Rating: 
Summary: Internet Explorer 5.0 and 6.0 Users BEWARE
Review: I have been a long time user of TurboTax. NEVER AGAIN. While loading TurboTax 2001 from CD it force loaded (without asking me yes or no) IE 5.5 . This load terminated abnormally and clobbered my Windows 98 system. When I tried to reboot, my system would not come up due to page faults in explorer.exe module. I'm running IE 5.0 as my browser and would never casually load a new version of Internet Explorer because of all the hooks into the WIN98 OS. I was not given a choice with TurboTax. I called their help desk and they were NO HELP. After 12 hours on the phone over two days with Microsoft support I was finally able to get my system back by RELOADING WINDOWS 98. While on the phone with MS support I asked if other people were having this problem. My tech said he had worked with a couple of IE 6.0 users who were fouled up because of the forced download of a backlevel (5.5)IE.
Intuit's force load of IE 5.5 with TurboTax is unconscionable. They should be forced to recall all CDs that force load IE 5.5
before a lot of other people get burned. I'm sure the only reason that Intuit did it this way was to get revenue from MS to the peril of their customers. NO APPLICATION should force a browser decision. Period.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to use, but not very accurate...
Review: I have been an TurboTax user for many years. Each year, I am quite satisfied with the results. However, last year, I almost got burned by the software. While I realize that my tax situation may be a little (or a lot) more complex then most households, the software did a very bad job at calculating my return. That year, I sold quite a bit of stock (seven-digits worth), and paid quite a bit of taxes. But this year, I found out that the IRS had checked my return and I overpaid by $12,000! Of course, had the IRS not "investigated" my return, I would lost that money. Now one might say that you should have hired a CPA (which I am doing after this incident) when you sold a lot of stock and had to pay six-figures to the IRS, but I rather the software tell me that it is incapable of doing that type of return correctly and to hire someone. And hiring someone isn't that expensive anymore as one would think, when you add up the cost of doing it yourself: (...). As for the rebates, I never got them, so don't count on getting them. The moral? Hire a tax professional if you have a complex return or if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself. Remember, it may not cost as much as one might believe.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for simple and complicated returns
Review: I have used both this product and TaxCut by HRBlock/Kiplinger. They are essentially the same, but I give the edge to Quicken and Turbo Tax.
In my mind the best way to think of tax software is that it is just a program that will ask you some questions (ex. about your w-2 or mortgage interest) and then fill out your tax return and do the math. If you then choose you can use the program to e-file your return (great feature). The software works, is very much bug free and can make some complicated things easier to handle.
I have used the program to prepare three returns this year.
1) with a straight w2, the only deduction was student loan interest. This was very simple and was done within a half an hour. I printed out a few copies (no need for a copier) and that was it.
2) A W-2 with many deductions-medical, mortgage, real estate taxes, Brokerage statements from three firms. Estimated tax payments. AND an IRA conversion to a ROTH.
I was very happy to be able to download the statements directly from Vanguard and CSFB Direct. It saved me a lot of data entry (your still need to enter your basis), and it helped me handle the Roth conversion easily.
3) A w-2 with a schedule C for a sole propritorship. I imported directly from Quickbooks. I encountered only a few problems which were caused by misclassifications in Quickbooks-they were not the fault of Turbo Tax.In all I am very satisfied. I know I saved hundreds of dollars by not using an accountant. I am pretty sophisticated about finincial matters but I was still suprised by how easily the program handled my "complex" situations--they turned out not to be. Just a warning-don't forget to save the Proof of purchase from you your box. Last year I forgot and I couldn't get my rebate. Also don't forget to get the State edition too. And send in your refund form for e-filing right away-they only give you 30 days
Rating:
Summary: System Problems
Review: I have used Turbo Tax for the past 5 years and had been very pleased with it. This year, however, I had major problems with my system after loading it. After loading the program I lost all icons on the desktop and had to get instructions on restoring my system. Then, when I tried to use Money I was given the error message that the Program and the files were corrupted. I tried uninstalling Money and reinstalling to no avail. My backup disk also did not work. I then had to call Microsoft to help me correct my problem. This is the first time I have ever had a problem that I had to get assistance on. I also called Intuit and they thought it might have been a faulty disk but were not very helpful. Because of the problems incurred I will NOT try the 2001 version again.
Rating: 
Summary: Good product/Bad rebate policy
Review: I have used TurboTax for the past three years and have been pleased with the product. However, if you plan to take advantage of the rebates, get ready to jump through a lot of hoops. It takes far too much time and effort to claim the three seperate rebates (Federal, State, and electronic filing fee). I've had enough and will not be using the product in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to use
Review: I have used TurboTax for years. This product is easy to use, complete with informative multimedia movie clips. It can remove a lot of the tedious drudgery we are faced with when preparing our tax returns. Of course, it won't make a complicated tax return simple, but at least Intuit is trying. Every year my tax return grows, and I now find myself entering a multitude of 1099's, W2s, and schedules. Included in the help files is a copy of the IRS regulations and some IRS publications, which can help you research various issues. The interview process doesn't always capture your situation, and you will have to skip over a lot of questions not related to your situation. You will also probably find yourself shuttling back and forth between the interviews and forms. In spite of the deficiencies, it does alleviate some of the agony.
Rating:
Summary: Netscape users BEWARE
Review: I have used, and have been quite happy with TurboTax for three years. When I re-installed this year, I noticed that Internet Explorer was being automatically installed. As is my habit, I uninstalled it, then found that TurboTax would not run without it. I looked on Intuit's customer support site, and the topic of Internet Explorer was their number one FAQ for TurboTax. Customer Support's response was that "you can uninstall Internet Explorer after you file your taxes". Forget that! No credible explanation as to WHY other browsers are not supported. I don't like being forced to use a different browser.
Rating:
Summary: miserable to load and reload...
Review: I installed the "personalized" version that they sent me in the mail as a past user... you had to either log into the website to purchase or purchase over the phone... I made the mistake of purchasing over the phone, then could not get it to install, it wanted to constantly re-direct me to the website and have me re-purchase it (again). Was able to access on-line support OK, but they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. Called the 800 number, they got me going, but when I went to re-install on my laptop, same problem, had to call the 800 number back for instructions to re-load. (800 number only open 9-5 weekdays, not when I work on my taxes) Works great when you get it installed, but miserable to install. Ordered State disc, that installed no problem, worked fine. Wish they'd go back to "buy it off the shelf, put the disc in, load it and do your Taxes".
Rating: 
Summary: Save some money on a tax return
Review: I must say that I was sceptical, when I bought TurboTax Deluxe. I thought I will never have enough time and patience to deal with software to fill in tax forms. But, I must say, it was very easy! The interface is very intuitive, it very quickly figured out my situation and asked me all the relevent questions. I have a fairly complex tax return, with stocks, 2 jobs, AMT etc. It used to cost me about $500 to do it with an accountant. But it was a breeze with TurboTax. I was done in 30 minutes, and was ready to file. I also imported all my data from Microsoft Money, which worked fine, and downloaded my W-2 from the processing site (through TurboTax) which also went smoothly. Bootom line: it will save you some money.
Rating:
Summary: check the math
Review: I thought this thing was going to make taxes easy - NOT. Entering all the info was easy. It was when I got to the end and saw the summary that freaked me out. It had the effective tax rate VERY WRONG. So now I have to go back and redo everything -totally defeats the reason why I bought this product.
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