TaxCut 2005 Premium + State [OLD VERSION]

by H&R Block

Product Features

• Extra assistance for home owners, investors and rental property owners
• You can maximize your business deductions, from advertising and meals to entertainment expenses. Plus, you’ll enjoy extra guidance on depreciating business assets.
• H&R Block’s Premium Tax Tips and Advice helps you with useful tips covering charitable contributions, rentals, dividends, interest, capital gains, and more.
• Help you get answers to all stock options questions, including the consequences of their transactions on all types of options, including incentive, nonqualified, and employee stock.
• H&R Block DeductionPro now included inside.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000BM67XQ
• Item model number: 735290101648
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 16, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,278 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #39 in Software > Personal Finance > Money Management
  • #66 in Software > Tax Preparation

Product Description

Loaded with extra tools and advice to help you save money on your taxes. Offering truly premium features where they matter most, H&R Block TaxCut Premium is for users with more complex tax returns. Ideal for rental property owners, investors and families looking for tax advantages not found in either TaxCut Standard or TaxCut Deluxe. Getting the biggest tax refund means getting the most from itemized deductions. H&R Block DeductionPro (now included) makes it easy to track both cash contributions and commonly donated household goods, maximizing your tax savings!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars They keep improving it... that's good., November 27, 2005

By 

Michael A. Brown "maniacmedia" (Salt Lake City, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TaxCut 2005 Premium + State [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

I switched from TurboTax 3 years ago. The main reason being the issues with spyware in the PC version of that program. I also didn't like all of the hoops they were trying to make their customers jump through.

Using TaxCut was a decent experience. The program itself is easy to use and negotiate. Jumping back and forth in the return was a fairly simple process. There were significant improvements over the previous year's version. Which is always a welcome thing.

I was able to quickly import my tax info from the previous year's TurboTax files without any problem. It is also easy to import last year's TaxCut data (just in case you were wondering). The user interface is easily understandable. Overall, TaxCut seems to be a step or two behind TurboTax. But the end results are the same, a tax refund which more than pays for the program. And those steps behind are small steps.

Keep in mind that the "free" state version (which you have to pay for and get reimbursed), and any rebates, require that you send in receipts within 30 days of the purchase. If you don't then you'll not be getting any rebates or reimbursements.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just as good as Turbotax, February 5, 2006

By 

K. Thompson (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TaxCut 2005 Premium + State [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

I have used both Turbotax and TaxCut in the last few years and find this years' version of TaxCut equal to any version of Turbotax I have used.

I'm an accountant and CPA and found that TaxCut covered all of the complex tax situations that I encountered. I had used Turbotax in the prior year and found the import of last years information very quick and easy. However, it did not carry over the depreciable basis or depreciation method for my depreciable assets.

I did my return in pieces, entering info as I recieved it, so I did not go through the interview in a step by step fashion. This created some bumps when trying to go back and make sure I had all data complete. Taxcut did have a nice graphic to show completed data versus unentered data, but there was no programmed check to make sure that all information was in.

The only real area that I encountered a possible tax error was in the state sale tax deduction. First of all, it did not make it clear that I could take sales tax as a deduction. It should make that very clear for states that have sales tax in place of a state income tax. When I finally found the input screen it asked for my local tax rate. When I put in the rate, my deduction was extremely high. I went back to the calculation page and realized it already had the statewide rate, but just wanted the additional locality rate on top of that. That was confusing and could have created an error if I had not investigated. And if I did not deal with tax rates in my day to day job, I may have not input the correct rate.

The only other issue I had was with printing a draft return. They should give you the option of printing a return to review before e-filing. Trying to get the pages I wanted to print was somewhat of a pain. And DON'T PRINT THE WORKSHEETS. They print out funky looking and it gives you pages of information you don't want.

A plus was they actually email you when the IRS has accepted your electronic filing, rather than having to go back to the return and check as I have had to do with Turbotax in the past.

Overall, however, I was pleased with the product. And given the free e-filing and the price savings over Turbotax, I'll definitely use Taxcut in the future.

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Good To Be True, November 27, 2005

By 

L. Alan Aber (Peachtree City, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TaxCut 2005 Premium + State [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

DeductionPro, included in the Deluxe Edition, is easy to use and should PAY for all your tax software if you donate anything to charity. For non-cash contributions, DeductionPro has easy to use drop downs for categories, descriptions and quality. Example: Men's Underware, Undershirt, good => $2.07 deduction; Socks, $1.23; Underware, $1.77. Until I discovered DeductionPro, I thought the only person who donated used underware to charity was Bill Clinton. Now my wife donates mine... The dollars add up quickly. TaxcutPremium will import your DeductionPro data either through the interview or manually. I've used the TaxCut products for several years, switching over from TurboTax the year Intuit was putting MalWare at the root of your "C" drive. DeductionPro was a pleasant surprise.