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FYI- I am using HR Block and there is a bug regarding capital loss carryover. If you are using this software double check the figure if it applies to you.
I've used TaxAct for years but become pretty disilllusioned with it. It's gotten crazy expensive for just a basic filing, and they've eliminated a lot of the 'tips' that are supposed to make it easier to understand the questions.
And the fees are really just payday loans. $29.95 to file + $50 to receive your refund (no option to just receive a paper check anymore). If you get a $1,000 refund, that's an 8% interest rate. Ridiculous.
Taxact's format shows you the size of your refund for both state and federal as you are working through it. Grudgingly, I went ahead and did my federal refund with Taxact--I just couldn't find another method that wouldn't be extremely time-consuming. But my state now has a free online filing service, so I used that....and got 30% more back than TaxAct calculated. And I didn't have to pay anything to the state for the filing fee or for direct deposit.
I hope the federal government moves fast on opening up the free filing service for everyone. The IRS no longer distributes sufficient forms OR the envelopes needed to mail everything in, and they are years behind in processing anyway. It's ridiculous that their system forces all of us into a corner where we have to pay so much to do something we are legally required to do.
FYI- I am using HR Block and there is a bug regarding capital loss carryover. If you are using this software double check the figure if it applies to you.
I used TaxAct the last two years now and had a carryover loss and was very carefully checking that it brought it forward into this year's return. No issues, thankfully!
I used TaxAct the last two years now and had a carryover loss and was very carefully checking that it brought it forward into this year's return. No issues, thankfully!
The problem with HR Block is they claim in their help section that they "Automatically include your carryover" in their help section which is false. I wonder how many people believe them and pay more tax than they owe. Pretty scummy if you ask me. I had a lot of weird stuff this year so I continued with HR Block. Next year I am going to try TaxAct again (I used them a few years ago).
Also, I found their broker import did not capture the broker's ID number for some reason but all they would tell me was "This form is not complete" and it took a while to figure out what was missing. You would think that if they KNOW it isn't complete they could tell you what to fix.
The problem with HR Block is they claim in their help section that they "Automatically include your carryover" in their help section which is false. I wonder how many people believe them and pay more tax than they owe. Pretty scummy if you ask me. I had a lot of weird stuff this year so I continued with HR Block. Next year I am going to try TaxAct again (I used them a few years ago).
Also, I found their broker import did not capture the broker's ID number for some reason but all they would tell me was "This form is not complete" and it took a while to figure out what was missing. You would think that if they KNOW it isn't complete they could tell you what to fix.
The problem with HR Block is they claim in their help section that they "Automatically include your carryover" in their help section which is false. I wonder how many people believe them and pay more tax than they owe. Pretty scummy if you ask me. I had a lot of weird stuff this year so I continued with HR Block. Next year I am going to try TaxAct again (I used them a few years ago).
Also, I found their broker import did not capture the broker's ID number for some reason but all they would tell me was "This form is not complete" and it took a while to figure out what was missing. You would think that if they KNOW it isn't complete they could tell you what to fix.
We went with H&R Block software this year and I now regret I didn’t try FreeTaxUSA. H&R Block still has not updated certain federal forms that we require. They have pushed out the date twice now. Apparently and unbeknownst to me this also happened last year.
Thanks again to all the people who have responded to this thread.
I've used turbo tax for years. I'm 43 and still remember doing them but hand with the forms and booklets from the post office and library. Once it got complicated enough,I switched to turbo tax. 2023 I took it to an enrolled agent since I had to sell a house through a partition action and get a court order for the proceeds. It was outside of my wheelhouse. The enrollment agent did their research and consulted with another inhouse tax preparer with a real estate background. His fee was worth the peace of mind knowing the return was filed correctly and he would defend it in front of the IRS if there were any questions.
I do my parents with turbo tax and it used to be free. This year they charged $70 for state and federal so I might try that freetaxusa next year. I was surprised they got charged but apparently the threshold for earned interest was pretty low. With higher interest rates on savings account, it put them over the threshold. Otherwise they have a simple return with only SS income and a few IRA RMDs.
Another bad aspect of HR Block is the maximum number of trades it will import from your broker. The max is 2000 trades which normally isn't an issue for most people. I believe TurboTax allows 10,000.
Of course, you can manually enter the summary figures so it isn't a big deal.
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