Customer Reviews

TurboTax Deluxe for Mac 2003

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

 

 

I started doing my taxes with Mac-in-Tax years ago. Since then, I've occassionally wavered and used other products (both mac and pc), including Tax Cut, but always run back to my beloved TurboTax. Does it include some random things that I don't care about, make me pay a premium for using a mac, and have an odd spyware issue? Yes. But some of the innovations - like being able to download some W-2s, make things more fun. It is far better than pencil & paper, more user-friendly than competing products, and allows you to do your taxes with no internet access at all (if need be). In all, I don't consider using anything else.

Intuit treats Mac users as second class citizens. I bought Turbotax Deluxe 2003 for the Mac. I installed the Federal return CD, but could not get the "free" state download. Repeated calls and emails to customer service resulted in the advice that I PAY FOR MY "FREE" DOWNLOAD, and then seek reimbursement. I've been using Turbotax for 4 years, and have always had problems getting them to honor their rebates, so no way am I going to trust them to reimburse me. Their claim of a free download is fraudulent.

Regarding the C-Dilla issue... this is the statement from Intuit, makers of TurboTax. Keep in mind, it was never in the Mac software anyway.

"In response to customer feedback, we have removed the technology from TurboTax 2003 products. In addition, Intuit is changing its policy and updating the TurboTax software license agreement, enabling customers to use TurboTax software to install, prepare, file and print multiple returns for themselves and their family from multiple computers."

I've always found TurboTax to be a very good product. If this C-Dilla issue proves to have been resolved, it may be again. However, their insistance that they need to charge a 25% premium for the Mac version is just foolish.

I have been using TurboTax (formerly MacInTax) for 6 years now, and it gets better every year. Beginning last year, I did the electronic filing and I couldn't have been happier with the results. Philosophical arguments notwithstanding regarding doing this electronically, I did get an e-mail response from Quicken saying everything went through and 2 days later a response from the IRS that they had received my return. I always used to put off filing my taxes until the last possible moment because I dreaded reading all the details and filling out the complicated boxes with the vague instructions. It's not something you want to get wrong. I have never had a tax preparer do my taxes for me - I've always done my own since I was 17, but procrastination has always been my enemy, even when I had a juicy refund coming to me.

TurboTax takes the chore and bore out of the process. Each aspect of the software has little checks to make sure you're doing everything correctly. I was able to import my data from previous returns to save loads of time filling out stuff that doesn't change from year to year as a rule.

The software takes you dialogue by dialogue asking you questions like "do you own any stocks?" and if not, you skip the all the related questions so you don't have to muddle through things that don't apply to you. Everything is in concise categories.

Anytime you have a question, you can click on the help button for specific, context-sensitive information. The major sections have built-in QuickTime videos of professional tax experts explaining the latest tax laws and what the IRS is looking for, etc. etc.

When you're about all done, it does an error check and automatically goes through everything on your return and will tell you if anything on your return contains errors or otherwise will raise a red flag with the IRS and make you more vulnerable to an audit.

After filing my taxes with Turbo Tax, I got my refund deposited into my bank account electronically within 6 days. For those who are not expecting refunds, but rather have to send payment to the IRS, you can set up your payment so that it gets sent at the last possible moment on April 15, even if you file much earlier.

When you first install the software, it first checks with Intuit's servers for any updates and allows you to download State Tax software for free (if applicable). Fortunately, there are no state income taxes in Texas (yea for us!).

I am using a nearly 6-year-old Mac running (albeit slowly) Panther (10.3.3) and the software ran like a champ.

I give Turbo Tax 5 stars and Intuit 1 star, averaging to 3 stars.

I've used Mac'N'Tax (the Turbo Tax predecessor that Intuit bought out) and Turbo Tax since the late-80's--so that's a lot of returns. The product has worked very well for me, with only a few complaints. The ability to roll forward your tax information year after year is one of the compelling features of Turbo Tax--once you set up a depreciation, or have credits that carry forward, Turbo Tax populates this information in next year's return.

However, I have found Intuit to have become less friendly and more work to deal with as the year's have gone by. If you end up needing technical support your entire experience with the product will probably be soured. In 2003 even though the "Deluxe" product advertised that it came with a free state product, you had to pay to download and then send in the voucher to get your money refunded. Quite annoying, but the real kicker is that the refund never came and Intuit was pretty much unresponsive to my attempts to follow up.

I will probably continue using Turbo Tax because the product is solid (at least for me...I see others have had issues), and because once you've got your tax information in for one year, the next year and the next year after that you keep reaping benefits. I just wish some other company would buy the product from Intuit so I could quit dealing with them.

I have been filing with taxes using TT since 1999 (the Mac vesrion used to be called Macintax). I have never had a problem and the ease-of-use has improved with every version. If you use Quicken, TT is definitely the way to go, as importing info is seamless. Also, if you used TT for a prior year, it carries all your personal info over, and makes suggestions based on the prior year. I have read other reviews complaining of poor technical help. The mac version is so reliable, from my experience, that little help is needed. I have read the negative comments in other reviews; they reek of user error. This software series is a winner!

The following is from a message I sent to someone. My relatively low rating is based on the fact that Intuit couldn't be bothered to point these two things out. This is using OS 10.3.2.

I too discovered that I had to scroll all the way down the license window before the 'accept' button became active. I wasted many hours finding this out. It wasn't my intelligence---pure desperation! I also have never seen this before. I can't begin to tell you all the useless things I have been doing all day!!

One interesting point I noted. When I finally did do the install and started up the program, it wouldn't work. It claimed that there were missing fonts. It turns out that the five fonts installed by TurboTax were installed with the default setting of 'off.' Once I activated them in FontBook, everything was OK.

last year I could not efile my tt return. of course, intuit's online help was useless.... and was never able to solve the problem. I had to print and file it...but, at least the program worked.
alas this year, the program crashed continually....the program is actually worse than last years.....
at least intuit is consistent- I tried online help again, and it was totally worthless.
here goes... I installled on mac os X panther...everything smooth until I get to the sch A business expenses. afetr completing the section and hitting return, the program crashed. well, tried again and crashed 5X. I give up signed up for chat hep- waited for 20 minutes- and the help says "reinstall the program." Ha ha ha. yeah sure, but to humor them I did it. guess what, it did not work.
Intuit basically sucks. they appear to unleash their tax program on the public w/o actually making sure it works. too bad there isn't more competition for this PATHETIC PROGRAM.

Do not buy TurboTax for MAC if you have to use the
Foreign Tax Credits section!!! The software consistently
crashes whenever the Form 1116 has to be filled out
and the Intuit support is completely clueless.
If it is too late to return the product to Amazon,
call Intuit at 1 800 446 8848.

I used TT again this year, but NEVER again. Non-Qualified Stock Options (with short-term gain; multiple share price sale) are NOT listed properly in the 1040 table columns. The final numbers seem correct, but the 1040 data (stock sale proceeds and resultant gain/loss) is corrupted. IMO, this would be an audit trigger for sure. I literally caught this bug as I was stuffing my envelope to send my return to the IRS. I used OS9. If you used TT for NQSO reporting -- DOUBLECHECK YOUR 1040. Instead of waiting for TT to get their act together, I just used TaxCut and it work perfectly.