I have been using TurboTax (formerly MacInTax) for 6 years now, and it gets better every year. Beginning last year, I did the electronic filing and I couldn't have been happier with the results. Philosophical arguments notwithstanding regarding doing this electronically, I did get an e-mail response from Quicken saying everything went through and 2 days later a response from the IRS that they had received my return. I always used to put off filing my taxes until the last possible moment because I dreaded reading all the details and filling out the complicated boxes with the vague instructions. It's not something you want to get wrong. I have never had a tax preparer do my taxes for me - I've always done my own since I was 17, but procrastination has always been my enemy, even when I had a juicy refund coming to me.
TurboTax takes the chore and bore out of the process. Each aspect of the software has little checks to make sure you're doing everything correctly. I was able to import my data from previous returns to save loads of time filling out stuff that doesn't change from year to year as a rule.
The software takes you dialogue by dialogue asking you questions like "do you own any stocks?" and if not, you skip the all the related questions so you don't have to muddle through things that don't apply to you. Everything is in concise categories.
Anytime you have a question, you can click on the help button for specific, context-sensitive information. The major sections have built-in QuickTime videos of professional tax experts explaining the latest tax laws and what the IRS is looking for, etc. etc.
When you're about all done, it does an error check and automatically goes through everything on your return and will tell you if anything on your return contains errors or otherwise will raise a red flag with the IRS and make you more vulnerable to an audit.
After filing my taxes with Turbo Tax, I got my refund deposited into my bank account electronically within 6 days. For those who are not expecting refunds, but rather have to send payment to the IRS, you can set up your payment so that it gets sent at the last possible moment on April 15, even if you file much earlier.
When you first install the software, it first checks with Intuit's servers for any updates and allows you to download State Tax software for free (if applicable). Fortunately, there are no state income taxes in Texas (yea for us!).
I am using a nearly 6-year-old Mac running (albeit slowly) Panther (10.3.3) and the software ran like a champ.Get more detail about TurboTax Deluxe for Mac 2003.
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