Turbo Tax 2012 Online - Review

TurboTax Online 2012

Turbotax has been the leader in tax software. Providing both an online version and boxed software version, they have dominated the tax software area for the past 2 decades. To be a survivor in the Tax software market, a company has to constantly innovate. Year over year, Turbotax has added new features and improved the customer experience. For tax year 2012, there are plenty of improvements to the software and the online site.

For the 2012 tax year, Turbotax is offering 5 different turbotax online packages. Each one is suited for a different type of individual.

The basic versions like the Turbotax Online Free and TurboTax Basic is for people with very basic tax return filing requirements. Typically this would be singles, people who do not itemize their deductions, no children or income is below a certain level.

Turbotax will automatically transfer the previous year’s tax return. TurboTax fills in information from your previous year’s return to help save time and increase accuracy. The import procedure will show you what you’re importing and where it goes in your tax return. You can also import from other tax software including TaxACT and H&R Block At Home™.

TurboTax 2012 online is available in 5 different versions. See a detailed Comparison of Turbotax Products

• Turbotax Free
• Turbotax Basic
• Turbotax Deluxe
• Turbotax Home and Business
• Turbotax Premier
• Turbotax State

Turbotax Online Free Edition

Turbotax Online Note: The FREE edition is for the Federal tax return only. If you live /work in a state where you pay state income taxes you are required to file a state tax return as well. The majority of the 50 states have state income taxes, only a few states like TX and WA do not. Turbotax will automatically determine whether you need to file state income taxes and advice you accordingly.

Turbotax Online Deluxe Edition

This edition is ideally suited if you have income from investments (stocks bonds etc) or own a home and have mortgage expenses. Turbotax automatically looks for deductions that apply to you. In fact Turbotax deluxe is the version you want to start with if you itemize your deductions. More on deductions later.

ItsDeductible : This is a great piece of software that comes included with Turbotax deluxe online. If you are wondering why this software s this useful - here is why :
If you want to take a deduction for household items that you donated to charity, you are required to deduct only the fair value of the item. So for instance, you donated your used suit which was in pristine condition to Salvation army or Goodwill, you could take a deduction for the fair market value of the suit on your tax return. But do you know how to figure out the value of that used suit ? Is it $10 or $50 - the right answer could mean several dollars of additional deductions and a bigger refund. This is where ItsDeductible comes in useful. ItsDeductible will determine the fair market value of the item you donated and automatically transfer it to the tax forms.

Turbotax Online Premier

What distinguishes Turbotax Premier and Deluxe is the extensive investment advice available. Ability to import your investment transactions from major financial firms directly into Turbotax (eg. Fidelity, Schwab etc). This is a great timesaver. Whats more, the profit/loss, and capital gains (short term or long-term) are automatically calculated and entered directly on the tax form.

TurboTax Online Home & Business Edition

If you own a small business as sole proprietorship, you would need to prepare and file your business income and expenses. Turbotax Home & Business should be your starting point. The other editions can also do a schedule C, but the detailed help you need for your business deductions are available only in the Home & Business edition.

TurboTax Online State Editions

If you just need to file a state tax return, starting this year, Turbotax is offering an option to file only your state taxes online. This is particularly useful if you used a free filing option to file your Federal tax return and somewhere else and just need to file your state tax return. .

See a detailed comparison of Turbotax versions.

In conclusion, Turbotax is excellent for anyone looking for detailed help and guidance in their tax preparation. The context sensitive help is outstanding - the best of any tax sites out there.

HR Block 2012 Review

HR Block At Home Online Review

Since last year HR Block has completely re-invented their product line, including retiring the old name ‘TaxCut‘  and re-positioned itself as  HR Block At Home.  For 2011 the site has been updated throughly and ready for Tax day - which is April 17th 2012 for your 2011 tax return.

In these tough economic times with a looming recession, a lot of people are looking for some help. This is not one of the years where anyone wants to be stuck with a huge tax bill.

Preparing your own tax return can save you hundreds of dollars. But getting to know which tools are available out there is important. As someone said “If I have to chop down a tree in 6 hours, I will spend 4 hours sharpening my tool”. HR Block for 2011  is one such tool that will help you prepare your taxes - error free.

Getting to know what you get for what you pay is important. If this is the first year you are preparing your taxes or if you are a veteran, HR Blocks At Home is a great tool in your tax preparation arsenal. When you combine a tax preparation tool with a personal finance management tool, you get the ultimate combination. You can read more about these tools on this site.

H&R Block the manufacturers of AtHome has been around for several decades. In fact they are the nations oldest tax preparation firm. Drive down almost any city and you will find HRBlock offices at a major intersection - where you can do almost anything from doing employee payrolls to preparing your tax return.

