bit-tech Shopping: Intuit TurboTax Deluxe Federal + State Deluxe

• Mac OS X v10.4 (Tiger)
• Mac OS X v10.5 (Leopard)
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Rating: 10

Time with product: 4

Strengths: (1) Easy to use (2) Cheaper than a professional preparer

Weaknesses: (1) There should be some sort of cheaper upgrade option instead of forcing you to purchase the full application every year

Summary: TurboTax 2007 Deluxe Federal + State Deluxe works very well for your average tax payer. You may need professional assistance if you are running a business out of your home or have some complex investments but otherwise this product walks you through each step of the tax preparation process in an easy to follow and comprehensive way. There are lots of links to additional info and help that make the User feel calmer about navigating the overly-complex US tax system. It is a shame that you have to purchase the full product every year and there is not an upgrade opportunity.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Easy to Use

Weaknesses: Efile charges and Wrong State Mailing Address

Summary: I have used Turbo Tax for Federal and State tax for two years now. it very easy to follow and very complete. It offers you the ability to import banking and investment information from a list of supported providers. But, It can not automatically provider gain/loss data from broker and It also printed the wrong address to mail my state forms. To e-file, I would need to pay $17.95...and an ADDITIONAL $17.95 to e-file my state return!

Rating: 2

Time with product:

Strengths: Very simple wizard interface. I was done with state and fed in under 2 hours. That includes reading all the details about deductions.

Weaknesses: 1. Hidden efile charges.2. No yearly updates.

Summary: 1. Free e-filing is only available with their "online" version. Do not mistake updating and filing online with this software vs the online version on their site. It will cost you an additional $36 to efile your fed and state through them at the end.2. Absolutely no year to year patches or updates. Patches are only viable for your current year's version, so once you're done, save as PDF, uninstall and throw it in the garbage where it belongs.Unfortunately I found out the above 2 cons when I was just about finished using the software. So instead of just handing all my paperwork to my CPA, forgetting about it and being charged $125, I spent almost 50$ on this junk, plus the hidden 36$ filing fee and had to find the time to do this myself. On top of that next year I have to pay them for everything again because this year's software is now useless. WHAT A SCAM!

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Easy to use. Plain language. Conservative.

Weaknesses: Conservative. If you have a lot deductions (schedule A or C) or own your own business, then the questions become more complex.

Summary: For the majority of tax payers, this program is going to a great job in figuring out your taxes. If you have used TurboTax before then you don't have to enter a lot of the information again.

Rating: 4

Time with product: 30 Days

Strengths: TurboTax loads investment and other financial data from Quicken, which makes Schedule-D filings a snap. The guided walk-throughs are helpful for finding deductions.

Weaknesses: For several years in a row I've discovered significant bugs in the software - including this year.

Summary: It's Deductible is one of the best things for tax time, since it came out several years ago. The online version is the best yet. Bugs are sometimes little things like the 2006-to-2007 comparison page for my state (VA) which showed a default amount instead of my actual claim amount for 529 plan deduction. And bigger things, like ignoring Quicken transactions during import, for stock sales that had a zero-dollar basis from a court settlement, and this year, to my chagrin, I launched TTax 2006 again just to get a number off my return, and after the software update, I found I'd been shortchanged by $230 on my state refund. That's not small potatoes - and now I have to weigh my choices for how to proceed.I've been a TurboTax user for 9 years, but this is likely to be my last. The E-file fee is now almost $18, when it's free elsewhere for uncomplicated returns. And the e-file fee is the same for state, so that's a $38 charge just to file two returns. And to really drive the point home, I e-filed through Intuit last year, yet when they modified TurboTax for Virginia last year AFTER I filed, they didn't consider it warranted to contact me about the issue. Several sales pitches were sent later, but no Oops! We goofed on your return! notice...All in all, I'm going to be considering other options for my 2008 return, because I don't like the thought of waiting until April 15th to file, just for Intuit to work out all the bugs, nor re-filing later when I discover a problem they're not telling us about. Caveat emptor!