4 ms·

What's a viable alternative to TurboTax for those who are unable to self-file? I know Intuit is an evil company, but whenever it's tax season and I'm confronted

by renlo 4y ago

What's a viable alternative to TurboTax for those who are unable to self-file? I know Intuit is an evil company, but whenever it's tax season and I'm confronted with either (a) learning how to file my own taxes or (b) kicking the can down the road and paying Intuit $100, I choose (b). I had an accountant for a couple years because my taxes were complicated due to changing states. My accountant charged me $1000, which I did not mind paying because my taxes were complicated. When my taxes became substantially less complicated last year, he still charged me $1000, which I _did_ mind paying. So no more accountant! The unfortunate reality is that Intuit's software works well and they've priced it at a point where most people just accept the fee and move on. As we get nearer to Tax Day 2023, I feel that I'm just going to accept their fee and move on with my life, even knowing how problematic they are. Is there a viable alternative (cheap tax software)? Is there a simple source of information where a person can learn everything they need to know about filing their taxes in an hour or two? Taxes seem to be kept intentionally arcane because so many make a living from understanding it without allowing me to understand it.

fragmede 4y ago
If the fee is a flat $1,000, the other way to get more value is too complicated the hell out of your situation. Have you ever thought of starting a nonprofit foundation?
cantaloupe 4y ago
I’ve used FreeTaxUSA and recommended it to many friends. Federal is free and state is $15 (if your state has income tax). For W-2 plus investments and house, it was a breeze. And they cover many more forms than just that: https://www.freetaxusa.com/supported_forms.jsp https://www.freetaxusa.com/supported_forms.jsp
valarauko 4y ago
I'd seen recommendations on here in the past for FreeTaxUSA so used that for the first time this year - already got my refund as well! It's free for federal filing, and $15 for each state filing. The interface is easy enough to understand, and I appreciated the many options - it does help to know what deductions apply to you, so at least a cursory understanding of your old filings is probably necessary. I believe it can import your old TurboTax filings and figure stuff out from that, but it's not something I did and was easy enough to set up and finish in the span of an evening. The various deductions are laid as a questionnaire, and I appreciated that they were marked as rare deductions that most people don't need - but there in case you need it.
LVB 4y ago
Over the years I've greatly appreciated being able to download the tax app and save my tax prep work as honest to goodness files. It does sound archaic, but when I want to run a what-if scenarios, it is as easy and duplicating the file and editing to my heart's content. This can be a tricky operation with some online options. Navigation and direct form editing tends to be a bit better in desktop versions too. For downloadable software, I've used TT but have more recently switched to H&R Block. It works fine, and at a decent discount from TT (~$35 for H&R Block "Deluxe", including state return).

by renlo 4y ago

fragmede 4y ago

If the fee is a flat $1,000, the other way to get more value is too complicated the hell out of your situation. Have you ever thought of starting a nonprofit foundation?

cantaloupe 4y ago

I’ve used FreeTaxUSA and recommended it to many friends. Federal is free and state is $15 (if your state has income tax). For W-2 plus investments and house, it was a breeze. And they cover many more forms than just that: https://www.freetaxusa.com/supported_forms.jsp https://www.freetaxusa.com/supported_forms.jsp

valarauko 4y ago

I'd seen recommendations on here in the past for FreeTaxUSA so used that for the first time this year - already got my refund as well! It's free for federal filing, and $15 for each state filing. The interface is easy enough to understand, and I appreciated the many options - it does help to know what deductions apply to you, so at least a cursory understanding of your old filings is probably necessary. I believe it can import your old TurboTax filings and figure stuff out from that, but it's not something I did and was easy enough to set up and finish in the span of an evening. The various deductions are laid as a questionnaire, and I appreciated that they were marked as rare deductions that most people don't need - but there in case you need it.

LVB 4y ago

Over the years I've greatly appreciated being able to download the tax app and save my tax prep work as honest to goodness files. It does sound archaic, but when I want to run a what-if scenarios, it is as easy and duplicating the file and editing to my heart's content. This can be a tricky operation with some online options. Navigation and direct form editing tends to be a bit better in desktop versions too. For downloadable software, I've used TT but have more recently switched to H&R Block. It works fine, and at a decent discount from TT (~$35 for H&R Block "Deluxe", including state return).