Anyone else have concerns using Turbotax?

[BC]

This is a issue in our house every year. My hubby wants to save the money that a CPA would charge, so we have used Turbotax several years now and every time we file, I feel like there is something I have missed or done incorrectly. While I am certainly no tax expert, Turbotax is very user friendly and I am answering everything honestly and to the best of my knowledge. However, I feel like there are some loopholes that I do not know about that a CPA could probably find for us. We have much more than just W-2's and mortgage interest and it drives me nuts every year. Anyone else feel anxious doing their own?

 

[MrsPete]

This is a issue in our house every year. My hubby wants to save the money that a CPA would charge, so we have used Turbotax several years now and every time we file, I feel like there is something I have missed or done incorrectly. While I am certainly no tax expert, Turbotax is very user friendly and I am answering everything honestly and to the best of my knowledge. However, I feel like there are some loopholes that I do not know about that a CPA could probably find for us. We have much more than just W-2's and mortgage interest and it drives me nuts every year. Anyone else feel anxious doing their own?

Nope, not even a little bit. We've been using Turbo Tax since it came out, and we've never had a bit of trouble. The program asks you questions, and it prompts you to give the right answers. If you answer certain things certain ways, it'll direct you towards those loopholes. As long as you're honest, Turbo Tax will work out fine.

 

[Diva of Dragons]

I use it every year. It asks a lot of detailed questions to get the most info. for returns. I have had no problems with it at all. I even had to have a CPA go back over the last couple years returns, to amend for a business situation, and she found no errors.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Nope, no concerns here.

We tested it one year. A friend of ours always paid someone $150 to do his taxes. Out of curiosity we punched in his info to our turbotax program and came up with the exact same thing.

 

[Doe]

We always use Turbotax. Matter of fact did our taxes today. Never any problems.

 

[shellybaxter]

I'm not concerned either - I think Turbotax is pretty detailed when asking questions

 

[bicker]

The last time I had a CPA do my taxes, I had previously done my taxes that year on TurboTax, but thought that a CPA could find more deductions or something. The CPA actually missed some of the deductions that TurboTax had found.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Nope. Been doing it since it came out.

 

[puffkin]

I am a CPA. I use Turbo Tax. I know next to nothing about taxes...most CPA's don't do taxes or only do them during "tax season". There are very few "tax" CPA's out there, most CPA's have other focus.

If you go to a CPA firm, most likely an intern or recent college grad will be preparing your return. A senior account will be looking at the return and then when it is finished the Partner/CPA will review the return and deal with the client. They really don't look at the return with more than a high level glance.

There are hundreds to thousands of clients the CPA is dealing with over a very short time frame. The CPA is working at least 80 hours a week during this time of year. Trust me, they will miss a lot. Not to mention you will be paying a premium to get some of their time.

Unless you have some really complicated or unusual tax situations, Turbo Tax will probably give you more personalized attention and give you a more accurate return.

 

[Pigeon]

No, for the most part, I think TurboTax does a great job.

This year I had a very odd situation with a stock that I'd bought years ago through an ESOP, which has done some strange and wonderful things over the years, and I did have a tough time with TT. I couldn't get it to ask me the right questions. But it is the one exception in years and years of using TT.

 

[freckles and boo]

Unless you have some really complicated or unusual tax situations, Turbo Tax will probably give you more personalized attention and give you a more accurate return.

This is my impression as well. I don't really know how software is developed but I have no doubt that that there are teams of tax experts involved in putting Turbo Tax together every year. I would prefer that over one tax-preparer who may not be completely up to date on changes.

 

[Arielle22]

I have used TT for years and have no problems with it. I do make sure not to skip any areas of questions even if I don't think I need them.

 

[clutter]

I had a weird issue with TurboTax last year, so I ended up having to do my return by hand. This year, with the Disney Visa discount, it only cost me $19 or so, so it was worth it. You said your return is more complicated, so I would have to know the complication before I would make a recommendation.

 

[scrapquitler]

We have a CPA do our tax returns every year (my husband works as a consultant and gets paid thru his LLC, so its a little complicated), and we use a guy who is a one man CPA firm, so I know that this guy is doing it himself. The main reason we pay the extra money to have a CPA do it for us versus using a software program is because if we run into a situation where we get audited for some reason, the CPA will go to the audit with the IRS to help us. I don't think any software program is going to do that.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I am a CPA. I use Turbo Tax. I know next to nothing about taxes...most CPA's don't do taxes or only do them during "tax season". There are very few "tax" CPA's out there, most CPA's have other focus.

If you go to a CPA firm, most likely an intern or recent college grad will be preparing your return. A senior account will be looking at the return and then when it is finished the Partner/CPA will review the return and deal with the client. They really don't look at the return with more than a high level glance.

There are hundreds to thousands of clients the CPA is dealing with over a very short time frame. The CPA is working at least 80 hours a week during this time of year. Trust me, they will miss a lot. Not to mention you will be paying a premium to get some of their time.

Unless you have some really complicated or unusual tax situations, Turbo Tax will probably give you more personalized attention and give you a more accurate return.

I'm a CPA, too, and while I agree with most of your comments, there are a lot of tax-only CPA's out there.

OP, if you're looking for tax knowledge, the key is to ask. Find a CPA who specializes in tax. While there are less of them than those who stick to auditing, there are plenty to choose from. I don't how complicated your return is, but in most cases, TurboTax should be just fine.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

I've never had an issue with TurboTax. I've been using the online version since tax year 2001 without any problems. If I had more complicated returns I would seek professional help, but ours our simple enough for me to handle with the prompts by TurboTax.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I am a CPA and a corporate tax manager. I use Turbo Tax for my personal return. Unless you have something very unusual in your return, Turbo Tax will likely prompt you for all your possible deductions and do a good job. It asks questions and if your answers indicate that you have a more complex issue, it will direct you to a different version of Turbo Tax that can handle that scenario (ex: you work for yourself).



The only example of something too complicated that I can think of is ownership interest in oil & gas property--maybe turbo tax can handle that, but I've never seen it done.

 

[Silent1CB]

TurboTax does a great job on the Federal Taxes. Its the state taxes , or at least my state, that I'm always more unsettled about. It has much less documentation, and of course, the online group doesn't have as many people around to answer questions. I did have a little situation this year where some federal info was not completely carried over to the state & if I had not probed further into the tax issue, I would have ended up paying the state rather than getting a refund.

But it was a one time tax situation for me, and won't have that problem again.

I use TurboTax every year.

 

[BC]

I think you are all correct in saying Turbotax is probably going to ask more questions than a CPA might. I guess I just concerned about taking a deduction that I might not be eligible for. I know you can go to the Help section and read all about it, but even then, some of it is all about interpretation. If for some reason I do make a mistake, have any of you had to do an amendment to previous years on Turbotax? Also, just curious, when you do an amendment, do you have to pay interest?

 

[BC]

I think you are all correct in saying Turbotax is probably going to ask more questions than a CPA might. I guess I just concerned about taking a deduction that I might not be eligible for. Like I said, I never have or would show anything wrong intentionally. I know you can go to the Help section and read all about it, but even then, some of it is all about interpretation. I suppose if it is wrong, Uncle Sam will certainly let me know. If for some reason I do make a mistake, have any of you had to do an amendment to previous years on Turbotax? Also, just curious, when you do an amendment, do you have to pay interest?