4 ms·

Due to a turbo tax bug my return was flagged for an audit. Not worth it. Never using it again.

by grandalf 11y ago

ryannevius 11y ago
Just curious...what year was this, and what was the bug?
- grandalf 11y ago
  2012 return, I removed a business expense from the return (I thought) but it still sent in the schedule claiming it to offset 1099 income. It was really a UI bug... it's unclear when you start a segment/form that it is going to be part of your return even if you don't finish it or if you think you cancelled out of the wizard. The core issue is the complicated tax code, but the UI that handles making the user aware of dependencies that a) must exist, b) should probably not exist is very weak... all dependencies are considered semi-optional and the only check is the "checking your return" step which did not flag the issue in my return.
  - algorithmsRcool 11y ago
    I've been bitten by some poor TurboTax UI design before. It took me over an hour to figure out how to remove a particular form it had auto imported from the previous year. But aside from that i've been pleased with them. But then again my taxes are very simple.
spydum 11y ago
Curious, did you review your filing documents before submitting? Was it something inconspicuous?
- grandalf 11y ago
  I did not. I filed electronically. I might have caught it if I'd reviewed everything but it was a pretty complex return. Fortunately the audit was simple once I realized what had happened and explained it, but it was overall very time consuming.
  - pkaye 11y ago
    How does an audit work? Do you go to the IRS office? Is the conversation pleasant or adversarial?
    - grandalf 11y ago
      It was fairly formal, but the auditor was friendly and professional. My return was flagged as part of an IRS program to audit the forms and overall tax collection effectiveness, so there was never any presumption that I'd tried to evade paying taxes. I sent over a bunch of documentation and then eventually met with the auditor at the office for a few hours to finalize things.

Due to a turbo tax bug my return was flagged for an audit. Not worth it. Never using it again.

ryannevius 11y ago

Just curious...what year was this, and what was the bug?

grandalf 11y ago
2012 return, I removed a business expense from the return (I thought) but it still sent in the schedule claiming it to offset 1099 income. It was really a UI bug... it's unclear when you start a segment/form that it is going to be part of your return even if you don't finish it or if you think you cancelled out of the wizard. The core issue is the complicated tax code, but the UI that handles making the user aware of dependencies that a) must exist, b) should probably not exist is very weak... all dependencies are considered semi-optional and the only check is the "checking your return" step which did not flag the issue in my return.
- algorithmsRcool 11y ago
  I've been bitten by some poor TurboTax UI design before. It took me over an hour to figure out how to remove a particular form it had auto imported from the previous year. But aside from that i've been pleased with them. But then again my taxes are very simple.

spydum 11y ago

Curious, did you review your filing documents before submitting? Was it something inconspicuous?

grandalf 11y ago
I did not. I filed electronically. I might have caught it if I'd reviewed everything but it was a pretty complex return. Fortunately the audit was simple once I realized what had happened and explained it, but it was overall very time consuming.
- pkaye 11y ago
  How does an audit work? Do you go to the IRS office? Is the conversation pleasant or adversarial?
  - grandalf 11y ago
    It was fairly formal, but the auditor was friendly and professional. My return was flagged as part of an IRS program to audit the forms and overall tax collection effectiveness, so there was never any presumption that I'd tried to evade paying taxes. I sent over a bunch of documentation and then eventually met with the auditor at the office for a few hours to finalize things.