I hate Turbo Tax Software

[johnmpf]

Wow what an expensive and hard to use product.  It hides details and cost until the very end.  Written by sociopaths.

 

[peter halle]

I use it every year now but agree that things seem to be located in weird areas for regular people - perhaps not so for accountants (who wouldn’t use it anyway.

Peter

 

[Packard]

My accountant charges me $250.00 to prepare a simple tax filing (SS + interest on various bank accounts). The following year that $250.00 is tax deductible, so around $200.00 actual cost. And he files electronically, so in the past I got my refunds in a couple of weeks.

My worry is that all the personnel firings will affect that refunding.

I do think my accountant is giving me a special rate. He did my filings for 25 years while I was employed and he also did the taxes for my employer.

In any case, at present, I see no compelling reasons fro filing myself using Turbo Tax (or any other tax software).

 

[peter halle]

Unfortunately my tax returns are a bit more complex and by the time I get all the documentation together I might as well do the rest.

 

[kevinculle]

I have used TurboTax for well over a decade. It has its quirks, and it isn't cheap, but it took me exactly 75 minutes to complete and submit my Federal and Michigan state taxes this year. Overall, I am quite satisfied with TT.

 

[Coen]

Must be an American thing. I think I filed for 3 years of taxes in about 20 minutes.

It's basically, log in at tax agency... open pre-filled form, answer about 15 yes/no questions, add deductions for gifts and retirement, click save and send, done.

As long as you get money back, they don't care here if you file later. Only when you owe them money you have to file before xx date.

 

[smorgasbord]

Anyone here with a home workshop and selling items on the books should probably be getting an accountant to figure out percentage use of space/tools/utilities/etc. (and depreciation) for business use. OK to run a defecit for a few years, but at some point you need to show a profit or some auditor might think it's a hobby, not a business. This is also how the YouTubers can afford all that nice equipment they buy when they reach a few hundred thousand subscribers.

 

[Packard]

When I retired I decided that the only logical way I would run out of money was if I were to try to make more by either making a foolish investment or producing items that would get me sued.

But runaway inflation, especially on drugs, could upset my apple cart.


I have often wondered why the IRS was not able to set up a dedicated calculation app where you filled in the blanks and the IRS computed the taxes.

But foolish me. All those big accounting firms would be up in arms. (Though none of those big accounting firms was after my business).

 

[smorgasbord]

I have often wondered why the IRS was not able to set up a dedicated calculation app where you filled in the blanks and the IRS computed the taxes.

Well, that is pretty much what the 1040 and all its schedules are. There's just a lot of blanks and knowing what to fill in isn't always (mostly?) straightforward.

If the government would stop using the tax code to try to encourage or discourage certain behaviors, things would be a lot simpler - and some will argue fairer.

 

[Coen]

There is a huge sector that benefits from ambigue laws and regulations. They protest and lobby to keep it that way.

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Tax returns in the UK are all done online - and the UK Government’s tax filing webpage is superbly well thought-out and incredibly easy to use. Most self-employed folks such as me account using what’s called the ‘cash basis’ = a simple Excel spreadsheet of business funds going in, and business funds going out. Subtract one from the other - and that’s your earnings for the year. You then input your additional allowances (which are tabulated on the webpage) consisting of stuff like depreciation on vehicles & tools, hit ‘calculate’ and it generates the figure you owe based on the numbers you’ve put in. You then have the option to pay it online in one hit, or pay it monthly by bank direct debit. Doing my year-end tax filing takes me an hour.

It’s exactly what @Packard said he wished the US had.

 

[smorgasbord]

It’s exactly what @Packard said he wished the US had.

I dunno - when I read https://www.nerdwallet.com/uk/business/business-tax/ I see a lot of similar complications for the UK for businesses, including separate capital gains tax rates, depreciation adjustments, VAT calculations, and even for self-employed people there are certain tax-deductible items. So, just like the US there are people who can file 1040S (short-form).
The US may have more complications arising from Congress passing specific taxes and incentives for specific things, even specific companies!

 

[cpw]

I have often wondered why the IRS was not able to set up a dedicated calculation app where you filled in the blanks and the IRS computed the taxes.

But foolish me. All those big accounting firms would be up in arms. (Though none of those big accounting firms was after my business).

The big accounting firms don't care. They're only going to do fairly complex taxes.

The reason that "normal people" can't get free tax software from the government is that Intuit and friends lobby against it.

The software makes filling out the forms easy, if you have a simple situation that you can just walk through entering in a few W2s and 1099s. If you have anything that is moderately complex; then it takes a lot of time to actually understand the rules so you know what to put in those forms. At some point it makes sense to hire an accountant or preparer for your taxes, but you still need to read over the work and understand it. At least you have a basis to start off at that point and can ask questions to make sure you get the correct answers.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Must be an American thing. I think I filed for 3 years of taxes in about 20 minutes.

It's basically, log in at tax agency... open pre-filled form, answer about 15 yes/no questions, add deductions for gifts and retirement, click save and send, done.

As long as you get money back, they don't care here if you file later. Only when you owe them money you have to file before xx date.

Unless it's changed it's the same here in OZ, I always hated preparing my returns and ended up doing around 13 years of tax returns over a few months some years back as I was owed for each year.

 

[squall_line]

This is the boiled down version of the tax situation w.r.t. Intuit et al in the US that made the most sense to me when I heard it:

The IRS knows how much you make and how much you owe, otherwise they wouldn't be able to charge you with a crime for false reporting. It should be as simple as going to a website, confirming pre-filled information, and clicking submit (basically what @Coen put above), but that level of simplicity is lobbied against by the tax software groups.

See also: all of the "dark pattern" methods that they use to hide all of the free file methods and options on their websites. Such a large percentage of the US population is allowed to use the software for free, even for more than just a simple 1040 EZ but it's nigh-impossible to actually find the correct path to get there if you go directly to their website instead of starting with the IRS site and navigating from there. I used TurboTax for decades but moved to the FreeFile version of TaxAct for free Fed and State returns the last two years and I will continue to do so until we no longer qualify (bonus: TaxAct was originally started in my state, and I worked with a guy who did freelance customer service for them back in their early days).

 

[Coen]

The IRS knows how much you make and how much you owe, otherwise they wouldn't be able to charge you with a crime for false reporting.

Well, we all know having the data and actually using it correctly are two different things.