Where is best place to purchase TurboTax Deluxe this year

[DrQ]

How do you install it since many of the new computers don't have floppy or CD drives anymore?

USB stick or direct download from a file. You can still get CDs but you would have to buy an external drive which plugs into the USB port and then install from there.

 

[CO skier]

How do you install it since many of the new computers don't have floppy or CD drives anymore?

The box contains an activation code to download the tax software directly to my laptop. This has been the process for as long as I can remember. It takes only a few minutes to download and update the software. A "check for updates" option is presented each time the software is opened. The software checks for last year's federal and state returns and can import all the information to this year's tax return -- saves a lot of typing.

 

[TolmiePeak]

The box contains an activation code to download the tax software directly to my laptop. This has been the process for as long as I can remember. It takes only a few minutes to download and update the software. A "check for updates" option is presented each time the software is opened. The software checks for last year's federal and state returns and can import all the information to this year's tax return -- saves a lot of typing.

So why do you need to go to a store to get the code? Wouldn't you just order that online and they would e-mail the code to you?

 

[CO skier]

So why do you need to go to a store to get the code? Wouldn't you just order that online and they would e-mail the code to you?

Because ordering the same thing directly from H&R Block online would cost $49.

When I saw the same thing offered for sale from Office Depot, and found a store that I would be driving by on US-101 in Santa Barbara, CA, I decided to buy from the Office Depot store. I had a nice lunch with the money I saved from the minimal, extra effort.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I work for a major software company, and we sell our software with a similar approach. You can purchase directly from our website or from one of our partners. If you buy direct you get immediate direct access to the software. If you purchase via partner you will receive the redemption / claim code mentioned above, which you will then use on our website to access your software.

If you purchase in a store the code might be on a hang card similar to a typical gift card or maybe inside of box. The box give the product a better shelf presence, and allows for a lot more content and imagery describing the features.

Some online partners like Amazon offer both boxed versions, and a fully digital option where you receive the code via email immediately after purchase.

As Co Skier mentioned sometime the partners may sell the product for less, and sometimes you may be able to get better perks or credit card rewards from a particular store. That may not be much for Tax software, but many of our products are priced in the hundreds, so those deals can be interesting to many.

 

[CO skier]

Wow, and again, H&R Block tax software -- priceless. (Not to diminish other tax software programs.)

Handled a not-exactly-simple return. I screwed-up the zip code (entered my zip code, stupidly) for a 1099-R form. Software caught it at the Federal filing level. Quite sophisticated. 5-star out of 5, imo.

 

[rapmarks]

I file both a personal return and a trust return.

For the trust, TT Business (NOT Home and Business) prepares the 1041.

For my personal 1040, I use TT Deluxe (Federal + State). TT claims that TT Premier is better for complex situations, but I've never needed that. (Premier is more expensive.) In past years, Deluxe has offered me the option to upgrade to Premier as I worked my way through the program.

Sorry, but I can't help with current pricing. I bought my software about a month ago when Amazon ran a decent sale.

Thanks for the information. I bought deluxe , did everything I can until I get my K1. Decided to hire my cpa to do the trust return, a little too much chemo brain to try something new. Might try it next year.

 

[rapmarks]

Turbo tax sent me a survey. Apparently they are looking to change from storing tax information on your computer to storing it in the cloud

 

[GetawaysRus]

Thanks for the information. I bought deluxe , did everything I can until I get my K1. Decided to hire my cpa to do the trust return, a little too much chemo brain to try something new. Might try it next year.

You quoted an earlier post of mine. I'm still doing fine with TT Deluxe for my personal 1040. Just waiting for one more K-1. Otherwise all Federal and State entries/forms are done.

HOWEVER, regarding preparing a trust 1041 return:
This year, for the first time, i have two trust returns to do. The one I had done in the past (using TT Business) did not have any 1099-OID entries on its 1099. However, this additional trust has plenty of 1099-OID entries.

TT Business does fine with 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, and 1099-B data. But it absolutely chokes if you need to enter 1099-OID data. It doesn't have a screen to input a 1099-OID. After hours of searching the web for a solution, and failing to figure out the "workaround" that was mentioned, I threw in the towel.

I had to purchase TaxAct for Estates and Trusts for this new trust that has 1099-OID information. TaxAct accepted the 1099-OID data once I searched the program to find the proper screen.

 

[rapmarks]

You quoted an earlier post of mine. I'm still doing fine with TT Deluxe for my personal 1040. Just waiting for one more K-1. Otherwise all Federal and State entries/forms are done.

HOWEVER, regarding preparing a trust 1041 return:
This year, for the first time, i have two trust returns to do. The one I had done in the past (using TT Business) did not have any 1099-OID entries on its 1099. However, this additional trust has plenty of 1099-OID entries.

TT Business does fine with 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, and 1099-B data. But it absolutely chokes if you need to enter 1099-OID data. It doesn't have a screen to input a 1099-OID. After hours of searching the web for a solution, and failing to figure out the "workaround" that was mentioned, I threw in the towel.

