Personal tax-preparation software is entering the same evolutionary stage that small business accounting software has already experienced. Developers have just about maxed out the sites' actual financial processing tools and are focusing on two primary areas: their help systems and their mobile apps. Last year's Editor's Choice winner, TurboTax, is no exception.
We reviewed the Deluxe version of TurboTax this year, as we did with competitors, rather than the Premier version we looked at for the 2011 tax year. Why? TurboTax Premier and TurboTax Home & Business cost more because they incorporate more sophisticated help in the areas of investments/rental property and small business respectively. But you can still enter some tax data in all of those areas in Deluxe. And unless your needs are particularly complex (for example, you need to create W2s or 1099s for employees or contractors) or you simply want the additional assistance, you'll save a lot of money.
Intuit's biggest news about its family of personal tax preparation sites (there are Free and Basic versions, in addition to those already mentioned) comes in two areas. First, Intuit is focusing on the members of the U.S. military by offering a special version for them: TurboTax Military Edition, free for junior enlisted personnel (E1-E5) until February 14, 2013. And product support has been expanded. Intuit has hired more tax professionals to handle the free phone and chat lines, and it has made audit assistance a year-round function.
Few Internal Changes
Like its competitors, TurboTax Deluxe Online provides an easy-to-use framework for completing the 1040 and the most commonly-used accompanying forms and schedules (A, B, C, D, 1040-ES, 1098, 1099-INT, etc.). State versions pull in relevant information from the federal forms and elicit additional data.
All personal tax-preparation software sites have worked in a similar fashion for many years. Rather than filling in fields on graphical representations of the IRS forms themselves, you'll use a wizard-like process to advance through all of the issues required for your specific situation. The site will pose questions or options, and you'll respond by providing answers in fields and checking boxes and selecting options from lists.
All calculations are performed by the site itself and guaranteed by their publishers. When you're done, your online tax-preparation site reviews your return for errors and omissions, and lets you print it or file it electronically.
Help Easier, Harder to Find
While TaxCut and eSmart Tax have improved support systems this year, the help provided by TurboTax is overall more accessible, clearer and more context-sensitive. Through the interview process, explanatory text often accompanies the questions. You can also click on hyperlinked terms or phrases?or the "Learn More" link?to open a window with more thorough, very clearly-written clarifications.
If that isn't enough, you can open a new window via an icon marked "See More Help," which displays questions and answers from the TurboTax Community of users and experts. Community Q&As also appear at the bottom on each query screen (you can hide this). This a welcome departure from last year, when this was included in a vertical pane to the right of the working area
Gone, too, is the big button that says, "Get Expert Help." It was only after I'd entered a search term and read through the answer that I saw a "Contact Us" button. I still had to enter personal contact information and the question itself before I found information about the free phone and chat help. Intuit may be offering this free, but they're not shouting it from the rooftops within the site.
The Help Center itself looks different from last year's version. It's been rearranged a bit, and there is a section at the top of the search results that says, "Recommended Answers." The latter welcome, since searches can sometimes bring up dozens or hundreds of responses.
Overall, I found that the clear, simple but thorough explanations included within the interview process, the "Learn more..." links and hyperlinked phrases, were the most helpful. It can take time to find an answer to your question in the community, and even then, an expert may not have answered it. And if you don't find what you're looking for within the Recommended Answer section, you may have to scroll through a lot unrelated links.
A Familiar Face
TurboTax Deluxe Online's guidance links are more understated than they used to be. They're quieter and more sedate, minus some of the bright colors and graphics that adorned them before. A vertical navigation pane runs along the left side; it contains a tree-like menu of the site's primary sections. You can click on any of them to jump to a specific page. Above that is a box that tells you what your current tax obligation is at that point?whether you owe or are owed.
Simple, low-key links at the upper right of each screen take you to "Flags" (notes you make to yourself on specific pages that remind you you're missing some data); Tools (additional navigation and search aids) a print utility; the Help Center; and a Save & Exit link. You can also execute a quick search from a box in the upper right. All competitors have similar features.
This new, austere look carries throughout the site. Like H&R Block did awhile back with its personal tax preparation products, Intuit has turned down the noise to simplify?and, hopefully, streamline?the cloud-based process. This will accelerate your journey through the 1040 and its assorted forms and schedules for the 2012 tax year. Whether it's better or not is a personal preference. Personally, I miss some of the old flash.
The Best of the Bunch
If you have a very simple tax situation or a more complex one that won't require much guidance, you should explore TaxACT's free version. If you think you may want to bail partway through and get professional help, you might consider H&R Block At Home Deluxe Online. But if you want the best experience overall as you endure the annual chore of personal tax preparation, TurboTax Deluxe Online should be your choice. It's the best virtual tax advisor in this group.
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