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TurboTax found several thousand dollars for me in a fairly complicated tax situation that I was completely not expecting and would never have realized on my own

TurboTax found several thousand dollars for me in a fairly complicated tax situation that I was completely not expecting and would never have realized on my own. Even some CPAs I've talked to have said "oh, really?" They've bought some tremendous goodwill from me with that. I'm probably sticking with them forever.

d3ad1ysp0rk 10y ago
This is the exact anecdote for why Intuit would want to keep tax law complicated.
- danielweber 10y ago
  How do you think carryover losses of subchapter S corporations should be handled to make them easier?
  - SeanDav 10y ago
    The idea is to make it easier for the average person. Those involved with subchapter S corporations are probably not amateurs and are not the target audience.
    - ams6110 10y ago
      Taxes are easy for the average person. A basic 1040-A, and certainly 1040-EZ (these two cover most taxpayers), are not difficult to do on paper if you can read and have a little patience. I'm not defending Intuit here, by the way. But most people don't need what they are selling.
      - snarfy 10y ago
        You cannot itemize a 1040.
        ams6110 10y ago
        True, you need the full 1040 return for that, but most people don't have enough deductions to itemize -- that was my point. The average tax return is a 1040A or 1040EZ with the standard deduction. Those are easy.
        mason55 10y ago
        > but most people don't have enough deductions to itemize FWIW, $100k in NYC puts your state + city taxes well over the standard deduction.
    - danielweber 10y ago
      I wasn't arguing against that. Rather against the conceit that my tax situation must be the result of people conspiring to keep things complicated, when the big thing (that got me thousands of dollars) was probably something that cannot really be simplified much further. Yet TT found it for me when lots of CPAs just didn't understand it.
  - nightski 10y ago
    In my mind move to a consumption tax with pre-bate (aka FairTax) and remove corporate income taxes altogether.
rpmcmurphy 10y ago
I have a moderately complicated tax situation. Own property. Some investments. Occasional AMT hit for options. TurboTax handles all of this well. I am happy to pay $100 where before I could easily spend ten times as much on a CPA. That said, they really should allow auto-file for people with simple returns.
larrywright 10y ago
Quite a few accountants that I know use TurboTax to file for their customers.
developer2 10y ago
For the majority of filers, your result may be the complete opposite of the norm. No tax software deserves to be mentioned as "the best solution". The worst case scenario is that a particular company promises you riches on your return, when in fact you are legally in the red for the given year. This reality can swap back and forth between the tax provider and the individual - provider X may be the best for one person, while provider Y may be the best for someone else. A single tax provider will rarely be ideal for any two people. Never go with a tax company purely based on recommendation. The facts always outweigh any "guarantee", unless they are contractually and legally covering your refund against any wrong on their part (and even then, you have to prove you haven't lied or entered any typo on your return, in which case any mistake on your part can be seen as fraudulent). Always get a second opinion on your tax return, by manually putting in the effort to compare an initial result against a competitor. My parent says "TurboTax found several thousand dollars" in a "fairly complicated tax situation". Oh, really? Good for you. Not so much if for some reason either a) one misreports their situation, or b) "TubroTax" (or any other company) miscalculates one's personal situation. Seriously, don't believe any recommendation for any tax software. Even if the odds of being a victim of a corporate shill are 0.0001%, you're only potentially fucking yourself. No private company can guarantee your safety against the government. Do yourself a favor and check your yearly tax return against multiple offerings to ensure they are a) not purposely misrepresenting your return, and b) don't have a bug that reports a situation differently than the facts of your case. Yes, it's sad that I see a comment starting with "TurboTax found several thousand dollars for me in a fairly complicated tax situation" as being a possible shill. I'm sorry, but I don't care - every single tax return should be checked against multiple companies. Even if this is a legitimate customer rather than a shill, the odds of their result being representative of the majority is too much of a risk when you consider that you are 1 v. 1 against the government with each tax return. Cover your own ass(ets); don't depend on someone else to give you a recommendation for "the best tax software". Put in enough effort to determine your individual results against your government's requirements, not any private sector company's supposed "'guarantee of results'".
- danielweber 10y ago
  You got me, developer2. I've been commenting with my real name on HN for 5 years just waiting for this moment, to get the $35 that Intuit will mail me for my comment.

