TaxCut Premium Preview

Everyone doing their own taxes comes up with this every year, How do I file? The standard forms & mailing, H&R; Block TaxCut or TurboTax.

There really are no alternatives and I get to try my hand with the H&R; Block method of filing this year using the TaxCut Premium Federal tax program.

I have used the online form of this in the past and am very happy with the filing process and how easy it is to file taxes as well as fill them out using the program. This year I decided to get with my reviewing and do a review on the TaxCut software as well.

The TaxCut program loads easily and only takes a couple of minutes to finish with the simple installation, but the biggest questions at the beginning are not how easy is it to use but what features do you get compared to other forms of tax preparation. Compared to filling out the form yourself that you get from the government there is no question a software program is easier.

If your filing taxes and have any deductions like those little ones running around your house or even going to college a tax program is much easier than forms. The forms have all those slightly confusing sections you have to jump to and figure each out separately but the program simply asks questions and has you fill in lines from your W-2 or other documents and figures everything out for you.

I will be going over a comprehensive review after taxes are finished for me but I wanted to “plug” this first before you decide what to use for yours as well. I decided to go with H&R; Block’s software as they have the best record for tax preparation and are the biggest in the business as well as offering more in their software packages.

For those filing a state return with their federal and wanting to do deductions like home based business or things like property tax your best bet may be the Federal E File and State program of TaxCut. The Premier package includes five federal e-file and includes the one state program that goes through all your tax stuff like deductions and schedules.

The Premium Federal + State + E-file also includes a session with a tax advisor over the internet for questions you may have but I would wait on this till your all through and collect all your questions so you can make best use of the one-time chat session. You also get estate planning and financial help like investments and Will creation in the Premium package for a complete and thorough tax and financial software package.

The TaxCut Premium also includes data importing from TaxCut previous versions, TurboTax, Quicken, Microsoft Money and DeductionPro for quick and easy data transfer while filling out forms. The most important things you may want to know before purchasing are what you really get for filing: 5 free e-files for federal taxes with the program and the state program to figure your state taxes.

You can file 5 federal tax returns with the one purchase of TaxCut Premium and also get the single state program through the TaxCut to figure out your taxes in the state you reside. This means for instance I can file my taxes, my wife’s separately as well as my son who is going to college and have two left over for whatever.

I can also figure out my state taxes using the state program that downloads through the TaxCut program and have the only other fee for filing taxes for 2008 from the state filing of my taxes. I can purchase TaxCut Premium and file federal taxes for the cost of the program and file state taxes for the additional cost of $20.

Comparing this with TurboTax you do not get the same cost of the product that you get with TaxCut, you do get five federal e-files for your federal returns. But for the same price at both TurboTax and TaxCut you do not get the state program to figure out your taxes and the chat support costs for the 20 minutes where you can talk all you want with H&R; Block for free with the one on one session.

I have used the online version of TaxCut in the past for e-filing my tax returns and will give a complete review on this product, TaxCut Premium from H&R; Block, when I have finished with it. As it stands I really see no comparison for your money, TaxCut offers the state program to figure out and print your state taxes for the same money as the TurboTax program without that feature.

TaxCut is cheaper and you get the professional services of a company who has been doing nothing but taxes for a business since 1955. You can’t go wrong with a company who has been doing nothing but taxes since the original tax code was created. TaxCut Premium Federal offers the five e-files as well as the one state program so you can at least figure out your taxes for e-filing or sending in from the printed forms the state program fills out.

Reference:

• hrblock.com