Customer Reviews

TurboTax Basic 2005 Win/Mac [Old Version]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I've used TurboTax for 9 years now to do my personal taxes. Don't bother getting the "deluxe" version...and save money by doing your own state return (most states have an online free version anyway). For Federal returns, this software catches every new law and is great for keeping up-to-date with the current and complicated calculations for all sections of the return.

I know what I'm talking about...I am a tax accountant and prepare tax returns for a living! I still prefer this software to the high-end software we use in my office. For less than $20, you can't go wrong.

I have relatively simple taxes but want to e-file. In the past I bought Turbo Tax so I could e-file. Now I have to pay for TurboTax + e-Filing Fees + tax + shipping. It costs nothing for TurboTax to e-file so this is a source of additional revenue for them. They lost one customer.

For the past five years I have used TurboTax on-line to prepare our taxes. Last year, after filing our taxes, the IRS sent me a letter informing me that I was eligible for an additional refund credit. After refiguring our taxes by hand I found $1,700 in two credits that TurboTax failed to identify. I was able to receive $1,400 of this amount, but the other $300 would have required refilling from scratch (changing the number of dependants).

This week, after looking over previous tax years, I now find that there was an additional $1,009 credit on our 2002 taxes that TurboTax did not find.

I can no longer trust TurboTax to manage my taxes. These were simple Earned Income Credits (EIC) and Child Tax Credits (CTC), which TurboTax should have never missed. How can a company release tax software that does not double-check these items when there are child dependants clearly listed? It is inexcusable.

Now, they no longer offer the $14.95 e-file refund? I recommend RUNNING from this Intuit TurboTax product. We will be using TaxCut instead.

This year, TaxCut has decided to forego a Mac version altogether. Fortunately, Intuit seems to have gotten past their spyware problems from a couple years back. They also seem to have wised up that people don't like to jump through hoops to register the product. Plus, they've gotten away from charging a premium for the Mac version. So a good program has gone back to being just that, a good program.

Unfortunately, there is no option to import that data for former TaxCut users. You'll have to import it by hand if you desire to do so. While TurboTax made earlier claims that the option was available to Windows users, it has since been revealed that neither version has the option available.

Every year, Intuit seems to do one goofy thing just to annoy people.

Also, if you're needing to file a state return as well, pay the extra and get the Deluxe version. That way you get a 'free' state download for the extra money.

In years past, Turbotax would give you a rebate form so that you could recoup your electronic filing fees [normally $12.95]. I just ordered this from an Amazon reseller, and I don't see this rebate form in the box. It looks like Turbotax has stopped giving rebates for the electronic filing fee.

Check out https://www.intuitrebates.com/intuit/turbotax_instructions.html for details

I have used turbo tax since 2003 and it has never let me down until now. I made it through the entire process and now can't file because Turbo Tax doesn't have software updates from the IRS "because of Hurricane Katrina" according to one of their reps. The update won't be on the system until 2/17/06. I could file by hand long before then.

They offered a refund but the price of insured shipping to South Carolina would cost me as much as my refund. I will NEVER trust Intuit again. According to the IRS, the updates were available on 12/6/2005. Why is it taking them over 2 months to provide these updates?

This is my eigth year using Quicken TurboTax and it will be my sixth year using the state tax version. I can't imagine going back to pen and paper to do taxes.

There is a new format this year and I'm not quite sure I like it. It could be that I'm use to the old format. However, the program still takes you step-by-step through the tax process by asking you questions about the various sections of the forms. It also prompts you to make you remember about things that may have slipped you mind, like other deductions. And, it makes suggestions for deductions that you may not have thought about. At the end of the process you can print out the forms for mailing in the traditional format or in a format that's easy for the IRS computers to read. In addition, you can opt to file electronicly. The help section IS very helpful. It actually makes sense of the rules and instructions for filing your taxes and explains the relevant sections of the tax code in easy to understand language. My one suggestion is that you have all your papers with you before you start the process. You can, of course, save your work and come back to finish or edit it, but it is a pain to be half way through and remember that your mortgage statement is two floors away.

I tried Taxcut in the past because of the product activation on TurboTax. I had problems with it right off. It stated on the box that you could import TurboTax files but when I tried it wouldn't let me. The Taxcut web site suggested that this was a common problem and that you had to edit your TurboTax file (with TurboTax) to bring it down to a certain size. Still, it didn't tell you what that size was ok or really give you any idea on what to cut out. (I thought all of the our tax info was important).

I have to agree that the advertising included in the product (for more Intuit products) now borders on the ridiculous and the program (like all programs) needs more space and more resources each year but I still think that is better that the competition.

My advice: TurboTax is still the best tax prep software. Don't do your taxes without it.

I live in one state and work in another. Turbotax was used to file for federal and both states. Unfortunately, a calculation error in the program caused an error in tax credits paid to one of the states. The error wasn't caught by the state until an audit was performed 9 months later. Although the penalty was small (<$40), I expected Intuit to live up to their guarantee. Repeated phone calls, emails and letters to Intuit were never answered. They do not honor any of their guarantees on the accuracy of their software. As alternative, I would recommend TaxCut. Taxcut is less expensive for the same functionality, and has shown itself to handle multi-state returns without error.

After using Turbo Tax for over 10 years and receiving a free federal e-file via reabte, TT has eliminated this feature claiming, believe it or not, that is what their customers wanted ...lol. Yes, I wanted to pay 10 to 15 more dollars to use their product. And nowhere on their packaging do they mention it now costs to federal e-file for TY 2005. You buy the software, you open it, discover the added cost and probably can't take it back to the place of purchase. Tax Cut here I come.

This software is always eager to sell you supplements and additional software. However, there are few insights for people who just want a quick and easy way to prepare their taxes. Turbo Tax seems to add additional fees for every step of the process. There is even a charge for most help functions if you need to contact a company representative. The state software is also extremely difficult to download. Unless you have used Turbo tax in the past and are familiar with its constant pop-ups trying to hype/sell other software then I would avoid this software.