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TurboTax vs. TaxCut

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Gary

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Jan 4, 2003, 4:24:10 AM1/4/03
to
Due to the perfect wisdom of the people at Intuit to
implement a "product activation" plan, I am in in search of
another tax preparation program. I know that TaxCut will
read and import TurboTax files from previous year, but has
anybody done a comparison of the results between the two
applications? Any comments regarding their interface
differences?

--
Gary

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Nan Eklund

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Jan 7, 2003, 4:01:48 AM1/7/03
to
We switched from Turbo Tax to Tax Works in 1998. The
conversion year was horrible as the program had bugs..but
we've been totally satisfied with Tax Works ever since.

Nan, EA in LA

Vic Dura

unread,
Jan 7, 2003, 4:01:48 AM1/7/03
to
> Due to the perfect wisdom of the people at Intuit to
> implement a "product activation" plan, I am in in search of
> another tax preparation program. I know that TaxCut will
> read and import TurboTax files from previous year, but has
> anybody done a comparison of the results between the two
> applications? Any comments regarding their interface
> differences?

Because of the new product activation scheme, I switched to
TC this year after having used TT for 14-years. I haven't
done a comparison of results, but I expect that TC will be
acceptably accurate. The interfaces are different, but I had
no problem quickly coming up to speed on TC. How one feels
about the differences is probably a matter of taste. Some of
the diffs you will like, some you won't. You just have to
try it to see.

The price is pretty good, $10 after rebate. At that price, I
couldn't resist giving it a spin, and I'm glad I did.

--
Performing Arts in the Shoals Area
Shoals Symphony Orchestra at UNA: http://www.ShoalsSymphony.org/
Opera South: http://www.OperaSouth.org/

Fearless

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Jan 7, 2003, 4:01:50 AM1/7/03
to
"Gary" <gl2...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Due to the perfect wisdom of the people at Intuit to
> implement a "product activation" plan, I am in in search of
> another tax preparation program. I know that TaxCut will
> read and import TurboTax files from previous year, but has
> anybody done a comparison of the results between the two
> applications? Any comments regarding their interface
> differences?

The interface differences are relatively minor. So far,
I've noticed the following:

- TaxCut has some difficulty resizing fonts on large (>
18") monitors. The fonts are too big and the forms look
"crowded". This will be addressed in the late January
update.


- TaxCut imports TurboTax 2001 files but omits the
following:

-- cash/check charitable contributions that exceed 9.
All subsequent contributions from 2001 are ignored. I
don't know whether this will be fixed or not. H&R
Block tech support suggested I enter the remainder "by
hand" (like d'oh, I wouldn't have figured this out on
my own?).

-- Schedule D transactions exceeding 8 seem to be
ignored. No response on this yet.

-- The wording on the mini-form used to enter real estate
taxes is confusing and has led to many questions.
Once you understand that the wording is misleading,
you can enter the taxes and all will be copacetic.
Supposedly this will be clarified in the late Jan
release.

All-in-all I haven't found the transition difficult at all.
I'm thinking of getting a "trial" version of TT - one that
will allow me to enter data but not print or file the
results - just to see how things compare. If I can install
TT in "trial" mode without activating "Safecast" into
absolute sector 32, I'll report back.

HTH

Marc Feldesman

Jay

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Jan 9, 2003, 3:13:56 AM1/9/03
to
"Gary" <gl2...@hotmail.com> wrote in

> ... has


> anybody done a comparison of the results between the two
> applications? Any comments regarding their interface
> differences?

I've used both programs, and prefer TurboTax (activation
issue aside).

I found the user-interface comparable for the two products.
The differences were too minor to make one preferable over
the other.

Any of these programs take tax return preparation up to a
point, but then leave some details for the users to
calculate in unusual cases. In my case, TurboTax went
further, leaving less work for me. So I switched back from
TaxCut to TurboTax. Wish I could remember more details, but
it was several years ago that I tried TaxCut. Other people
in different situations might have a different opinion.

Bob L

unread,
Jan 9, 2003, 3:13:58 AM1/9/03
to
"Gary" <gl2...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Due to the perfect wisdom of the people at Intuit to
> implement a "product activation" plan, I am in in search of
> another tax preparation program. I know that TaxCut will
> read and import TurboTax files from previous year, but has
> anybody done a comparison of the results between the two
> applications? Any comments regarding their interface
> differences?

You might want to check out some of the threads on the
quicken newsgroup: alt.comp.software.financial.quicken. It
seems like the results are the same for either product but
it's not clear how deep the test was. The main complaint
seems to be that the forms in TaxCut may not display
correctly on the monitor depending on how the display font
size is set. Someone also mentioned a problem in printing
the return.

When the products are professionally reviewed, TaxCut seems
to fare well. What is really needed is a TaxCut newsgroup
where TaxCut-specific issues could be discussed.

