TurboTax

[RickBeer]

Many people do their own taxes, and often buy TurboTax to do so.

This post is to do two things:

1) Explain what version you need to buy.

2) Show a very competitive price and how to ensure you get it price matched (if your credit card allows it).


TurboTax is available via download/CD or via online. If you buy the download/CD form, the Deluxe version is all the most people need. TurboTax's Marketing tactics try to scare you into higher versions, that in fact don't have any additional forms in them, all the forms are in the Deluxe version. Here's a comparison of features: https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-ta ... e/desktop/

The online versions are different, and will usually cost you more money.

TurboTax goes on sale this time of year for $39.99 at some places, most notably Amazon and Costco. If you buy from Amazon, you can price match with Citi Price Rewind, whereas if you buy from Costco you cannot (big box stores are no longer part of Citi Price Rewind).

TurboTax Deluxe, plus State, entitles you to do up to 5 Federal Tax Returns and provides the download of one state's return (i.e. adds the ability to do one state to the software). E-Filing of that state costs extra, but you can mail it for free. Here's a link to buy it - https://amzn.to/2SKskql Note, if you use that link to purchase, I will get $1.60 from Amazon, so if 4 people use it then I can buy 1 beer at my local brewpub...

If you don't need a state return, then pay $29.99 for Deluxe without state - https://amzn.to/2RKc5fF. I will get $1.20 if you buy it from this link, so 5 of you will have to buy it for me to get 1 beer at my local brewup

Actually, I have to pay taxes on the money, so those calculations are off...

For watching the Amazon price to see if it dips, go to https://camelcamelcamel.com/ and save the page so it's followed. Nobody knows about CamelCamelCamel, last year I save a few hundred on Amazon purchases by using that site, and then posting the price match info to Citi Price Rewind.

If you don't have a Citi card with Price Rewind, the Citi DoubleCash card is great. No link for that...

[bpgreen]

If your taxes are simple, you can use turbotax online for free. My daughter and her roommate used that last year and will probably do so again this year (she may not be able to use it going forward as she starts to pay off her student loans).

You can find it if your taxes are simple enough if you Google free tax filing or something along those lines.

[RickBeer]

Absolutely correct.

I don't like the idea of providing Intuit, or any other company, my line item detail of my tax return. Yes, I do E-File my Federal Tax return through Intuit, but no data is stored on their servers, it's sent directly to the IRS. I also use Quicken (pre-subscription 2016 version), and don't do any online with that also.

Each of us needs to do what we feel most comfortable with.

[TonyKZ1]

Thanks for the info, I've been using TurboTax for many years. Started using it when it was called MacinTax, then it was bought by the company that owned TurboTax and was renamed. I'll have to remember this as I usually buy it in November/December to help with preparation of that years taxes.