Maybe I'm late to this - it seems that last year Intuit removed Schedule D (and C, and E, and ...) from the Deluxe online version. This year, these schedules are gone from the application (CD or download) version as well. I suspect that this makes it pretty useless for a lot of people here - anyone who has sold a security or other asset in a taxable account this year.
The ratings alone on Amazon tell the story - nearly all 1* or 5*, with 2/3 of the reviews at 1* because of the "downgrading" of the Deluxe version.
I'm likely going to try out H&R Block's At Home (formerly TaxCut), as it appears to be the closest "peer" in terms of style of interaction and capabilities.
Comments
Hmmm, has Warren bought TurboTax?
I used their "Deluxe" last year and liked it a lot. Was less expensive than Turbo. I had dollar averaged out of a taxable fund over the year. And had also dollar averaged in a couple years earlier. (Talk about confusion.)
But with a little "creative reconstruction" I think we came close.
We did use TurboTax for a number of years; but switched to H&R about 5 years ago. I have not discovered any problems using H&R.
Just received this year's program CD in the mail recently. The base package is named, Deluxe for $30 and includes the normal stuff, excluding items for business, self-employment and similar. Add a state program and the cost is $40. A top premium/business version includes such items as LLC's, estates and trusts and a state program also related to business.
I have not loaded the program; but presume all of the normal schedule C, D and related.
Take care,
Catch
I could not import TT data into the H&R program. But, this was back in 2005 or 2006.
However, according to the first link from Nov, 2013, in this Google Search; TT can be imported into the H&R program.
Take care,
Catch
So far, I'm not thrilled - but didn't expect to be. None of these tax programs seems to make it easy to do anything nonstandard, and I'll have to figure out how to deal with it. For example, either I missed it in the interview, or it's not handling correctly the recovery of expenses paid in multiple years (see Pub 17, p. 90). That is, when you pay state income tax estimates, including Q4 in January, and then you get a state refund.
On the plus side, the navigation is somewhat similar to Turbotax's, so I expect the learning curve to be a little shorter than it might otherwise be.
I don't want to turn this into a gripe thread, so I'll leave things there.
Is it possible the tax forms have to be revised by the IRS and as such were not included yet with TurboTax, but will be downloaded into the TT program when the forms are updated? I have not looked at the IRS web site regarding the 2014 forms availability.
I was looking for the 2015 1040ES but only the 2014 are available, even though the 2014ES for the fourth quarter is due on January 15, 2015.
I just found this on the IRS web site for current forms:
The post date for Form 1040 (Schedule D) Capital Gains and Losses 2014 is 11/21/2014.
The post date for Form 1040 (schedule C) 2014 is 10/16/14.
The post date for Form 1040 (schedule E) 20114 is 10/21/14.
Maybe the schedules were not included in the TT versions shipped out already.
I will agree that there were always a few things that made me wonder, too. "The", how come this or that is not set properly. Why do I have to place such and such an entry into the progrram manually; thinking that there would be a automatic calculation.
I am not a tax preparer; but prior to inexpensive software, had always done our tax preparation on my own in the long hand paper method; using the paper publications from the IRS for guidance. In two different years about 10-15 years ago a Fed. form related to business expenses had errors and/or missing areas for entries. I always wrote a letter/note to the IRS enclosed with the tax return indicating the problem and than I had used my best guess as to "what they wanted or needed" based upon the prior year calculations. None of these returns were ever questioned for inaccuracy.
Lastly, I have not had any problems with either program losing or corrupting data/crashing. And because of my prior "manual" exposure to tax preparation, I always "eyeball" the final results, as I have a close guess for most of the entries and final results.
Take care,
Catch
I use the software as a check - did I miss some rule in building my spreadsheet, did I enter the data correctly (doing it a second time, in a completely different form, helps catch errors), etc. Also, to file electronically (now required by my state).
With TT, I could (and did) still add the sort of notes you're describing. And over the years (perhaps once a decade) I have been questioned by the IRS. For example, one year (when I did paper filings and Schedules A and B were on flip sides of the same page), the IRS said they didn't have Schedule A (but didn't say they were missing Sched B).