AtHome is the the tax preparation software from HR Block. For 2012 HR Block has updated their site. You can find the boxed software at most major retail stores. This requires you to buy the software, install the CD and then run the application. But there is an easier way. The same software is also available online.

With the online version, you do not need to install the software from a CD, but you can prepare and file your complete tax return over the internet right from your browser.

If you have a internet connection and a little bit of time, you can prepare your taxes online without paying an accountant huge fees.

At Home Online comes in the following flavors :

Which Version to Choose
Each of the HRBlock AtHome software is tailored to a different audience.  The AtHomeBasic (Free)  is most suited if your tax situation is fairly simple. If you are single or married, no kids or dependents, have a job and do not own a home, this will probably work for you.

The AtHome Deluxe version is valuable when you are a home-owner or have significant investment activity (stocks, bonds and such). The deluxe version will guide you through the investment situation with ease.

The AtHome Premium version goes one step further than the Deluxe and works well if you  own rental properties and need the appropriate forms and guidance for it.  It is also intended for  a small or home based business. It has all the features of the Deluxe  versions, and in addition it also takes care of your business related filing needs. The program walks you through your business deductions and  the schedule-C form is  generated. All you have to do is walk through the questionnaire.

Whats New for 2011 HRB
This year HRB has a new program that allows you to do your own taxes and then connect to a tax pro to have them verified. This new feature distinguishes HRB  from other online tax preparation sites.   This is an excellent feature for people who like to have their tax return physically reviewed by a tax pro  and at the same time save some money by preparing their tax return online. A combo deal that is surely a good value!

What exactly is Efile ?
Efile is the electronic transmission of your tax return to the IRS. What this means is with e-file you do not have to print and mail your tax return, instead, the tax preparer transmits the tax return on your behalf. Efile is available for your federal tax return and your state return too.

Most tax preparers including CPA firms usually charge extra for e-file, but online tax preparation sites like HR Blocks At Home online include e-file for free. In the case of  AtHome (Taxcut), you can e-file upto 5 tax returns (for your 2012 tax return) for the same price.

Taxbrain’s Online Past Year Tax Review

Not too many tax sites seem to care about people who need to prepare past years taxes. These are tax returns that people missed filing on the due date.  One of the few online tax websites that actually do have a good past year tax product is Taxbrain.

We decided to test drive their site just like we love to do with all tax sites. We want to make sure what they promise is what they deliver.
So here  is our review of Taxbrain :

Taxbrains Past Year Tax Site

The past year tax process on the Taxbrain site works very similar to current years tax preparation steps. First the Prior year tax section is available as a tab on your taxbrain home page. Once you are inside the tab, you can view all your past returns or start a new past year tax return.

• Questionnaire
• Worksheets
• Review
• Pay
• Print and File

The Quesitonnaire section walks you through some basic steps. It collects your personal information - Names, SSN, dependents etc.  Based on this basic information, several important tax parameters are determined in the tax calculation process  -your filing status, number of exemptions etc. It is really important to pay careful attention in this section. One mistake here and the entire tax return will be incorrect.

The Worksheets

The worksheets are the heart of the past year tax preparation steps. Here is where you will begin to enter your actual numbers - your W2 information, your tax deductions like home mortgage interest, property tax information etc.  If you had a home business or small business, you will be able to put in the numbers for that. There is a section devoted to capital gains and losses - which is where you would put in your stock / bond purchases and sales for the year.

Note on the worksheets:  It is useful to get all your tax documentation ready at the time you prepare your tax return. If you dont have it ready do not sweat it. Take some time, collect all the required documents and you can come back to it. Remember this is an online system, so your data is never lost - everything is stored on Taxbrains computers. You can even work from a different computer.

Review

Once Taxbrain has all the information from you, it will do the math to get your return completed. Actually, it does the computations constantly so anytime you change something anywhere, the entire tax return is immediately recalculated. That is the beauty of software. Imagine doing the same thing using paper worksheets and forms - a single change in any number and you will have to redo all the calculations - on paper. Ouch!!!

Past Year State Tax Return

In all likelihood, if you haven’t filed a past year federal return, you haven’t done a state return too. Taxbrain offers past year tax filing in all states. In fact it will automatically pick up the right form to fill based on the initial questionnaire.

Print & Mail

Once you have paid for the preparation fee, you will be given the option to print your tax return. The tax return can be printed on any printer attached to your computer. Its also available as a pdf download for you to store on your computer.

Since the IRS does not allow you to e-file, you will have to print and mail your tax return.  Taxbrain provides a cover sheet with the mailing address.

Online Support

Taxbrain has outstanding support both using online chat sessions with tax specialists and also via phone. Our experience with them was they were very courteous and knew to speak in English well.