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With tax season upon a us, I wanted to go ahead and share how we take care of our own. We’ve been using TurboTax to handle our family’s tax needs for the last couple of years and we’ve been very happy with them.

When we started our taxes this year, I noticed that there have been quite a few upgrades and updates with the system. It's made the process much easier and the Home Base is a handy way to have a snapshot of everything. For those who are still confused about The Affordable Care Act, TurboTax has created a guide to help them see their numbers.

Getting Started with TurboTax

Since we’ve used TurboTax before, when we logged into our account to get started, the program already had much of our basic information (such as name, address, and jobs) entered, savings us time. As part of their update, when we logged in TurboTax checked to make sure our browser was compatible, even providing links to give us the latest installation.

Between my husband's work, my business, and our savings and investments, we usually accumulate a small stack of paperwork. To keep things manageable, I enter into the system as we get them through the mail, including:

  • W-2s from your job(s)
  • 1099-DIV: Dividends
  • 1099-INT: Interest Income
  • 1099-MISC: Miscellaneous Income

Once we complete our federal, TurboTax can easily transfer our information from the federal tax return to our state’s return.

Finding Tax Deductions and Credits with TurboTax

Tax deductions and credits are the most wonderful things. Tax deductions help lower your taxable income while credits lower your actual bill. TurboTax really combs through the all the possible deductions and credits for your return including your house, family, cars, charitable donations, medical expenses, college and education, and more.
TurboTax - Choose Easy

Which Turbo Tax Edition Fits You?

While Home & Business is the best fit for us, it isn’t the only online edition TurboTax has available. There are several different editions that you can choose from based on your family's particular needs.

  • Free Edition: If you're one of the almost 60 million Americans who qualify for a 1040EZ/A, TurboTax's free edition is a wonderful options as they've made the filing process even easier.
  • Deluxe: Many people will find this a suitable option to take care of their tax deductions and credits for families and homeowners.
  • Premier: This edition is designed for those who have numerous investments or if you own rental properties.
  • Home & Business: Entrepreneurs with either sole proprietor, consultant, contractor or single-owner LLC business will find this edition more than capable of handling their business.
  • Business: If you have a corporation, partnership or multi-member LLC, TurboTax can help you optimize your tax return.

We’ve been happy with TurboTax and how easy it is for us to file using their services. Find out which edition of TurboTax is right for you.

TurboTax Giveaway- File Your Federally Taxes for Free!

Now to the best part – Couple Money, My Financial Reviews, and TurboTax would like you to file your federal taxes for free. I am giving away codes for TurboTax's premier edition for interested readers. To enter, it's simple – just let me know what you plan to do with either your tax refund if you're expecting one or how you plan on saving on your taxes this upcoming year.

You can either leave a comment below, tweet me, or share your plans on Facebook.  I'll compile the entries and pick winners this upcoming Monday (February 3, 2014) so you can get your taxes filed and done as soon as possible. If you know someone who would love a chance to get their federal taxes filed for free, please send them a link to the giveaway through email or share this on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you again for being a part of the Couple Money Community!

Since TurboTax has been kind enough to sponsor the prizes, please feel free to send them a tweet if you win 😉

Thoughts on Filing Taxes Online

How are you filing your taxes this year? Are you expecting a refund or do you owe taxes?

Disclaimer: I’m also a contributing blogger at TurboTax, so please check them out to see if they can help you with your taxes this year.

Photo Credit: 401K

About Elle Martinez

Elle Martinez helps families at Couple Money achieve financial freedom by sharing tips for reducing debt, increase income, and building net worth. Learn how to live on one income and have fun with the second..

15 comments add your comment

  1. If we get a refund, we plan to pay down my car.
    mami2jcn at gmail dot com

  2. I think our refund will either go directly into savings, and/or to get some other things rolling for our kids.

  3. We will put it in savings and look to invest some for our sons future. Thanks for a great giveaway. 🙂

  4. We are saving our refund because we just found out we’re expecting baby #2 later this year!

  5. Our taxes got a little complicated this year – sale of investment property that I owned only a part of… long story; worked in NY, lived in NJ for part of the year and MA for the other part. Small business expenses on top of it! We’re not trusting ourselves with ours, no matter how good the software is… 🙂

    I may next year though. We’ll see.

    My guess is I’m going to be writing a check or two this year.

  6. I’ve used Turbo Tax for the past 4 years and love it. It walks you through everything and has a great knowledge base to help answer questions you might have. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking to do their own taxes.

  7. I plan to put my tax refunds in my savings account for a rainy day.

  8. I think we’ll owe a little money this year, but I’ll use Turbotax to better prepare for next year.

  9. We are taking them to our accountant and I am hoping for money back this year

  10. I will be doing it myself but also consulting with my accountant. Thanks

  11. I love TurboTax! I’m planning to use my refund to pay off debt.

  12. If we get a refund, I would like to buy a few new Microphones so I can record this year. #homestudio

  13. Hopefully my refund will be enough to buy new living room furniture or at least pay for a good portion of it.