I had to purchase TaxAct for Estates and Trusts for this new trust that has 1099-OID information. TaxAct accepted the 1099-OID data once I searched the program to find the proper screen.

This is good to know. I know there is no oid in the trust account, mostly equities. Maybe I will try it next year.

 

[rapmarks]

I just started on my son’s tax return, and they live in Massachusetts. Daughter in law is getting PhD from John’s Hopkins, flies back and forth each week. They paid her wages for something and she paid Baltimore income taxes. Turbo tax will charge a lot to do the state return and efile. I am sure she could get some of that tax money back, she paid in over $1100 tax , hopefully she won’t get taxed on it in Massachusetts too

 

[CO skier]

I am sure she could get some of that tax money back, she paid in over $1100 tax , hopefully she won’t get taxed on it in Massachusetts too

"Under G.L. c. 62, § 6(a), Massachusetts residents who work and pay income taxes in other states are generally entitled to a credit against their Massachusetts income taxes in an amount equal to the tax paid to the other state. The credit is claimed on the employee's annual return, Form 1, Schedule F."

Directive 91-4: Multiple State Withholding Requirements

Personal Income Tax ISSUE 1: When a Massachusetts resident is employed in another state that has its own income tax withholding requirements, how should the employer calculate the amount of Massachusetts income tax to withhold from the employee's wages? DIRECTIVE 1: When a Massachusetts resident...

www.mass.gov

 

[rapmarks]

"Under G.L. c. 62, § 6(a), Massachusetts residents who work and pay income taxes in other states are generally entitled to a credit against their Massachusetts income taxes in an amount equal to the tax paid to the other state. The credit is claimed on the employee's annual return, Form 1, Schedule F."

Directive 91-4: Multiple State Withholding Requirements

Personal Income Tax ISSUE 1: When a Massachusetts resident is employed in another state that has its own income tax withholding requirements, how should the employer calculate the amount of Massachusetts income tax to withhold from the employee's wages? DIRECTIVE 1: When a Massachusetts resident...

www.mass.gov

Thanks for this
my daughter in law has been a PhD candidate, commuting from Boston area to Baltimore, flying in on Monday, returning home on Friday or late Thursday, renting a bed and bath In Baltimore. Very hard on the family and her. Very hard on my sons teacher’s salary Because of the expenses, the extra childcare, etc.
She has a fellowship. All along it has been listed as a scholarship on a tuition form. Very surprised to get a w2 with ss, Medicare, federal and state income tax taken out. This was not how it was reported the past two years. None of the expenses are deductible,all out of pocket. She had planned on getting the degree from Brown, which was drivable, but they basically felt she was too old (40), and wouldn’t have the time because of having a young child.
I am using turbo tax, and hopefully they will put in the credit.

 

[CO skier]

I am using turbo tax, and hopefully they will put in the credit.

If you enter the information for ALL the boxes on the W-2, including the state payor and amount and payor state ID, it should properly calculate the credit. That, at least, is how it worked out for me as a part-year resident in two states using H&R Block tax software.

 

[rapmarks]

If you enter the information for ALL the boxes on the W-2, including the state payor and amount and payor state ID, it should properly calculate the credit. That, at least, is how it worked out for me as a part-year resident in two states using H&R Block tax software.

Does H & R Block charge a high amount for each state, tt does.

 

[CO skier]

Does H & R Block charge a high amount for each state, tt does.

I purchased the H&R Block Federal+State. I did not owe any tax to my previous state, and had no witholding, to require filing a tax form there, so I do not know how much an additional state program cost.

 

[jacknsara]

You quoted an earlier post of mine. I'm still doing fine with TT Deluxe for my personal 1040. Just waiting for one more K-1. Otherwise all Federal and State entries/forms are done.

HOWEVER, regarding preparing a trust 1041 return:
This year, for the first time, i have two trust returns to do. The one I had done in the past (using TT Business) did not have any 1099-OID entries on its 1099. However, this additional trust has plenty of 1099-OID entries.

TT Business does fine with 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, and 1099-B data. But it absolutely chokes if you need to enter 1099-OID data. It doesn't have a screen to input a 1099-OID. After hours of searching the web for a solution, and failing to figure out the "workaround" that was mentioned, I threw in the towel.

I had to purchase TaxAct for Estates and Trusts for this new trust that has 1099-OID information. TaxAct accepted the 1099-OID data once I searched the program to find the proper screen.

Sorry for the delay but I just finished doing our taxes and looked.
We use turbotax premier
It accepts 1099-oids.

 

[DrQ]

I'm looking for a program that will "What If" for this tax year.

The only thing that I have found is Quicken.

Now that Social Security has been turned on, I need to see the tax implications of starting to cash out investments to supplement SS and set up quarterly payments for estimated tax.

