TurboTax 2013 {Review}

Disclosure:  I received this product to review in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

I have been using Turbo Tax for over 10 year now and honestly I have no complaints.  From using it for the one job I had in college to using it now with a house, kids, and investments, there has always been a TurboTax suitable for my needs.  What I love about Turbo Tax is that I feel like I am getting a better understanding of where my money is going.  I like how it asks me questions and keeps a running total on the screen for me.  While yes I could pay a professional to do it for me, its also something that I feel comfortable doing on my own.

Using TurboTax really is simple and its hard to mess up.  Once you open up the program, you’ll probably have a few updates to install but after that you are ready to go.  Now I always choose to have the program guide me directly through each set of questions but you can just go and click on areas you have forms for.

Running total of money your due (or owe):

First you fill in basic information and from the the program will guide you by asking you questions like “Did you work somewhere else?” “Do you own your home” “Are you married?” and so forth.  Depending on how you answer questions is how the program will guide you, for example if you say “No” to “Do you own your home?” then it won’t ask you questions about your mortgage interest or property taxes.

Yeah for deductions and credits:

It really is hard to miss something, as long as you are answering the questions correctly.  Have a question about something?  You can click on links throughout the program to answer questions you may have and get better explanations.

Need more help:

Making sure your not forgetting anything:

When you are finally done and feel comfortable that you have submitted all your forms that you have in front of you, then TurboTax will check your audit risk, check for errors and finally show you your complete Federal tax return.

Yes when you print it out, it will look exactly like what you’d get if you went to a tax professional or did it yourself – but everything is filled out for you!  After Federal, it then asks you about your State return, which already has most of the information filled out from what you inputted into your Federal return.  When your done you can either E-file or print it out and mail.  I have done both ways but I prefer to E-file if possible since then I know my return was received and I can track the status.  If you continue to use TurboTax, your information will pre-populate from the previous years information so you have less to fill out!

Overall, I really do love TurboTax and feel comfortable with it.  I feel that tax laws are constantly changing and even a tax professional may miss something just because they were un-aware of it.  Yes I know that a tax professional (or yourself) may know how to work the system in your favor, but I feel safe using TurboTax.

Stay Connected with TurboTax:

TurboTax WEBSITE | TurboTax FACEBOOK | TurboTax TWITTER | TurboTax PINTEREST

BUY IT:  Check out TurboTax online or find it at your local mass retailer!  The boxes explain too which is the right version for you but for average consumers, TurboTax Deluxe is usually perfect!

WIN IT: (2) US winners will receive an online code redeemable for TurboTax.com which is good for one free Federal and State preparation and e-file with Turbo Tax Deluxe 2013.  This code can only be redeemed once and is only valid through the 2013 tax season.

Need help entering a giveaway?  Check out my blog post for some help!

GIVEAWAY ENTRY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Giveaway Ends February 12, 2014.