d3ad1ysp0rk 10y ago

This is the exact anecdote for why Intuit would want to keep tax law complicated.

danielweber 10y ago
How do you think carryover losses of subchapter S corporations should be handled to make them easier?
- SeanDav 10y ago
  The idea is to make it easier for the average person. Those involved with subchapter S corporations are probably not amateurs and are not the target audience.
  - ams6110 10y ago
    Taxes are easy for the average person. A basic 1040-A, and certainly 1040-EZ (these two cover most taxpayers), are not difficult to do on paper if you can read and have a little patience. I'm not defending Intuit here, by the way. But most people don't need what they are selling.
    - snarfy 10y ago
      You cannot itemize a 1040.
      - ams6110 10y ago
        True, you need the full 1040 return for that, but most people don't have enough deductions to itemize -- that was my point. The average tax return is a 1040A or 1040EZ with the standard deduction. Those are easy.
        mason55 10y ago
        > but most people don't have enough deductions to itemize FWIW, $100k in NYC puts your state + city taxes well over the standard deduction.
  - danielweber 10y ago
    I wasn't arguing against that. Rather against the conceit that my tax situation must be the result of people conspiring to keep things complicated, when the big thing (that got me thousands of dollars) was probably something that cannot really be simplified much further. Yet TT found it for me when lots of CPAs just didn't understand it.
- nightski 10y ago
  In my mind move to a consumption tax with pre-bate (aka FairTax) and remove corporate income taxes altogether.

rpmcmurphy 10y ago

I have a moderately complicated tax situation. Own property. Some investments. Occasional AMT hit for options. TurboTax handles all of this well. I am happy to pay $100 where before I could easily spend ten times as much on a CPA. That said, they really should allow auto-file for people with simple returns.

larrywright 10y ago

Quite a few accountants that I know use TurboTax to file for their customers.

developer2 10y ago

For the majority of filers, your result may be the complete opposite of the norm. No tax software deserves to be mentioned as "the best solution". The worst case scenario is that a particular company promises you riches on your return, when in fact you are legally in the red for the given year. This reality can swap back and forth between the tax provider and the individual - provider X may be the best for one person, while provider Y may be the best for someone else. A single tax provider will rarely be ideal for any two people. Never go with a tax company purely based on recommendation. The facts always outweigh any "guarantee", unless they are contractually and legally covering your refund against any wrong on their part (and even then, you have to prove you haven't lied or entered any typo on your return, in which case any mistake on your part can be seen as fraudulent). Always get a second opinion on your tax return, by manually putting in the effort to compare an initial result against a competitor. My parent says "TurboTax found several thousand dollars" in a "fairly complicated tax situation". Oh, really? Good for you. Not so much if for some reason either a) one misreports their situation, or b) "TubroTax" (or any other company) miscalculates one's personal situation. Seriously, don't believe any recommendation for any tax software. Even if the odds of being a victim of a corporate shill are 0.0001%, you're only potentially fucking yourself. No private company can guarantee your safety against the government. Do yourself a favor and check your yearly tax return against multiple offerings to ensure they are a) not purposely misrepresenting your return, and b) don't have a bug that reports a situation differently than the facts of your case. Yes, it's sad that I see a comment starting with "TurboTax found several thousand dollars for me in a fairly complicated tax situation" as being a possible shill. I'm sorry, but I don't care - every single tax return should be checked against multiple companies. Even if this is a legitimate customer rather than a shill, the odds of their result being representative of the majority is too much of a risk when you consider that you are 1 v. 1 against the government with each tax return. Cover your own ass(ets); don't depend on someone else to give you a recommendation for "the best tax software". Put in enough effort to determine your individual results against your government's requirements, not any private sector company's supposed "'guarantee of results'".

danielweber 10y ago
You got me, developer2. I've been commenting with my real name on HN for 5 years just waiting for this moment, to get the $35 that Intuit will mail me for my comment.