 

[jacknsara]

I'm looking for a program that will "What If" for this tax year.

The only thing that I have found is Quicken.

Now that Social Security has been turned on, I need to see the tax implications of starting to cash out investments to supplement SS and set up quarterly payments for estimated tax.

Using TT, I save a copy of this years (2023) tax under some name indicating it is a model for next year. I update the entries with my estimates for the various categories for next year. Once I know what my best guess is, I go back to TT of my pending return and go to tabs Federal Tax; Other Tax Situations; Form W-4 and Estimated Taxes and manipulate its entries to drive out the estimated tax (1040-ES) I believe appropriate. I do this before submitting taxes. If I have a refund pending, it is applied to the first 1040-ES amount.

 

[GetawaysRus]

We use turbotax premier
It accepts 1099-oids.

Perhaps I'm not being clear. There are differences between personal tax software (1040 tax return) and software for estates and trusts (1041 tax return).

TT Deluxe also does fine with 1099-OIDs. It works well for my personal 1040. I'm able to download all the various types of1099 data directly into the program.

However, TT Business doesn't. It did not have a place that I could find that would allow easy entry of 1099-OID data for a trust 1041 tax return. It also doesn't have the download capability that the personal tax software has.

For the trust, I ended up using TaxAct for Estates and Trusts. It took the 1099-OID. I could not find any download ability, so I entered all data manually. I only ran into trouble in one place. I had one K-1 with small entries in box 12, code b, code c, and code d. If anyone can figure out how to deal with K-1 12 b, c, and d, you are smarter than me and deserve an honorary accounting degree.

The program names also get confusing. TT Business is NOT the same program as TT Home & Business. If you need to prepare a trust 1041, be careful about what you buy.

 

[rapmarks]

Perhaps I'm not being clear. There are differences between personal tax software (1040 tax return) and software for estates and trusts (1041 tax return).

TT Deluxe also does fine with 1099-OIDs. It works well for my personal 1040. I'm able to download all the various types of1099 data directly into the program.

However, TT Business doesn't. It did not have a place that I could find that would allow easy entry of 1099-OID data for a trust 1041 tax return. It also doesn't have the download capability that the personal tax software has.

For the trust, I ended up using TaxAct for Estates and Trusts. It took the 1099-OID. I could not find any download ability, so I entered all data manually. I only ran into trouble in one place. I had one K-1 with small entries in box 12, code b, code c, and code d. If anyone can figure out how to deal with K-1 12 b, c, and d, you are smarter than me and deserve an honorary accounting degree.

The program names also get confusing. TT Business is NOT the same program as TT Home & Business. If you need to prepare a trust 1041, be careful about what you buy.

Box 14 b is foreign tax

Box 12 is alternative minimum tax
B is amt adjustment attributed to qualified dividends
C amt short term capital gain adjustment
D amt long term capital gain adjustment

 

[rapmarks]

Getaway Rus
my neighbor is a lawyer/cpa. He is over eighty and is winding down his business. I had him do my trust return for the past two years. He charges over $1000 to do it.
i asked his to make sure the foreign taxes paid went on the K1, he said he spent a lot of the day going over IRS publications and they were pretty vague.
He wanted to move capitol loses over to me on k1 but couldnt find a way to do it.
Anyhow, I expect them to sell their Florida house this year and I will probably try to do the return myself next year. I don’t have OId in the trust, but there is a large amount of Novo Nordisc stock, which is out of Denmark, with a big foreign tax on the dividends.

 

[DrQ]

Using TT, I save a copy of this years (2023) tax under some name indicating it is a model for next year. I update the entries with my estimates for the various categories for next year. Once I know what my best guess is, I go back to TT of my pending return and go to tabs Federal Tax; Other Tax Situations; Form W-4 and Estimated Taxes and manipulate its entries to drive out the estimated tax (1040-ES) I believe appropriate. I do this before submitting taxes. If I have a refund pending, it is applied to the first 1040-ES amount.

Excellent! That thought never occurred to me.

If the numbers are correct, just on SS and a small annuity that DW inherited from her family shows no tax for this year. I need to get with our Financial Advisor and look at withdrawing money from my IRA and deposit into our ROTH IRAs to keep within the 10% tax bracket. I have three years before RMD, so I'm looking at drawing down that pot and take advantage of the difference in tax rates when I salted it away and now.

Once we come up with a plan, I will confirm with a CPA to make sure all the t's are dotted and the i's are crossed.

 

[claraj]

It might be too late but I found $10 cash back offers of you spend $25 on turbo tax. While I had already purchased my copy from Amazon, this came in handy for e-filing/downloading additional states.

 

[Talent312]

Being OCD about our taxes, I use a spreadsheet that
totals our sources of income, runs the numbers thru
an adapted S-S worksheet, and calculates taxes due.

For 2024, it shows that after withholding, I'll owe $31.
It may change over the course of the year, but it was
close for 2023, so... I'll report on the results next year.