It is that time of the year again, where you either dread or look forward to your tax return. I wait patiently for all our documents to come, put them in an envelope and prepare for tax season. For the past seven years or so, I have been using Turbo Tax to do my taxes. Before Turbo Tax I paid someone to do my taxes and I paid so much for something so simple! I know many people are intimidated by taxes and fear the dreadful IRS auditor, but Turbo Tax is almost foolproof if you follow their steps.
All you have to do is collect all your tax documents start inputting it into Turbo Tax. The reason I say it is almost foolproof is because Turbo Tax asks you all the questions and if you answer “yes” it takes you to where you input your data. So it is hard for you to miss something because with Turbo Tax asking you questions like “Did you have a baby?” ,“Did you buy a home?” , “Did you change jobs?” and so forth. It makes it so you get the most of your deductions and refund back. I can input everything in about 45 minutes ( I go slow and double check myself) and then I can easily print it out and mail it or e-file it directly to the IRS. I have actually always e-filed it as then I know they received it and I get my refund quickly. You can also check the status of whether the IRS received it and accepted it when you log into Turbo Tax a few days later.
Now I am bias because I have never tried any other software than Turbo Tax, but really if something works than why change it. I have never had any problems with Turbo Tax and I love how easy it is and how it makes it so anyone can do their taxes themselves even if they don’t have experience!
Turbo Tax comes in a few different versions depending on how complex your tax status is. There is the Free Edition, which is basically for people that work one job and don’t own any property. Then there is the Deluxe version is the standard version most people will use. It is great for homeowners, couples, if you made donations or have other deductions. What is great is that it will import last year’s tax return for you, so if you have not changed jobs, or had many big changes it will import all that data so you don’t have to change so much, just the numbers basically! The other versions are Premier, Home & Business, and Business. I have only used Turbo Tax Deluxe and I would have to say my favorite feature is that it imports last year’s tax return automatically for me and that I can save my file as a .PDF and print it anytime!
Turbo Tax Deluxe (Maximize Your Deductions) Features:
• Transfers last year’s tax info to save you time
• Imports W-2 and 1099 forms from over 100,000 employers and financial institutions
• Free technical support by phone
• Quickly searches for more than 350 deductions
• Gives you accurate values for your donations
• Alerts you to audit risks and offers tips to reduce your chance of an audit
Turbo Tax also offers consumers the ability to prepare their taxes online at the Turbo Tax website and only pay when you are satisfied. It is cheaper that way, but I am more traditional and used to purchasing the CD version for me to do on the computer. Either way works the same and is of course secure! Turbo Tax even gives you your audit rating so you can see what your risk of being audited is and it double checks your return as you go. I highly recommended Turbo Tax to everyone and I can’t imagine not using it! If you want to check Turbo Tax out for yourself you can always start out your return online, just don’t submit it. You could also try this if you wanted to double-check yourself if you do your taxes by hand or another way, to compare how Turbo Tax works for you.
BUY IT: You can buy Turbo Tax anywhere computer software is sold, at Amazon
GIVEAWAY: 2 Winners will receive a code redeemable for TurboTax.com which is good for one free federal and state preparation and e-file with Turbo Tax Deluxe 2009. This code can only be redeemed once and is only valid through the 2009 tax season.
WIN IT: Comment on your favorite feature of Turbo Tax!
Mama’s Money Savers Disclaimer: I was given a code for Turbo Tax online to review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this product review.
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