Rating: 
Summary: Made the switch from TurboTax.
Review: Last year, I switched from TurboTax to TaxCut. The main reason being that the makers of TurboTax decided to include a piece of spyware with their software which couldn't be deleted from your computer. Plus, you had to jump through considerable hoops in order to even install it. No more of that nonsense for me.TaxCut, to be honest, seems to be a step behind TurboTax. Not a huge step, but a step nonetheless. The program is intuative enough, and will get the job done for you without the hassles though. Basically, it's a trade off. You get slightly less functionality with whole lot less hassle.
Rating: 
Summary: Switched from Turbotax last year too
Review: The transition went better than expected as I was able to transfer schedule B and similar stuff that saves retyping...not just name, address, etc. Turbotax users will, of course, find the interface a bit different...but the learning curve isn't steep. When I had a question, I was able to talk to support on the phone without paying for it. Speaking of paying, Taxcut is usually 20-30% cheaper than equivalent Turbotax...has been for a long time, so I'd expect those making the change to reap the savings benefits for years to come. Also, this year I got Money 2004 Deluxe for free after rebates with Taxcut Deluxe running $...after rebate. Since Quicken has gone way downhill in recent years [read user reviews] it seemed a good time to make the change.
For those concerned about spyware/adware, a common complaint with Turbotax: I ran Adaware 6 & Spybot S&D after installation and found no spyware or ad generators.
Rating:
Summary: Easy for me!
Review: Have always taken info to H%R Block office at a cost of up to $150.00. Decided to save that money this year(2003) and selected TaxCut for $20.00 with shipping. I found the program easy to load and fairly easy to use. Had a little problem with one situation involving land rental, but figured it out with the use of the "Help" feature and some trial and error. Seemed to have just about every form most folks would need to complete their own taxes.
Rating: 
Summary: A maddening program
Review: I used Turbo Tax for several years with few problems but decided to try TaxCut this year, since it is cheaper and, according to reviews at Amazon, quite similar. I may have saved about ten dollars, but it took me four or five hours longer to do my taxes than would have been the case had I used Turbo Tax. TaxCut does not download 1099 information from most financial institutions, the "help" feature is almost always well... unhelpful. One calculation in my return was unquestionably wrong (the software designers seemed to suspect that it might not give the right figure for many users and thus suggests overriding the program's calculation--but overriding a single figure means the program will not allow you to file electronically. The program mysteriously made extra copies of many forms. The main point of TaxCut seems to be to sell H&R Block products. If you want a user friendly tax preparation program, you would do well to look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrid, buggy software
Review: This is horrendous. I switched from TurboTax to TaxCut last year because of all the spyware hoopla. Last year wasn't so terrible, but this year's version is proving to be a complete POS. When I finally finished my tax returns and was ready to e-file, I was told that I had "errors" on my state return. When I went to fix the error, I discovered that the "error" was a form that was missing my child's name...for "interest or income reported for a minor" (something like that). I did not HAVE any interest or income to report for my child. All the numbers on the form were zeros, so I couldn't figure out why the darn program was even USING that form. I couldn't figure out how to remove the form, and couldn't enter in my son's name, because if I did it said I would be unable to e-file my return! ARRRGGGHH!!! I couldn't even find where the information was supposed to be coming from, because the dialog box with that information in it stated that the information wasn't coming from any other form. It made absolutely no sense. I finally emailed customer support and then shut my computer off for the night. Today, when I turned my computer on and opened the program...voila! No more error. It makes absolutely no sense what.so.ever. DO NOT BUY THIS SOFTWARE!! Just bite the bullet and buy TurboTax instead. Download some free anti-spyware software and remove the spyware after you install TurboTax. *sigh* I will never make this mistake again.
Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favor - Buy TurboTax instead
Review: I've used Turbotax and Taxcut the past 5 years. My taxes are slightly complex - mortgage, stock trades, S-Corp, and Turbotax makes it very easy. It removes the complexity by asking clear questions. Taxcut is poorly designed. If you've never used Turbotax, you'll think Taxcut is OK. I spend so much time because Taxcut will re-ask questions about ordinary dividends under a totally different section. I have no idea if they are talking about the dividends from my equities or dividends from some other form (partnership, etc). So then I think - hmmm - what do they want here - I don't know. For my State Taxes I withheld my overpayment to apply for this year. In Taxcut, I can't figure out how to get it in. I print the form and there's a line item for it - but in Taxcut software I've gone thru every question 3 times - can't be found. So now it says I owe state taxes and a penalty - but I don't. I may have to manually do my state taxes - since it's easier then using Taxcut. There are numerous examples of confusion with Taxcut. I've never had those with TurboTAx. Yes it costs a bit more, but it's worth is unless your taxes are very basic.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible Customer Support, No Refund
Review: I've used TaxCut for a few years and used to be satisfied with it. But this year I ran into a bug (in my copy anyway) that TaxCut tech support hasn't been able to fix or provide a workaround after many email exchanges (there is no phone support). I finally asked for my money back; they refuse to refund my money because I bought TaxCut more than 60 days ago. In fact, I bought it back in December and so there is no way I could have made use of the product within the first 60 days. Their tech support is lousy, their product has bugs (which tech support can't duplicate), and worst of all, they won't consider a refund.
Rating:
Summary: Not as polished at Turbotax, but better value!
Review: I have been a loyal Turbotax user for years and decided to tryout TaxCut this year. I was EXTREMELY unhappy after last year's fiasco where Intuit installed Spyware without users knowledge in order to cutdown on copyright infringement of their product. Unfortunately, they ticked off the loyal users like myself. I believe they have lost/will lose more sales based on that fiasco than they could've possibly saved by catching a few people trying to copyright infringe! Anyway, I was impressed with TaxCut especially for the price. I paid about 40% less for TaxCut Deluxe & TaxCut State than I would have paid for Turbotax Deluxe & Turbotax State. For the most part, the programs are very similar. TaxCut does the usual interview process just like Turbotax and it makes it very easy to work with. Where TaxCut needs a bit more polish is in the fine details. Missing was the ability to save your tax returns into Adobe Acrobat format. I love that feature in Turbotax and really missed it. In addition, I had a little trouble with form 4767 because I claim deductions for a home office and sold my house/moved this year. It worked out after some reading of the help file and IRS.gov site, but it could've been more intuitive. Other than those couple of items, I was very happy with the program(s). I ran my return through Turbotax's website (without purchasing or filing it) and the numbers came out the same so I am satisfied with the accuracy of the software as well. Overall I'm glad I switched to TaxCut this year. I doubt I'll look at Turbotax in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment after TurboTax
Review: After having to put up with all kinds of TurboTax registration B.S. last year I read the reviews of TaxCut purchasers who said it was a 4-star product with less hassles. This made me swear off ever using TurboTax again (couldn't use on more than one computer and I originally installed the software at work on a laptop that was leased etc. long story). This year I made certain to buy TaxCut and avoid any registration hassles at all. What I received was a half-rate basic version of a tax program. This review wouldn't be that bad if I had purchased TaxCut Standard, but for the extra $20 I bought Deluxe. TaxCut Deluxe was a waste of money. No deduction help was included and the "extra features" were merely tax advice sections that mostly talked about preparing for next year. As much as I hate to say it, I will be returning to TurboTax deluxe next year. It's ease of use, more intelligent screens and comprehensive deluxe version are all worth paying the extra $5 and dealing with the registration issues. I recommend TaxAct for anyone who recently purchased this product. TaxAct is free and has 100% the functionality of this program.
Rating: 
Summary: OK product with strange capital gain report
Review: I tried TaxCut due to the spyware issue of TurboTax. In general, TaxCut did its job for tax preparation. The user interface may not be as intuitive, or pretty as TurboTax. But, I'm not very picky on these outlook. There is one major problem in my filing, though. In my capital gain sheet, it did not import from quicken correctly, so I had to manually remove the wrong items, or add new items. It looks correct on the screen. But, when I print it out, it showed all the deleted items with 0 shares! A one-page report becomes three-page long! Since I don't have that much to report, I tried to delete the entire sheet, and redo it manually. The screen looks fine, but the print-out still has those redundant items. Since these zero-share items do not affect the amount of my return, I did not see this problem too serious, and continued with my filing. However, I'm wondering these strange report will increase the chance of my audit? This year, Intuit listened to the voice of customer and removed the spyware from TurboTax. I don't trust the quality of TaxCut, and will probably switch back to TurboTax.
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