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TurboTax Deluxe for Mac 2003

TurboTax Deluxe for Mac 2003

List Price: $49.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: unable to download state
Review: 1. Why does this cost way more than the Windows version?
2. State product would not download - called customer service and via a special link I did get a file to download, but then it wouldn't unstuff.
3. Customer service is in Calcutta.
4. Technical support took an hour and was totally worthless. I mean incredibly worthless.
5. Program does not deal with some business expenses properly.
6. Next year will be back to pencil and paper. I will also be looking for a Quicken replacement.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Intuit a/k/a Stickit (to the Consumer)
Review: Apparently, loyalty means little to Intuit. It offers virtually no support (and what it does offer, you have to pay through the nose for). To boot, it exacts a premium from Mac users without any justification, other than it can. Sadly, Microsoft isn't much better; however, if Microsoft would make a Mac version of "MS Money", Intuit might feel the heat. "Money" is a better, more user-friendly product than Quicken. Further, if MS made a Money for Mac, "Tax Cut" would be a natural competitor to Turbo Tax. Intuit has allowed Quicken to become a bloated program that's larded with bells-and-whistles that are often useless. You listening Bill G?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Updates a nightmare, no customer support
Review: Despite assurances from TurboTax customer service that I could import data from last year's TaxCut (ever try to manually enter years of depreciation?), I found that he forgot to mention the details. You have to find a PC computer with PC TurboTax, import the TaxCut data, then transfer that file into your Mac for use. Just a slight omission!

Now after having no other choice but to also purchase '03 TaxCut, I can honestly say I'll never buy an Intuit product again...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't expect to import '02 TaxCut data!
Review: Despite assurances from TurboTax customer service that I could import data from last year's TaxCut (ever try to manually enter years of depreciation?), I found that he forgot to mention the details. You have to find a PC computer with PC TurboTax, import the TaxCut data, then transfer that file into your Mac for use. Just a slight omission!

Now after having no other choice but to also purchase '03 TaxCut, I can honestly say I'll never buy an Intuit product again...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Foreign Tax Credits
Review: 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.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Over 2 hours to download "updates"
Review: Good luck if you have a modem. Even after a 2 hour download of "updates" I still can't file my taxes because they still (as of mid-Feb) don't have the update for declaring children's income on the parent's return. The IRS website clearly says that this can be done with form 8814, so what's the hold-up? Big waste of $50.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great product, lousy company--never got refund for state
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Easy and Reliable
Review: 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!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: saves my sanity every year!
Review: 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.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: TurboTax works and performs well
Review: I have used the program for 10 years now, from Macintax days. The only serious issue I had was about 5 years ago, when the performance on non-PowerMacs was slow to the point of being unusable. I took my complaints to intuit and eventually got a credit for a free application the next year. Aside from this issue, I have never had a significant bug or problem, and the ability to carry over tax info from previous years keeps me a customer. As far as the spyware issue, it is despicable, but also completely irrelevant as it didn't affect the Mac version, and the lengthy review addressing that issue has no place on this page.


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