Sarasota PC Monitor
Taxcut Deluxe
A Software Review
byHerb Goldstein
Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc.It's that most unhappy time of the year. Never mind the ides of March. What strikes terror in most of our hearts is the IRS of April. To make things a little less unhappy and a lot more productive, Block Financial (a subsidiary of the popular tax experts, H&R Block with advice from the venerated and renown financial advisor Kiplinger) offers a dynamite tax preparation program, TaxCut Deluxe. In fact, if it were not for the end result of parting with your hard-earned bucks to Uncle Sam, TaxCut actually makes dreaded tax preparation fun. TaxCut will also prepare your state return using figures that you can automatically transfer over from your federal.
The earlier you get started on the project, the better. For most of us, that will depend on when our banks, brokers and employers provide the necessary tax reporting forms, usually before the end of January. If you are a newbie, don't wait. Get your copy of TaxCut right now and familiarize yourself.
If you join the more than 20 million folks who use tax prep software each year to prepare their return, the first step in the process takes place before you even turn your computer on. You need to get all your paper work together and organized, 1099's, W-2's, everything and anything that you need to declare or deduct. Then, having easily installed TaxCut, the rest is almost effortless. TaxCut will take you through a logical series of steps by asking you simple questions. Abundant and easy to understand help is provided at every step along the way. When they are all answered, it will audit and search for errors and inconsistencies, then print out a completed accurate return that looks exactly like it came from the office of a professional tax preparer. In fact, the same type of software is exactly what professionals use to produce your return; only in this case you have saved their fee. It is a very practical example of what computers were meant to do! In previous years, TaxCut earned top rating from both Money Magazine and the Wall Street Journal.
In every step along the way, TaxCut provides a variety of reliable, up-to-date, context-sensitive help and advice. It offers the gospel straight from the federal instructions, or you can use its more easily comprehended instructions from the tax experts at Kiplinger. The deluxe version also provides a plethora of specialized IRS publications for some in-depth reference in various areas. When your return is completed, TaxCut will scrupulously check each and every item for any discrepancy that will attract the suspicious audit eye of the IRS. TaxCut's auditor provides a split screen view of both the flagged discrepancy and the exact area on your return where you can make corrections.
TaxCut provides complete electronic filing capability. Using it will provide a refund in 7-10 days, vs. 6-8 weeks if you mail in your return. Also provided is a summary of advice and suggestions you can use for both this and next year's return to save taxes. This includes a "what if" table where you can make hypothetical changes to see what effect they may have on your tax liability.
In case you are really impatient, TaxCut's Tax Summary provides a running summary of your bottom line at every step along the way. Why worry later when you can worry right now? And in case you are concerned about your tax info not being up to the very minute, not to worry! TaxCut's Auto-Update feature provides the very latest breaking tax news, IRS forms and program updates and automatically downloads them for you. A Fast Forms feature based on a short and simple interview will create a customized list of all the necessary forms to complete your return. Experienced preparers can use this to go directly to the forms, rather than through the more lengthy interview process.
TaxCut can also accurately import data into your return from a variety of sources which include your last year's TaxCut or TurboTax return, MS Money, Quicken, or Managing Your Money. The program keeps you accurately advised of your potential areas of deduction. It will determine whether you are eligible for the Child Tax Credit and automatically calculate it for you.
Splendid videos are abundant in TaxCut Deluxe. They cover of a variety of topics and offer tax advice in areas such as first time investors, newly married, recently divorced, death in the family, new business, new or selling a home, and newly retired.. These videos may be accessed at any time or are offered during appropriate sections of the return. A Quick Tour video will take you through the necessary steps in preparing your return.
You can select from any of several different methods offered in the preparation of your return:
Interview Method- Answer the specific questions all along the way.
Fast Lane Method- Tailor the interview to include only those areas which you know are applicable to you.
Fast Forms Method- Answer a few questions and TaxCut will present only those forms that apply to you. Then go directly to and fill in each form.
All Forms Method- If you are experienced and know exactly what forms you will need, you can select and go to each.
TaxCut's Navigator, Interview and Forms Buttons are always available in the bottom right hand corner of each screen. You can use these to skip or return to any area of the interview. A Rapid Find search button will bring you information on the topic of your choice.
A test of the product using figures gleaned from my last return proceeded flawlessly. TaxCut has our highest and most enthusiastic recommendation. The only word of caution involves some taxpayers, and not the software. Some people have tax pictures and problems that require individualized and specialized attention of an accountant. However, for the vast majority of us, TaxCut is more than up to the task. Considering all that it does so easily, accurately and efficiently, perhaps the most amazing thing about it is that you can purchase it most anywhere at a discounted price of only $24, tax deductible no less. That's the eighth wonder of the world! Www.taxcut.com. :
Copyright 2002. This article is from the January 2002 issue of the Sarasota PC Monitor, the official monthly publication of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-1889. Permission to reprint is granted only to other non-profit computer user groups, provided proper credit is given to the author and our publication. We would appreciate receiving a copy of the publication the reprint appears in, please send to above address, Attn: Editor. For further information about our group, email: admin@spcug.org/ Web: http://www.spcug.org/
The Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. has 1,300+ members and was established in 1982. We are members of the Assoc. of PC User Groups (APCUG), the Florida Assoc. of PC Users Groups, Inc., and we are members of the America Online Ambassador Program.
See http://www.spcug.org for all reviews from the Sarasota PC Monitor, go to the Newsletter Section.