TaxCut vs TurboTax

You might go back into TaxCut to see if you can find the energy saving deduction. I would also confirm the same at the IRS site. HRB is notorious for giving out incorrect information. Why should their tax software be any different.

The Energy Credit is 1040 Line 52. FWIW TTax/Quicken were so complicated that I gave up and went to a CPA. That cost me $675!

Cranky Dude wrote:

I agree that it can be daunting to do your own income taxes. That's why I try to start around January and work through it slowly. A lot of the questions about investments were confusing for me but I spent time looking up answers. You spent $675 but you also may have saved more than that in having someone do your taxes for you.

That one year that I used TaxCut, I did so because Intuit put some very invasive copy protection on TurboTax. I had a problem with one of the sections of the TaxCut interview, went online to their tech support, and found them very helpful in guiding me through that section. I think, however, that I will probably stick with TurboTax in the future. I think the interview that the TurboTax gives is easier for me to follow than the one in TaxCut, even though TaxCut has improved a lot since the last time I used it.

CD

For me, the major advantage for using TT over TC is simply that TT can download my broker 1099s while TT cannot. When you have a lot of investments, that saves hours of data entry that might be error prone.

Jeff

Cranky,

Taxcut (at least Taxcut Premier) does indeed ask about the credit. Use Take Me To... -> Credits in the interview topics. Maybe you inadvertently skipped the entire Credits topic in the interview process because there are so many credits you don't get.

A few years ago when TurboTax required activation I switched to TaxCut and have been happy with TaxCut ever since.

Tom

Cranky Dude wrote:

I didn't skip any sections, I read each page of the interview as I went along. But since you said that your TaxCut Premier did ask the question about the credit, I wonder if I saw the question and misunderstood what it was asking and just continued to the next question. I'll try to redo the credits over the weekend and see exactly how the question was phrased.

CD

CD,

The Credits interview is just after Deductions. When you get to it you need to check the box for "NEW! Energy-efficient home improvements". That is in the same list that starts with the pre-checked "NEW! Phone tax credit". Don't forget that Phone credit.

You can also get to your water heater credit by using Take Me To... -> Residential Energy Credits. If that takes you to a page, Residential Energy Credits, with a 1st already in the box, you would have to "Edit Home", instead of just clicking on the Finish at the bottom of the page.

Tom

This is my third year in using Tax Cut and I have been pleased. I never found the import from Quicken helpful and I had to massage too many entries. I just run the Quicken reports, compare them to the external statements to understand differences (which sometimes are valid in how I have organized my Quicken categproes) when there are some. I am not an active trader (I am a buy and hold person), nor is my Schedule A or B complicated. Tax Cut has pointed me to the Credits (like I have so many) when I have needed them and I was already aware to look for them. I do use the Premier Edition - and would use the corresponding version of Turbo Tax. I generally hate the interviews in both versions, but realize they are necessary.