@TheShadow - apparently (upon reading more reviews), it seems that Schedule D is still included, but not in interview mode (Q&A). If you use form mode (where you are essentially using the program as a glorified spreadsheet), you cannot file electronically. Here's a recent review and the manufacturer comment confirming that:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1GX9ZAMGWFBGV/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00NG7JVSQ
FWIW, the 1*/5* "public voice" on Amazon has gone from the 2:1 I originally posted, to more than 3:1.
I used TaxCut for well over a decade but Fidelity and BoA swung over to TT, like so many financial companies, and there was no auto-importing anymore into any program but TT. Auto-importing is majorly invaluable, in my experience. So I switched to TT and preferred it (much less onerous and time-consuming) and have been with it since. I will probably pay extra, but that Sched D omission is a bullshit thing to do to customers.
The information I got from a little bit of searching suggests that H&R Block "At Home" may not import quite as much as TT, but importing from Fidelity is not an issue. Here's a Washington Post article from March 2011, that looked at importing from four "mutual fund brokerages". TT did all four, H&R Block did import from Fidelity (but didn't import Vanguard or American Funds).
Another post, this one on The Finance Buff from February 2014 has a more extensive side-by-side import comparison. H&R Block imports data from all but two of the service providers listed: Wells Fargo Advisors and USAA. It does import from Fidelity.
It appears that when H&R Block first implemented its import feature (for the 2009 tax year), it could not import from Fidelity. At least that's what USA Today wrote in February, 2010.
IMHO, the best one can say about imported data is "trust but verify". As I recall, the payer information that Fidelity sends electronically does not match the information on its 1099s. (The name of the payer may be different, e.g. Fidelity Brokerage Services, when the actual payer is National Financial Services LLC; or it may have been the address, or both.)
Regards,
Ted
http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/2015/01/22/turbotax-users-get-an-apology-and-25-each/tab/print/?mg=blogs-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.wsj.com%2Ftotalreturn%2F2015%2F01%2F22%2Fturbotax-users-get-an-apology-and-25-each%2Ftab%2Fprint&fpid=2,121
that's how it happens for me
Paid $33 for H&R Block Deluxe from Amazon - which includes the state forms. Used it last year and worked fine. Last year had to include some cap gains from a fund sale (done in several stages). This year will be a lot easier.
If goes as planned, I'll owe $$ - but not enough to run into trouble with IRS. Like it that way. Especially when I hear stories about delays in processing refunds due to short staffing, computer foul-ups and the like.
Hit another bug later on when it couldn't make up its mind whether or not I owed a $4 underpayment penalty. Seemed to be going in circles looking for "outs" to make the penalty non-applicable. (Questions like: "Was the underpayment due to fire, flood or natural disaster?") I finally printed-out what it said was an "incomplete" return anyway and than called for product support. A 45 minute hold this time, followed by another 20 minute hold when first agent couldn't help. Second agent went through the standard trouble-shooting tips with me. At some point the program decided I didn't really owe the $4.
When I attempted to print the revised return, it wouldn't. Kept spitting out dozens of work sheets marked "Not for Filing" - but no usable return. I did a "restart" thinking might fix the issue. Instead, it lost all my information. Apparently, I'd failed to perform some kind of manual save to the hard drive. Fortunately, still had the initial printout and used that as it appeared accurate. except that it showed the additional $4 that wasn't really owed.
The "free" state edition wasn't even ready. Instead, received a message saying I could download it on 1/29 (today.) Still wasn't ready. Ended up going to the state site and printing out the 64-page Michigan instruction book, which contains the several forms needed, and than doing it by hand. Feel as though I paid for a Limo and than ended up walking to the ball.
However - We Done!
Or, just find a human to do it. I have a feeling that droids will take over this occupation soon.
A current Forbes article below:
Intuit Cries Uncle
That email should have gone out today. At least they are acknowledging their mistake even though it took a while.