This year I decided to comparison shop on my e-taxes. I went through the online process with TurboTax and TaxACT. The end result was exactly the same through both applications. This kind of surprised me.
One thing I did notice was it was vastly easier to complete the data entry in TurboTax. Both sets of software had detailed questioning, but TurboTax used boldface with clear and consistent queries to make answers much more clear. Especially when going through sections of the questioning that did not apply to us. TaxACT had several paragraphs with questions buried inside. And the buttons that needed to be clicked were all over the place. Way too much lateral mouse movement.
The kicker for most people, though, is that TaxACT is cheaper. I don’t remember the exact pricing, but I believe the only cost with TaxACT is for state filing. TurboTax has state filing cost along with federal filing cost to the tune of, I believe, $20. Knowing what I know now I may pay $20 for the ease-of-use and added confidence in correctness that TurboTax provides.
A couple related things. I e-submitted both federal and state forms at about 9PM last night and I’ve already received acceptance from the State of Minnesota. TaxACT told me it would take three to five days for the state to respond. This is our top five tax burden in action! Of course, TaxACT also told me to wait to submit the state forms until I had heard back from the fed, but whatever.
Also, this is the third straight year that we donated an inordinate no-interest loan to the state and federal governments. Four years ago we were hit with a monster pay-in situation and ever since we have entirely flip-flopped with a monster pay-out situation. Every year I adjust the ol’ W-4 and it never quite works out. The calculations are bunk, that’s for sure. The good thing is that my 401(k) is taken out tax-free regardless, meaning I’m not submitting any less to the 401(k) due to my horrible ability to calculate tax withholding. Come to think of it, maybe I need to be subtracting that 401(k) allocation from my income on the W-4. Hmmm….
Comments (5)
I’ve used TurboTax for the web for the past three years, and each year it gets easier to use. The really nice feature is that it recalls information from previous returns when you go back to it the next year…saves a ton of time. The questions are then tailored to see if you life has changed at all. Super easy to do…completing both returns in my case took about 15 minutes.
There was no loan from the “Bank of Luke” for the second year in a row. I have my witholding pretty well figured out, and I owe $172 to the feds and like $13 to the state this year. Noice.
I have some other complaints, but most of them stem from the fact that my income was, um, up in 2005. So I’ll shut the F up.
Yeah, my understanding is that single withholding is a lot more straightforward than married withholding. But likewise I probably shouldn’t complain because all the credit is most likely due to the various scenarios where the tax code favors married people over single people. Another reason to avoid gay rights, methinks.
For some reason TurboTax didn’t know my info from the 2004 tax year, so I lost some advantages. I’d guess I logged in with a different user name last year - who knows why. And of course next year I’ll be starting all over again, though I suspect TaxACT would remember some of the same stuff I doubt it would tailor itself nearly as well.
Yeah, being single is pretty easy.
Of course, you have the ultimate deduction - her name is Ava.
Could I use her as a dependent, too?
Moving mid-year. Full-time grad student. Lived six months in a state without a state income tax. Four jobs. I expect my taxes to be a convoluted mess. Oh. And what’s up with not mentioning our evening out on the blog? *sniff* Not special enough to make the cut? ;)
If it makes you feel better, I don’t mention a lot of evenings out.