Rating: 
Summary: A total waste of Time
Review: I too turned to TaxCut in order to get away from TurboTax and Intuit. Unfortunately, I've so far spent two hours trying to convince the software that I do NOT owe $$$ in ATM (an apparent problem with their worksheet). The software also missed the Capital Loss carry over. A little poking around and I discovered that I was required to enter last year's data in order for it to know this. Guess they could have included that in the "interview" . It also turns out they they have made no provisions for self employed health insurance deductions. They have the worksheet, it's just not tied into the 1040 form. And once you make an override to any form, TaxCut will not allow you to E-File your return to the IRS. In summary, no I won't go back to Turbo Tax, I'll just do my taxes the old fashioned way, by hand. A lot faster and A LOT LESS FRUSTRATION!
Rating: 
Summary: Intuit TurboTax - you're fired!
Review: I used TurboTax since 1989, but I switched to TaxCut after Intuit initiated their draconian license activation complete with spyware! I will never use TurboTax again. TaxCut is just as good.
Rating: 
Summary: TaxCut is "kids league" compared to Turbo Tax Deluxe
Review: I wanted to switch from Turbo Tax to TaxCut because of Intuit's registration process. I purchased but plan to return TaxCut because it dosen't have the "interview" features that Intuit - TurboTax does. TaxCut may work fine for someone who has a couple W-2's and maybe a schedule D. But if you have much more, you'd better get TurboTax. Especially if you want advise and not just a blank tax form - like the 4835 is on TaxCut - no interview.
Rating:
Summary: And you get Microsoft Money for free
Review: I was a dedicated TurboTax user. Thanks to serious trashing by others on this site and elsewhere I avoided TurboTax this year.
TaxCut was just as easy to use as TT. And the box came with a rebate for Microsoft Money. I went out and purchased DeluxeI just finished getting all my accounts setup and like it better then Quicken. Thanks Intuit. I never would have discovered TaxCut and Money if you did not mess up like this.
Rating:
Summary: Not Reliable or Helpful at all
Review: I, like others before me, bought this software for the first time due to the bad reviews turbotax was getting over it's registration process. In working on my girlfriends taxes today, I have two major complaints. The most severe being the lack of informative help. I remember turbotax providing so much more help whenever there was a term I didn't understand. This software only includes the IRS instructions and many links to call a tax advisor for explanations. The second problem is the user interface. It was NOT TESTED. There were screens in which the text wasn't completely clear (covered by other text and not scrollable). This is completely unacceptable and I will be buying Turbotax to redo my girlfriends taxes and begin mine. I honestly do not feel that this software was properly tested and wouldn't trust the tax return it spits out.
Rating:
Summary: Don't use Tax Cut if you have to file an Oregon State return
Review: Last year I used Turbo Tax and was able to file my state return electronically. This year I switched to Tax Cut and it doesn't support E-filing the Oregon State return. Now, at the last minute, I have to print and file a manual return. This will add about 2 months to the time it takes to get a refund. Next year it's back to Turbo Tax, no matter how bad it is, it's better than Tax Cut.
Rating:
Summary: Hurray for TaxCut-Platinum!
Review: Left that ridiculous TurboTax forever -TAXCUT is easier & all around BETTER!
Rating:
Summary: Does not live up to TurboTax Deluxe
Review: Since this is my first year of trying to file US Income Taxes _myself_, I picked TaxCut since I didn't like the TurboTax registration annoyance. I later hat the opportunity to enter my Federal and my California Tax Info on a friend's computer with TurboTax Deluxe and thus was able to compare the Interview process. My tax situation was very easy except for 3 issues:
1. I had to pay tax due in 2002 for my 2001 State Tax Return
2. I collected foreign dividends, interest and captital gains
3. I payed foreign taxes (on those foreign dividends and
interests) and thus filed form 1116. So what happend:
1. Knowing on where and how to enter the fact that I payed state
taxes, was a major hassle with TaxCut. The interview process
asked about it at one point, but then you were left alone
to figure out on which of the following screens you had
to enter this information, so that it would properly carry
over to the State tax program. There was nothing in the FAQ,
in any of the help sections or on the website. It took
two emails with customer support to get an answer to this
question. TurboTax explicitely asked that question in its interview
process and had my enter the amount right away. 2. Neither program provides any support for dealing with foreign
currencies, so you're on your own with the conversion. 3. Form 1116 was another nightmare with TaxCut, which basically
left you to filling out the forms / worksheets by yourself.
TurboTax made it much more easier. Other issues:
- Changes in the Federal Data did not always carry over
properly to the State Return (i.e. when I deleted info
about Estimated Taxes payed). I only noticed this
when comparing the figures with TurboTax
- I bought the "Platinum" version, but I didn't see any
practical benefit. At the end of the day both programs calculated the same
figures, however TurboTax' interview progress was much clearer and mad me much more comfortable. If TurboTax didn't have that awkward registration scheme I would never use TaxCut again.
Rating: 
Summary: Never used Turbo Tax anyway
Review: Taxcut is easy to use and my return is relatively simple, so I was mostly satisfied with it. Contrary to previous reviews, it does have an interview feature and I did not find that I had to enter the same information repeatedly. On the downside, the program is full of bugs that range from the amusing (like saying "I see that your spouse also moved this year" when I am filing a single return!) to the scary (like forcing me to enter a value for a mortgage deduction when I do not own a home) I run a small home based business and that seemed to extend Taxcut's capability to the maximum. Taxcut worked fine this year, but if my business grows any larger,I'll switch to something else next year.
Rating:
Summary: Not for heavy-duty tax preparation.
Review: TaxCut Platinum is fine if you are doing a relatively simple return and don't need too much help. I bought TaxCut Platinum based upon recommendations to avoid TurboTax due to privacy issues. I have used TurboTax for the past several years. I will be going back to it this year. While preparing my daughter's very simple return, with itemized deductions, I had a couple of questions during the interview process. Mostly, I was seeking definitions of the terms in the interview questions. The help files didn't even provide detailed explanations of the questions asked in the interview. There was also no help available from any on-disk books except for the IRS's own instructions. TurboTax Deluxe, by contrast, includes Money Magazine's Income Tax Handbook as well as other useful help. TaxCut Platinum also does not provide for supporting worksheets to enter data. TurboTax, however, allows you to itemize each vehicle's property tax (for example) on a worksheet. Then TurboTax uses the total for the IRS form. The worksheets print for you alone and are not submitted to the IRS. This is a very helpful way to keep itemized records of individual expenditures without writing each one down separately, but it isn't available from TaxCut Platinum. TaxCut Platinum pretends to show your tax owed or refund amount as you go, but even on my daughter's relatively simple return the amount never changed during the data entry. The program apparently was not thoroughly tested, as the text sometimes was not visible, and no amount of scrolling attempts could make it so. In spite of the on-line registration issues for TurboTax, I will be ordering a copy of it for my return, which involves numerous deductions, depreciation, employee business expenses, and other items that should not be that complicated. After all, I put up with the on-line registration from Microsoft for Windows XP. I feel that TurboTax is worth the nuisance and minor intrusion. If you don't want to have Intuit know about your computer, buy TaxCut, but don't expect the sophistication from TaxCut that you get from TurboTax.
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