I'm with you. It's no big deal for the returns I do but I suppose it could be for some. Then again years ago when the program I used had that feature I found myself double checking what the program said it would do. Again personally rather put the work on myself. Sam
Does TaxCut import 1099 data from brokerage firms and banks? Does it include as many financial companies as Turbo Tax?
No it does not. That is its main failing.
However TT has a limit as to how many transactions it will download and process (confirmed by Intuit support who refunded my money because of it). I have many separate accounts which add up to many transactions per year.
I had used TC in the past but moved to TT precisely because of its import capability. Because of the limit in how many transactions TT will download that advantage disappeared for me. I wish it had not.
Incidentally, last year both programs imported the prior year's TT return with no problems.
The limit is high, though, so it shouldn't be an issue for most people:
TurboTax Desktop "A maximum of 3,000 financial transactions can be safely imported or created in TurboTax desktop without affecting program stability. Going beyond this limit may cause instability issues such as calculation errors."
I don't import. However here is the information from TaxCut's 2007 Help File.
If you used TurboTaxR or TaxCut last year, you can import data from last year's return. You can import data from financial programs such as MicrosoftR Money and QuickenR. You can import your charitable donations If you use H&R Block's DeductionPro software.
Oilcan
-----Orig> Both TaxCut and TurboTax do a similar job and are equally easy to work with. >
Does TaxCut import 1099 data from brokerage firms and banks? Does it include as many financial companies as Turbo Tax?
OK, thanks for the clarification.
Myself, I do only one return, and have used and liked TT for many years, so I'll continue with it.
The last time I tried using the "import" feature, there were rounding hassles. When I type things in, I round off the figures. But when importing, there was no discernable way to tell TT to round off imported figures. The result was a mishmash of rounded and un-rounded figures on the IRS forms. Imported figures could be rounded manually one by one, but that defeats the convenience of importing.
Has this situation improved?
Can TT also import cost basis values? They're not on 1099-B, but many brokerages track them and they're needed for Schedule D.
On Sun, 23 Nov 2008 08:50:45 -0700, JimH wrotG:
Quicken claims that this feature is unique to them. I gave up on Tax Cut in 2006 when they promised this feature and did not implement it.
return?- Hide quoted text -
I wonder what happens when you install it on more than one computer. Often I have it on both the laptop and desktop. How will this affect printing??
Just a guess but I suspect no problems, you can save your work to a flash drive and just move it from one to the other to work on your return and then print from either one of them.
When you select "Print" TT *should* recognize it's only ONE return and not charge you the fee.
My broker provides cost basis, and TT imported it properly last year. It was the easiest schedule D I've ever done.
I didn't round or change anything. The data I sent in should have been identical to what the IRS received from the brokerage firm. As long as it all matches, they seem to be happy.
Although, I spent as long reviewing everything, that I could have rounded or modified everything, and it wouldn't have been any more work than I was already doing.
Now, my question... Along with many others this year, I have losses far in excess of the maximum of $3,000. Will TT automatically carry forward those losses from year to year, and keep track of them as I use them?
-- Jim
It has for me in the past, I doubt that this year would be different...
I am starting to like this less and less. I downloaded TT for Mac the other day and because of this thread I just put a protocol analyzer on my internet connection and started TT.
Upon startup TT initiates a connection to "test.intuitempowers.com" and uploads a great deal of data from my computer to intuit including a "Cookie" containing encrypted data to "/ttd_payment/inproduct_pricing_service.jsp".
Probably the serial number of the software is also transmitted along with product status.
My guess is if you print a final return intuit will know about it through this "phone home" mechanism. If you start TT with the same serial number from _any_ other computer a second return will be denied
-- assuming that either computer is connected to the internet when TT is started.
of course you have to have the computer connected to the internet to receive TT updates.
So they say that you can do anything until you start to print a return. Not that *I* would ever do such a thing, but what's to prevent anyone from simply doing multiple returns and simply hand copy all the data over to blank forms?
speedlever wrote in news:Xns9B5E690B1B7BBspeedleveryahoocom@66.175.223.2:
I'm going to try TaxAct free for evaluation purposes. If I like it, I'll spend $20 to get the Ultimate version for both Federal and State.
