H&R Block TaxCut State, 2003 Edition

by H&R Block

Product Features

• Step-by-step guidance for filing State tax returns
• Automatically transfers info from 2003 TaxCut federal return
• Access state instructions directly; entry manager for staying organized
• Refund/owe meter monitors amount-due changes
• Option of filing electronically or printing ready-to-file state forms

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• ASIN: B0000DZGWZ
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 18, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,536 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)

Product Description

TaxCut State 2003 programs are faster, easier, and friendlier than ever with new enhancements to the Interview process. Instantly transfer all of your personal federal tax information into your TaxCut State program and just answer a few questions. The TaxCut State 2003 CD-ROM will provide you access to one state of your choice. Additional states must be purchased and downloaded from our Web site. Features: ?? Answer only the questions that matter: state interviews make completing your return easier than ever by providing only customized questions that are pertinent to your unique tax situation. ?? Use your federal return as a head-start: TaxCut State helps you be more efficient by automatically transferring information from your 2003 TaxCut federal return. Then simply answer a few state-specific questions and TaxCut State completes your return for you! ?? Access state instructions directly: TaxCut State conveniently links your state's official instructions directly to the form you're working on--saving you time and hassle. ?? Stay organized as you complete your return: The Entry Manager helps you stay organized by keeping track of where data originates from as you move through the return and guiding you to related forms. ?? Save time by filing electronically: TaxCut State gives you the option of filing your return electronically or printing ready-to-file state forms. Choose the e-fie option to receive your refund up to three times faster than conventional filing; plus, get confirmation your return has been received at your state revenue authority. ?? Check for errors automatically: Error Check helps ensure the accuracy of your return by automatically reviewing your return for accuracy. ?? Watch the bottom line change as you go: use the Refund/Owe Meter to monitor how your refund or amount-due changes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lacks some polish, but overall great value!, February 1, 2004

By 

Scott Whyte (Troy, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: H&R Block TaxCut State, 2003 Edition (CD-ROM)

I have been a loyal Turbotax user for years and decided to tryout TaxCut this year. I was EXTREMELY unhappy after last year's fiasco where Intuit installed Spyware without users knowledge in order to cutdown on copyright infringement of their product. Unfortunately, they ticked off the loyal users like myself. I believe they have lost/will lose more sales based on that fiasco than they could've possibly saved by catching a few people trying to copyright infringe!
Anyway, I was impressed with TaxCut especially for the price. I paid about 40% less for TaxCut Deluxe & TaxCut State than I would have paid for Turbotax Deluxe & Turbotax State.

For the most part, the programs are very similar. TaxCut does the usual interview process just like Turbotax and it makes it very easy to work with. Where TaxCut needs a bit more polish is in the fine details. Missing was the ability to save your tax returns into Adobe Acrobat format. I love that feature in Turbotax and really missed it.

In addition, I had a little trouble with form 4767 because I claim deductions for a home office and sold my house/moved this year. It worked out after some reading of the help file and IRS.gov site, but it could've been more intuitive.

Other than those couple of items, I was very happy with the program(s). I ran my return through Turbotax's website (without purchasing or filing it) and the numbers came out the same so I am satisfied with the accuracy of the software as well. Overall I'm glad I switched to TaxCut this year. I doubt I'll look at Turbotax in the future.

45 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It is VaporWare!, January 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: H&R Block TaxCut State, 2003 Edition (CD-ROM)

Twenty five dollars for software that cannot be used!

1 star is too many.

When you run the program you get a message that says you need to download the latest version - which will be available on January 31st. You can't use the program to get a head start or to estimate your taxes since there is no program beyond the message. They might just as well sell an empty box with a note that gives a URL to the download. Meanwhile, they have your money and you have nothing.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible Product for CA this year, February 20, 2004

By 

N. Browning (Rough and Ready, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: H&R Block TaxCut State, 2003 Edition (CD-ROM)

I used TaxCut for 2002 and 2003 because of Intuit's spyware debacle. I was very happy with the 2002 version and everything went very well - just as well as TurboTax in previous years. However, this year TaxCut state for CA did several things that make me feel uncertain about the accuracy of my return:

1) It filled out a 540X for me, indicating an amended return. I gave it no information that would indicate an amended return. I had to delete the form to get it to file correctly.

2) It filled out several other forms, such as "Teacher Credit", "Child and Dependent Credit", despite me answering "NO" to questions regarding these credits. I had to delete these forms as well.

3) It demanded that I fill out my child's name on Form 3803, even though I don't have a child and didn't say that I did.

4) It wanted me to fill out form 3801, Passive Activity Loss, but gave me no information on how to do so. It filled out the Federal Return just fine, but didn't carry information over correctly.

5) Here's a sample of the help I got from Customer Support: "deleting the first copy of the Schedule C will cause this form to be deleted although a new "third" copy of Schedule C will immediately be re-created because of the 1099-MISC directed to the Schedule C. In that case, the 1099-MISC must be deleted or redirected to another form." That's the extent of it - I have no idea how to "redirect" a 1099-MISC. I didn't even have any 1099-MISC's anyways.

6) Apparently, there are known issues at this review's writing time, 2/19/2004: "First, your concern over form 3803. You can delete this form. You just need to open that form up and press the "delete form" button. This is a known issue our programmers are working on. However, the answer to the issue is clear. Deleting that form should take care of any issue arising from it." No update is planned according to the Update feature on TaxCut. So you have to run into the problem, try and figure out what to do, and go from there.

And yes, I updated religiously. I even re-ran through my return 3 times to try to get everything right.