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We’re filed our taxes ourselves last year and decided to use tax software to complete the job. Our personal income tax filing wasn't complicated, so we wanted a program to enter our financial information. After some thought, I picked H&R Block Tax Cut, specifically the Premium Federal Edition.
Choosing Tax Software Program
Why did we choose H&R Block's program? TaxCut appealed to us for two reasons: Ask a Tax Advisor (1 session) and Worry Free Audit Support. We didn't think we'd get an audit, but I liked having some kind of back up if it did happen.
Some other features that I really liked with Tax Cut:
- Interview style questions walked me through.
- Double-checks returns for errors.
- Saved time by transferring our federal data to our state tax returns
I picked up the program from Wal-Mart as I was picking up a gift for some friends. It was by the electronics section and there were three options to choose from:
- TaxCut Basic Federal + E-file
- TaxCut Premium Federal + E-file
- TaxCut Premium Federal + State + E-file
I didn’t see the TaxCut Home & Business + E-file Edition, maybe they were sold out at the store.
Filing Our Taxes
When I reviewed the package a bit more at home, I noticed that I also got WILLPower CD for estate planning. Installation didn’t take too long for either program. I installed both TaxCut and the Deduction Pro program that came free with the software. When I first ran the program, it checked for update, which was about a minute or two. Maybe this will motivate me to actually get some important paperwork done.
Our Premium Federal Edition of H&R Block Tax Cut included up to 5 free federal e-files and 1 state e-file. Since we moved in 2008, we had to pay for the second state (which was $19.95). I decided to start entering our information into the program and it was quite easy to follow. The process is relatively painless and it’s like an interview with questions to answer. It’s easy to save and enter new data in our return.
It transferred our federal return information to our state return, a nice time saver. I found the program to be easy to use and I didn’t feel intimidated with getting our taxes done. I like the summary pages which allow to go back fairly quickly to section you want to double check or update.
Operating Systems for H&R Block Tax Cut:
- Windows XP / 2000 / Vista
- Mac OS X
Thoughts on TaxCut
I'd love to hear your take on it. How long have you been filing your taxes? How many of you use TaxCut or do you prefer something else to handle your taxes?