** Posted from
If it is a simple return then nothing. For a multipage return with hundreds of schedule D (capital gains/loss) entries, itemized deductions, etc., it kinda defeats the point of having software to do the work for you.
What I don't like is if I do not want to print a "Return for Filing", but only want to print "All Forms, Schedules, Worksheets, Notes, etc." for my _own records_, TurboTax prints in large (1 1/2"), block letters, "DO NOT FILE" diagonally across the page which obscures the writing and data that it may overlay rendering the printed material useless for record purposes. What good is a record if you cant tell if part of an obscured number is a 0, a 6, or an 8, when you can only make out a bit of the lower loop of the number. And if you have typed notes, you (or someone else) might have a difficult time reading them several years from now after you have forgotten what you typed and can't read all of the letters because they have been partially obscured.
They might as well have disabled printing for your records altogether and saved me the paper. If I print something as important as a tax return I want to be able to read it and not have to guess as what it _might_ say.
---------------------------
I posted the following to another NG yesterday:
Keep in mind that I am using a Mac so the operation on a PC may be different. I am not saying that the software is defective, I am only reporting the tests that I made and the result that I observed. There will probably be several updates to TT before April, and the State returns will not be released until January or so, so the following observations may be different by then.
Personally I think Intuit is in for a lot of flack and negative publicity because of this choice. There is lots of room for honest error and mistakes -- hitting the wrong button to print a return for a pre-check and then learn you can't print again without paying, needing to reprint to correct an error but can't without paying, etc.
The inability to print a "copy" of my return for my records that does not have a big blue "DO NO FILE" printed across it, is not, in my opinion, a real "copy" of my return. I would not want to walk into an audit with it. Legally it might not matter but I prefer an actual look alike, exact copy, of what I filed with the IRS, thank you. I am sure that if I had to produce my return to obtain a loan or for other legal reasons and I produced a return that said "DO NOT FILE" I would be told that they want to see a "real" copy of the return that I did file.
One more thing---
When you print the return for filing the software only prints those forms required for filing. It will not print worksheets, supporting details, etc.
You can only print that information if you choose the "Print Returns for your Records" or "Print Selected Forms" options which both put the large (1 1/2 inch high), block, "DO NOT FILE" message diagonally across the page.
What I didn't note before, because I didn't look close enough at the printed page, is that the DO NOT FILE message is not transparent. It obscures the data under it. I defy you to tell if the entry 17056 is
17656 or 17856 because I can only make out part of the '0'. It could be a 0 or a 8 or a 6. I sure can't tell. Thats just one example - I can't be sure what much of the data was. And this is the _only_ paper record of your return and supporting data that TurboTax will allow you to print. It is useless if you can't read the numbers. If this is what Intuit intended, it is as useless and as unreadable as a blank page.I usually asked TurboTax to print the backup copy of the return as a pdf for my own records. Does anyone know if the backup pdf also has the "DO NOT FILE" on it?
Even though I use TurboTax for just one return, it is a complex return. The inability to print a second return if an error is inadvertently made and discovered after printing (or - as is very common - a late correction comes in from a broker) is definitely a major disincentive to using TT. That alone has made me decide to definitely pass on using TT this year and I do not think I will be the only one. I know from experience that TaxCut does a perfectly decent job. Unfortunately, most users will not discover the new TT "feature/problem" until they have finished preparing their return and are very short on time. I hope the reviewers notify potential users of TurboTax's new policy.
I also hope Intuit is listening, but I suspect they hope the new feature will not be known until too late. Short term gain for which they will pay dearly the following year.
Jeff
I had been planning to try TT once again after not using it since the debacle with DRM some years (5?, 7?) ago. However, this new scheme to milk people's pocketbooks made me decide to stick with TaxAct, in spite of the problems I had with efiling last year.
I don't know if that would be a problem, you're still printing only one return no matter how many times you edit it. I'd hope that TT looks as the SS number, names, etc. to determine if a return is a reprint of the intial return or a second return.
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