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TaxCut 2003 Deluxe

TaxCut 2003 Deluxe

List Price:
Your Price: $24.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Go with TurboTax instead
Review: I switched from Turbo Tax because of the offer with MS money, which I use for online bill paying. I figuered since I use that far more frequently, it was better to go with the TaxCut/Money offer. BIG MISTAKE. I had to hunt around to find deductions I knew I was entitled to but was not asked about, and when I imported my deductions in from MS Money, it brought over the payees only, not the amounts. TurboTax worked better with MS Money, and I'm now a loyal TurboTax user from here on in.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: No Problems for New User
Review: This is the first year I've used PC software to do my taxes. I've always done them by hand in the past. I had no problems loading Tax Cut, making sure all the software was up-to-date, or in using the program. I have straightforward taxes - mortgage, refinance, usual deductions, child care, and using TaxCut was simple and fast. I had my federal return done in less than 15 minutes (I did have all my documentation handy) and my state return in less than 2 minutes. I didn't go through the tutorial or really use the on-line help - just jumped in and started using it.

I also had some fun by saving my info with a different name and tested removing my spouse's income just to see how much money I'd be saving if my spouse didn't work!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: difficult and time consuming software
Review: I have always used turbotax and this year purchased taxcut. What a mistake!!! Had to get the help of my duaghter who is a CPA and we still had problems. This program would not delete the EIC (earned income credit) form from my return although it stated that I was not eligible for it. Took hours to complete unlike turbotax which was a breeze to use. Another frustration is when I went to print out a copy of my returne (I e-filed) and I got a total of 25 pages when filing a 1040, Schedule A (very simple with large medical expenses and some mortgage interest), and form 8863 (educational credits) for one of my children). What a waste of paper and ink!! Will never use it again!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Works for me
Review: Our tax situation is not complex; we have W-2, interest, and dividend income, and some deductions such as mortgage interest and charitable contributions. TaxCut has always worked just fine for us; I can't and won't try to comment about whether it is appropriate if your tax situation is more complex. A common complaint seems to be calculation errors; I have never experienced any calculation errors with the program or had a problem with getting it to enter the correct value on a certain line. My only complaint is that the amount of advertising in the program has increased over past years, both during the install and while using the program. But I suspect advertising is partly to thank for the low cost of the program and all of the freebies, so it's not a major complaint.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Tax Cut Errors
Review: I switched to Tax Cut this year based on a review in PC Magazine. Wrong decision. Tax Cut errors caused many program initiated shut downs. At last moment Tax Cut advised delete program-just as I attempted to e-mail my return- and had to uninstall and reinstall program and return. Still unable to send by e-file. What a mess. The program is just not as user friendly as I expected. Tax Cut has more work to do. A no recommend. Either pencil or back to Turbo Tax.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Get it and just follow the instructions, It's that easy!
Review: Taxcut is a fine product every bit as good as TurboTax. I have used TurboTax for years and this year I switched to Taxcut because of the TurboTax company starting the use of Spyware and I don't like anything like a Big Brother program on my computer system. They could have gone other routes to keep Piracy down but instead became pirates themselves by adding in Spyware to their product. I change my computers sometimes up to three or four times a year as I build computer systems. I recycle them frequently and keep mine updated with the latest components. I don't need the Spyware as it causes a hassle for anyone that has it on their computer. Back to Taxcut! It is a great program that if used correctly and you follow the directions in the program you will have your taxes done and filed in no time at all. It is a great inexpensive program that does the job it is written to do. I think the bad reviews on it are mostly from people connected in some way with the TurboTax program company just to make alot of bad hype that Taxcut isn't any good and try to scare off users from trying Taxcut. Taxcut is a good one so don't be scared off by some users that don't know their A** from a hole in the ground! Get Taxcut and save plus get the job done!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: TaxCut: What happened to you this year?
Review: I am not a fan of Intuit; I think their rebate program is sort of like looking for the proper stamps in the Publisher Clearing House Sweepstakes, plus their forcing you to purchase tax tables each year for QuickBooks that are already published free by the IRS is akin to something between blackmail and highway robbery. So it saddens me to say that you should stay away from this year's TaxCut, TurboTax's main competitor.

I switched to TaxCut for last year's taxes because I felt that Intuit's usage policy would probably make my life difficult in the future because I am constantly recycling computers at my house. TaxCut did the job then; it was not as user friendly as TurboTax but I got my taxes done in half the time (one weekend) as opposed to TurboTax (two weekends the year before).

This year's TaxCut did not even convert their last year's data correctly; all my 5-year depreciations were changed to 27.5-year depreciation. I ended up having to override line 10 Federal Form 1040 line because no matter where I entered my last year's state tax refund this line would end up blank. The rental and royalties worksheet refused to transfer the correct information to Federal Schedule E unless you did the calculations yourself and overrode the entire worksheet.

I ended up going through the forms line by line while comparing it to my last year's return and then right clicking the values to find where the incorrect entry came from so I could then correct the values or override them. None of the goofy numbers TaxCut came up with were from something that I entered. Overall it would have cost me a 15 percent increase to my taxes had I not corrected what it was doing or not doing.

Intuit: if you are reading this, take a look at the reviews of TurboTax; they are not really much better. Tax programs should not be rocket science.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Don't bother - faster and easier to do it manually
Review: I've never written a negative review before, but I was very disappointed with this program. I sold property this year and there was no instructions on how to fill in that part of the form, so I had to read the IRS instructions and then fill in the actual IRS forms to know how to fill in the dtaxCut forms. Also, I moved from one state to another this year, so I downloaded both states' programs. Only after I downloaded them did it tell me that the programs did not calculate partial year returns and that I would need to fill in the returns manually. Finally, it will not let me e-file because it will not let me program.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: More trouble than it's worth
Review: I'm an experienced computer and tax software user, including 2002 TaxCut Deluxe. 2003 is a different story. Here's what I wrote them:

I am extremely disappointed with TaxCut Deluxe this year, after using it successfully for 2002 taxes.

1)After completing the interview, I needed to fill in one item and go back to my 2002 return. In doing so, it wiped out everything I had done for 2003, requiring me to redo the whole return. Customer Support was befuddled.

2)I've now e-filed three times and three times it has been rejected due to invalid characters. I've done multiple thorough checks and found the only possible problems being dashes in addresses ("--Suite xxx") or zip codes. All the other characters are part of the established formats or inserted by the program: SSN, DOB, Phone, employer and payer ID, Dates, Gain/Loss. I now have to file a printed return.

2a)Why aren't IRS-type character checks done during the error-checking routine??

3)I waited 20 minutes for the chat connection to establish and it never went through (popup was open).

4)Schedule D (Cap Gains and Losses) does not have instructions what to do if the stock has gone bankrupt or, in my case, de-listed. I had to spend a long time on the phone, while your support person went and queried his colleagues twice, before coming up with an answer.

5)The Print Form choice on the Return Transmitted and Return Rejected screens do not print the date and time portion but only the instructions. It takes a screenshot program to capture that information.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Were they in a hurry, or what?
Review: Most software vendors have figured out the basics of pagination. TaxCut deluxe, on the other hand, offers you the wonderful 'feature' of splitting your 'for my records' copy in mid line. This product should be labled 'Scotch tape not included.'

It would also be nice if it didn't flag errors for forms it somehow decided I needed to file even though there was nothing filled in on them.


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