taxable account (Sch D) or Self Employment Income (Sch C), it may make sense to upgrade to Premier or Home & Business versions. If you buy deluxe version, you can easily upgrade to one of the others within program or by phone, which I have done in the past. Last few years, I have used Mac to do my taxes without any issues, so I'm not sure about Windows. Texas doesn't have State income tax but I think all Turbo versions include 1 state download.

There have been several updates since I purchased in early January. Many of the forms were not available until recently, 8606-T (Roth form) is still not available. They update tax change for medical deductions from 10% to 7.5% on Schedule A based on recent legislation. I have entered some data from my Dec 31 brokerage statement to estimate current taxes but download won't be available from brokerage until next month.

 

[Scout333]

Thanks EA for the info! I have had better luck waiting until later in the filing season. Usually 2-15 or later.

 

[nasa1974]

I use TurboTax Deluxe also. Right now I don't use Schedule C or D. Probably won't be able to use Schedule A for this year.

Just did a quick look and my Federal withholdings hasn't changed yet from what was being kept out in 2017.

Also did a quick comparison with my 2016 taxes vs. what I understand the 2018 might look like and I came up at least $400 less in deductions. Guess I will have to wait and see which tax bracket I fall into and if my payroll deductions are messed with.

 

[RazorCat]

Taking my taxes to my accountant/tax preparer for the 7th straight year. Price went up to $115.00 last year, but all I do is drop off my ever expanding folder full of tax documents, and wait for a call later in the day. Taxes prepared and forwarded to the Infernal Revenue Service. And I get a really nice tax binder that contains everything I need to keep on file for future reference.
Our refunds, or amount owed, is usually less than $500.00, so nothing to get excited about either way. That’s my goal every year.
Be as close to the break even point as possible.
I’ll pay the little bit extra for tax prep. More time for fishing.