I have been using this software for many years, since it was Kiplinger's Tax Cut on the cover. I do other family taxes as well and have always been able to do them correctly, even with the various situations that have arisen over the years. I would not consider changing to a competitor.
Really easy to use! The interview questions lead me through exactly what I need. Our situation was more complicated this year, but the software was still really manageable. Also appreciate how easy it is to navigate around my return when I need to go to other steps in the process.
Pros: Easy to prepare, Maximizes refund, Easy to import documents
May as well have done by hand from scratch with forms direct from the IRS and information worksheets. Poor load times, poor form entry, and a huge lack of information to guide you in the CORRECT direction. I do not know what I paid for. It is barely software.
Cons: Time consuming, Hard to prepare, Hard to import documents
I use this because my accountant forces me but I have issues every year with the software. Most of it stems from the fact if you install on any drive other than C it won't work. Got news for you not everyone uses C drive for security reasons. At some point I will probably change accountants just because after 5 years I am sick of the issues.
Pros: Easy to import documents
Cons: Time consuming, Hard to prepare, Hard to import documents
Overall, the software was pretty good. Here are some minor issues I had with it.
I could not find a worksheet that explained how my federal tax amount was calculated, form 1040, line 11. I had to manually work thru the Schedule D worksheet that I downloaded from the IRS website in order to calculate the capital gains amounts and tax rates. Having a similar worksheet in your software would be very helpful, especially for tax planning purposes.
The software asks about rental property sale depreciation in 2 different locations, in one section it asks all depreciation taken on the property since 1997. It asks again in another location that deals with the basis for the property. Maybe they should be linked, or at least some sort of explanation included to tell you why, and if, the depreciation amount should be included in both locations. It was difficult to figure out what to do, especially without an available schedule D worksheet mentioned above.
The business software was a little inconsistent in the interviewing process. Going back and forth between the interview questions and "whole form" was not real intuitive at times. Adding a "Where do you want to go?" type submenu like the federal 1040 program would make it easier to navigate.
It would be very helpful, for planning purposes, to add a "Save As" option to the file menu. That way I could save my current 2019 return as say "2020 plan" and then use that to estimate my taxes for next year, without inputting all my current information in again.