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Rating: 
Summary: A Step Down From Last Year
Review: After using TurboTax for 5 years, I switched to TaxCut last year following the TurboTax spyware / adware incident. I was very pleased with TaxCut 2002 and found it to be just as good, if not better, than TurboTax. However, I find the 2003 tax year version of TaxCut to be more awkward to use and less intuitive. The GUI for importing your 2002 return does not function properly and would not allow me to deselect certain information. The interface issues are not fatal flaws, just nuisances. I continue to recommend TaxCut over TurboTax, just less enthusiastically this year.
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Summary: Cheaper, less frustrating services are available.
Review: At $14.99 this is best deal you'll find at your local software retailer. However, this is not the best deal to be had. I purchased this product, went though all the forms and ended up with a return of $233. Confused (sure that wasn't right) I went though all the steps again only to get a return of $1978! When I went to e-file I had another surprise waiting, the software had to be updated before I could e-file, because "this product shipped before the final child credit forms were ready". This was a painless step (just selected "update" from one of the menus and waiting for it to download), but once it did finish I was now left with a return of $744.Now, angry and looking for a second opinon I went to www.turbotax.com, their website allows you to enter all your tax information for FREE (does the exact same thing as this software only much better), anyway TurboTax's website confirmed the $744 return for me, but they also gained a customer for next year. You only pay turbotax.com when you e-mail and that's $19.99 (same price you'll pay for TaxCut to e-mail, but with TaxCut you have to pay $14.99 for their software. So while this is a good deal, it's not the best and I think their wizard could be a bit more intuitive.
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Summary: Don't download from Amazon!!
Review: Horrible download support and service from Amazon. Good luck trying to download this software from Amazon- myself and 2 office co-workers could not download the software. Your best bet is to goto the store and buy the CD.
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Summary: Great Job TaxCut!
Review: I have used TurboTax forever but switched to TaxCut this year because I lost faith in TurboTax after last year (when they installed spyware on my PC). TaxCut looks and works a lot like TurboTax and correctly picked up all my TurboTax info from least year's return. The nicest thing about TaxCut was that they didn't have an advertisement on every screen (TurboTax likes to put ads on their pages). When you get a product for free, you expect ads. When you pay for a program, you don't expect to have to put up with all that annoying advertising. Great work TaxCut -- you've learned from TurboTax's errors. Keep up the good work and you have me as a lifetime customer!
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Summary: Accurate? Who are they kidding????
Review: I've used many different pieces of tax prep software through the years, and this is by far the worst of the lot. Simply put, the programming is terrible, making the user jump through proverbial hoops to get anything but a single-income-source, vanilla completed competently. For instance, this program has a special talent for adding in the wrong schedules and forms, and then making it frustratingly difficult -- actually almost impossible -- to get rid of them without causing a whole host of non-existent "errors." (that of course prohibit you from moving forward before you "correct" them.) Basically, this is junk, pure and simple.
Rating: 
Summary: Works Just Fine for Us Simple Folk
Review: OK, I'm a head of a household, with kids, wife doesn't have a paying job, and we own a home. I do the 401K thing, but not anything fancy for stocks, etc. Up until last year, I used Turbotax exclusively, but was lucky enough to check the reviews before buying, and noticed the cdilla problem. So I tried tax cut instead. Totally simple, amazingly easy, brought in everything that I needed from turbotax quick as a wink. Same basic moves as turbotax. Asks you all the same questions without all the long movies. (I did find the movies helpful the first few years, though). I remember liking the printouts better for turbotax, but that's about it. If you have basic needs, and you have an idea how to do your taxes anyway, this will work just fine. I'm going to buy turbotax this year since my quicken needs updating and they have a freebie, but other than that, for a simple clod like moiself, they're pretty much the same. Same for the state version. I'd give it 5 stars if it came with a cold beer....
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Summary: Don't use Amazon's dowload service
Review: Other download services offer phone support. Amazon provides eform support. Amazon promises to respond within 24-hours, but this just isn't good enough. NOT industry standard. TaxCut2003 software wouldn't open after download, and it's three days until taxes are due. I'll probably head out to OfficeMax tomorrow, and have Amazon issue a credit.
Rating:
Summary: "Simple Folks" Beware
Review: This is the third year I have used Taxcut, and up until this year I have been quite satisfied. It is indeed "simple", but if you happen to have an unusual situation, it may be too simple.
If you aren't pretty knowledgeable about tax preparation, you could still miss some deductions/exclusions. I had to search forever to find a Form 5329 to exclude a retirement refund from a 10% early withdrawal penalty. If I hadn't known by other sources that I needed it, Taxcut would never have told me to use it, or where to find it for that matter. I guess it is good for the price, but if you have anything you know is unusual, do your homework and make sure you find what you need. Cheers!
Rating:
Summary: Meets my needs inexpensively
Review: What's not to like?
It's cheaper that TurboTax, and does the same thing. Imports from financial software, does an "interview-style" return, imports last year's info, the usual stuff. Also allows e-file (you pay extra) and will support EFT to/from the IRS-- if you owe them money, you can have it sent on 4/15/04 and not pay any sooner than you need to.
My return is complex, but it handled it well. Just as good as the competitor, and about five bucks less. Also a great rebate offer w/ MSFT Money; basically get Money '04 for free. I'm sold, I'm satisifed, and I'll be back next year.
Four starts since it's just bare bones, but at this price, what do you want? I say don't bother paying for the extra movies and advisor stuff.
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Summary: Rebate ripoff
Review: You buy this product to save time on your taxes, but then they make you fill out a rebate card in which everything has to be exactly correct, mail it in, wait god knows how many weeks or months, and then make a trip to the bank to cash your check. The time you saved on your tax return is wasted on the rebate ripoff. This advertising gimmick is extremely annoying; when will they get the message? Keep in mind also that this product is worthless without an internet connection since they deliberately release the software in incomplete and buggy form on the assumption that all buyers will access the website and download the update. If you have a dial-up connection, the download process is very slow and long.
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