Tax season is upon us. With about a month and a half to go before the last day to file your federal income taxes (if you owe something), it’s time to start thinking about completing your income tax return. Yesterday, we began answering some questions about income tax preparation software for purchase. Now, we’ll continue answering some additional questions before later today reviewing a few tax preparation programs for your computer.
How much do tax preparation programs usually cost?
It depends on which edition you purchase. The least expensive is TaxAct standard for free, with TaxCut standard for $9.99 and TurboTax deluxe for $19.99. The next versions up from basic usually cost $30 to $40. If you have purchased tax preparation software in years past, you may remember that most editions came with rebate offers where you would be rebated a portion of the purchase price. This year, there are few rebates, if any. Rather, each company has included add-ons with their deluxe and premier or professional editions. For example, TaxCut includes a feature called DeductionPro with the deluxe edition (priced at $29.99). DeductionPro helps individuals itemize deductions for reducing taxable income. Also, instead of requiring a separate purchase for state income tax preparation, each company includes state tax software with their mid-range editions.
Which program provides the best value?
The best value for those with relatively easy federal income tax returns is probably TaxAct. It is pretty limited for maximizing your deductions, however, so you’ll want to check out the other two software packages if you aren’t using the 1040EZ.
TaxCut is the best overall value for those using one of the basic editions. TaxCut is cheaper than TurboTax and performs the same basic functions. If you have never used tax preparation software before, TaxCut is a good value. It is a good value because if you choose later to enlist the help of a tax preparation professional, H&R Block will credit the amount you paid for the software towards what if costs to use an H&R tax preparer.
Where can I purchase tax preparation software?
Tax preparation software can be purchased at most stores that sell computer software. Target, Wal-mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, Sam’s Club, and CostCo are just a few of the possible stores. You may want to call some of the stores before heading out the door because not all stores carry all type of tax preparation software available. Sam’s Club, for example, only carries TurboTax and doesn’t carry the basic (or deluxe) edition.
You can also pay for and download tax preparation software from each of the companies respective Web-sites. In case you missed them earlier, here they are again:
Software reviews
Later today, we’ll review some of the tax preparation software that you can purchase.