Vic Dura

unread,
Jan 9, 2003, 3:33:07 AM1/9/03
to
"Fearless" <som...@somewhere.com> wrote:

> The interface differences are relatively minor. So far,
> I've noticed the following:

Thanks for the comparison!

If you discover any other items, please pass them on.

Regards,
Vic Dura

--
Performing Arts in the Shoals Area
Shoals Symphony Orchestra at UNA: http://www.ShoalsSymphony.org/
Opera South: http://www.OperaSouth.org/

<< -------------------------------------------------- >>

Han Broekman

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Jan 13, 2003, 7:14:16 AM1/13/03
to
> When the products are professionally reviewed, TaxCut seems
> to fare well. What is really needed is a TaxCut newsgroup
> where TaxCut-specific issues could be discussed.

The quicken newsgroup (alt.comp.software.financial.quicken)
is discussion Taxcut-specific issues, such as an error in
the AMT calculations introduced in the current update.
Taxcut is aware and a fix should be forthcoming.

See thread TaxCut Update, specifically
Message-ID: <3E2011C2...@att.net> by Arnie Goetchius

--
Best regards
Han Broekman
email address is invalid

Bryce

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Jan 13, 2003, 5:27:15 PM1/13/03
to
I just installed the Trial TT and it does install the
C-Dilla program as well. Plus TT didn't even fill in my
schedule SE correctly. If I hadn't caught that I would have
had an audit and delayed refund at the very least.

Alan (Please remove X to "Reply" to me)

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Jan 20, 2003, 12:46:19 AM1/20/03
to
I believe I am encountering this same problem. Might you
please post a more specific link where I might read more
about it. I tried a Google Search but could not find the
thread (no doubt, my fault<g>).

FWIW, I've spoken w/the Taxcut people last week and told
them I thought this might be a problem, but they said
nothing about an "existing" AMT calc issue.

I've tried to return my copy of Taxcut (I bought TurboTax
and it worked fine for me) but I no longer have the UPC code
(because I mailed it in for the rebate before I discovered
the problem).

Thanks,

Alan

The quicken newsgroup (alt.comp.software.financial.quicken)
is discussion Taxcut-specific issues, such as an error in
the AMT calculations introduced in the current update.
Taxcut is aware and a fix should be forthcoming.

<< -------------------------------------------------- >>

Vic Dura

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Jan 20, 2003, 6:57:49 PM1/20/03
to
> I believe I am encountering this same problem. Might you
> please post a more specific link where I might read more
> about it. I tried a Google Search but could not find the
> thread (no doubt, my fault<g>).

Someone posted a message about that here

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hrbTaxCut/

It's a new group and there aren't many messages. I believe
it's one of the earlier messages.

--
Performing Arts in the Shoals Area
Shoals Symphony Orchestra at UNA: http://www.ShoalsSymphony.org/
Opera South: http://www.OperaSouth.org/

<< -------------------------------------------------- >>

Alan (Please remove XXX to "Reply" to me)

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Jan 23, 2003, 2:12:56 AM1/23/03
to
Thank you for sharing that! I was not aware of that group.

For the folks following this thread, TC emailed me this week
promising a fix/update. (No target date.)

Alan

Lovinlifebaby

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Jan 25, 2003, 8:20:18 PM1/25/03
to
I was about to switch to Tax cut when I read that they sell
names and info to 3rd parties. Is this true? I'm looking
for the contract language now, but thought y'all might know.

name

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Jan 27, 2003, 10:36:39 PM1/27/03
to
No, not true. When you register, you can uncheck a box if you dont'
want them to. They also have an opt-out link on the website (eg: if you
checked the wrong box when you register.)


On Sun, 26 Jan 2003 01:20:18 -0000, greenerp...@yahoo.com
(Lovinlifebaby) wrote:

>I was about to switch to Tax cut when I read that they sell
>names and info to 3rd parties. Is this true? I'm looking
>for the contract language now, but thought y'all might know.

.

Mike Block - Tax Cut C.P.A.

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Feb 16, 2003, 4:26:53 AM2/16/03
to
name <nos...@no-spam-here-thanks.com> wrote:

> No, not true. When you register, you can uncheck a box
> if you dont' want them to. They also have an opt-out link
> on the website (eg: if you checked the wrong box when you
> register.)

It is my understanding Intuit does not release names on tax
products regardless of what you authorize. They feel this
violates federal privacy laws.

Mike Block, QuickBooks Tax Cut CPA, 954-566-7540
Founding Member: QuickBooks Advisory Council
Error Codes/Fixes http://blocktax.com/quickbooks-errors.htm
QB Add-ons http://blocktax.com/quickbooks-addons/quickbooks-add-ons.htm
admin@localhost,abuse@localhost,webmaster@localhost,postm...@127.0.0.1

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