Best Tax Programs?

inf0c0m asks: "Now that tax season is upon us again, what sort of tax programs should I be trying out? I've done the tried and true Quicken before, but I was hoping something Open Source, or something that comes highly recommended from other Slashdot users. I've also done some independent contract work this past year, so something that is more friendly in that sense would be nice. Any recommendations?"

Comments

TaxAct

[igorl]

I've been using TaxAct for three years now after getting fed up with TaxCut and TurboTax/MacInTax. The programs works well and the price is right.

http://taxact.com/

Cheers, Igor

H&R TaxCut

[jsailor]

I can't say it's great, but TaxCut is less oppressive than TurboTax and can (theoretically) import your TurboTax return. You can work through your independent contracting work, apply deductions, and test out multiple scenarios, etc.
The simple fact is that most people don't really need tax software. It's not that hard to do by hand.

Re:H&R TaxCut

[(trb001)]

The simple fact is that most people don't really need tax software. It's not that hard to do by hand.

Absolutely the truth, and anyone using a tax program should meticulously scour the resulting generated forms and make sure you *understand* what the amounts being entered in all the boxes mean. The IRS won't question the program you used if they find a discrepancy, they'll come after *you*.

That being said, I loved using TurboTax last year; it was my first year with a mortgage, and it was very easy to just enter numbers, change them around, then have TT spit out the forms for me to mail in.

--trb

Tax Season !?!

[ericspinder]

Now that tax season is upon us again...

What, is it mid-April already!

Re:Tax Season !?!

[EnronHaliburton2004]

His true name is Ned Flanders.

Would you look at those morons... I paid my taxes over a year ago!

Re:Tax Season !?!

[ericspinder]

Just because most people are too damned lazy to file until the last possible second doesn't mean that you can't file as soon as the tax forms are available.

Two things...

1. It was a joke, obviously commenting on how many (perhaps most?) people wait until the last couple of days.
2. If you actually owe money, as many people do, waiting until the last day lets you earn interest as long as possible (if you have the money put away) or pay as little interest on the credit card (if you don't have the money).

In fact, any good accountant would tell you that it's better to write them a check and send it April 15th than give them an interest free loan. Of course if you keep writing them big checks at the end of the tax season, then they'll make you pay the extra quarterly, so keep it a small check (I really don't know that amount).

Re:Tax Season !?!

[dheltzel]

...and what exactly is a 'tax season' anyway? I can only assume it is some kind of US-centric thing

You must live under one of those oppressive regimes that prohibit gun ownership.

Here in the good ol' USA, we assign "seasons" to the various varmits we want to kill (mostly to prevent killing all the breeding stock, but also to provide jobs for the game wardens). In duck season, you can shoot ducks, and in buck season, you can shoot bucks (the male deer, not money). Similarly, in tax season, the well equiped hunters of the land set out to kill and maim the local tax population. It's really sort of odd that we don't just let them shoot them all, I for one would be happy if all the taxes in America became extinct.

Re:Tax Season !?!

[tonsofpcs]

It was a joke, obviously commenting on how many (perhaps most?) people wait until the last couple of days.
Don't you mean hours?

Same as last time we discussed it: a CPA

[Just Some Guy]

I've also done some independent contract work this past year, so something that is more friendly in that sense would be nice.

My tax package is named John. The assistant applications are named Steve and Kristi.

Seriously, why would you work your butt off all year long and then cheat yourself by not using the right tool for the job, specifically a human trained in the ways of the tax code?

No tax package will ever tell you stuff like "if you only claim 80% of your home office deduction, then you can use the Druss-Knackwurst Act of 1923 to triple your mileage". A good CPA, however, will geek out on your 1040 like a overclocker with a free supply of liquid nitrogen, with the critical difference that your accountant is legally responsible for keeping you on the good side of the IRS.

Mine says things like "I was laying awake last night trying to figure out how to carry back your dividends from three years ago to count against your liability next year", then will go on to explain it in the same way I tell my coworkers about new CPU developments. Get one like that and keep him or her for the rest of your life: they're worth the price a hundred times over.

Re:Same as last time we discussed it: a CPA

[GoofyBoy]

>Mine says things like "I was laying awake last night trying to figure out how to carry back your dividends from three years ago to count against your liability next year"

I actually don't want my CPA to say this.

I want him to say: "We are going to carry back your dividends to reduce your liabilities. I've done this before so its pretty routine now." You don't want your tax return be the one he learns how do to something.

>then will go on to explain it in the same way I tell my coworkers about new CPU developments.

This I agree with.

Re:Same as last time we discussed it: a CPA

[GoofyBoy]

Communication is important, but I was commenting on his experience.

You want a CPA/doctor/lawyer/candlestick-maker to have done the hard things before and not use you as a test case.

If you are filing Canadian taxes...

[barguy]

Try out UFile.ca.
- Cheap
- Secure
- Multi-Browser friendly
- Pay only if you file electronically
- Netfile compatible

-MM-

Waste of money unless your taxes are simple

[austad]

Mine are not simple. I tried both Taxcut and the Quicken/Intuit one a couple years ago, and it said I had a $4200 refund coming to me. I took my stuff to a tax guy, and I ended up getting over $6k back.

Go to a real tax guy, not one of those H&R block things. They will hire anyone, give them a couple days of training and send them out to do your taxes. My tax guy charges me $130. He sends me a postage paid envelope in January every year, I drop my stuff in, he calls me with questions, then when it's ready I go in and sign it. I just drop the tax stuff I need in the envelope as it comes in the mail, print out any 401k or stock market stuff I need, and send it off.

No computer program can be a substitute for a guy with 20 years of experience doing taxes. He'll find deductions you never knew you could take. Deductions add up quickly if you're in a high tax bracket.

Re:Waste of money unless your taxes are simple

[TykeClone]

Deductions add up quickly if you're in a high tax bracket.

For now.

If you're in too high of a tax bracket, you'll get nabbed by the Alternative Minimum Tax which makes your deductions disappear in a puff of smoke.

The nice thing about the AMT is that it was created in the 1970's, but never indexed to inflation - as time goes on, more and more people get caught by it.

Re:Waste of money unless your taxes are simple

[(trb001)]

I'm actually reading a great book on taxes and tax evasion that discusses the AMT...Perfectly Legal, by David Cay Johnston (ISBN 1591840694). Very interesting reading about it...according to him, by 2010 even blue collar workers stand a pretty good chance of being caught under the the AMT.

--trb