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Comment on TurboTax Premier Federal + e-File + State 2010 – [Old Version] by perstare "perstare"

perstare "perstare" — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:28:55 +0000

65 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent program, but..., November 26, 2010

perstare "perstare" (Dickson, TN, USA) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: TurboTax Premier Federal + e-File + State 2010 - [Old Version] (CD-ROM)

... But other Turbo Tax reviewers have described installation problems. Their criticisms are very well written and clear. I can't judge the accuracy of those criticisms because I haven't had any serious installation problems.

I recommend Turbo Tax. I've been using it for roughly 20 years. I can't imagine how I could "do my taxes" without a computer assist. I've never had to try out any of TurboTax's competitors. (I have read criticisms of Turbo Tax and I've read praise for other tax-assist programs. I haven't read any opinions yet that would make me switch.)

It's my guess that most people ordering the current Turbo Tax program have used Turbo Tax before. (If you have, please take the time to post your criticisms of this review. Your input would help the newcomers.) This review is intended mainly to benefit those taxpayers who are considering the purchase of Turbo Tax for the first time.

If you're going to use Turbo Tax for the first time (and especially if you are using computer-assisted tax preparation for the first time), start well before the filing deadline - buy it and install it before the end of the calendar year! (For example, Amazon has Turbo Tax 2010 for tax year 2010 available around **Thanksgiving 2010.**) It is true that some IRS forms and some IRS regulations would be incomplete at that time, but subsequent startups of Turbo Tax in early 2011 would automatically download these items. In any case, your exact tax-related information (e.g., withholding tax, mortgage interest, investing dividends and interest, bank interest, credit card interest, etc.) would not be available to you so soon.

If you're new and you start early, you can get acquainted with Turbo Tax's layout, the different screens requiring input from you, the different screens offering help, the different screens which can give you the exact rule or regulation that you're dealing with at the moment, the sequence of computer commands to SAVE your work when you set your work aside for awhile, the computer commands necessary to pick up where you left off ... and much more. Follow the flow of the Question and Answer routine. You can pretty much rely on it not to overlook anything. But when you're done, look over your return carefully just the same. When you're completely finished, you can save your printed return and the companion supplementary pages in .pdf form. If you do that, you'll only need a .pdf reader to read the file at some future time.

Suppose you have many years' experience doing your taxes by hand. If you have confidence in your tax preparation experience and you are comfortable with using Turbo Tax to enter your numerical information on the proper line on the proper form, don't do it. Instead, follow the flow of the Question and Answer routine. Then, afterward, when the return is complete, use your experince to check the entries line by line. If you find a discrepancy, track it down. I've seen discrepancies like that. In every case, Turbo Tax turned out to be right. Turbo Tax does unseen calculations and then makes entries on supplementary schedules and forms based on figures that **you** provided. If you see one of these entries and it seems to be absurd, don't just OVERRIDE it. Check the figures that you entered. Make sure that you answered the questions accurately. Make sure you checked the right boxes. It is not likely that Turbo Tax would "make a mistake."

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Comment on TurboTax Premier Federal + e-File + State 2010 – [Old Version] by F. J. Schmidt

F. J. Schmidt — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:15:55 +0000

75 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

Turbotax, December 19, 2010

F. J. Schmidt (Sanibel, FL United States) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: TurboTax Premier Federal + e-File + State 2010 - [Old Version] (CD-ROM)

I am using Turbotax for several year now, and it makes the otherwise unpleasant task of tax preparation quite easy and accurate. The first time I used it, 4 years ago I still had a large accouning firm do my taxes - for approx. $1000 per year, - out of curiosity I tried doing same return with Turbotax which then said I owed considerably less taxes. It turned out that Turbotax was right, the accountants forgot some deductions. Eversince I use only Turbotax and do my own taxes.

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Comment on TurboTax Premier Federal + e-File + State 2010 – [Old Version] by Q "optimistic victim"

Q "optimistic victim" — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:16:37 +0000

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

Turbo Tax Premier is poorly tested, has frustrating supprt, February 8, 2011

Q "optimistic victim" -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: TurboTax Premier Federal + e-File + State 2010 - [Old Version] (CD-ROM)

As a long-time Turbo Tax user this year I decided to splurge on Turbo Tax Premier to see if the rental sections were of value. They weren't much benefit over the standard version, and more to the point the section on retirement did not have any options to enter a transfer from a traditional to a Roth IRA. OK, perhaps not the most common item but not the most uncommon. After hours or wasted time with online chat with representatives not only clueless, but unwilling to admit they were clueless, I phoned support. These people were very eager to help but also clueless. I purchased this product in December so that I could know how much estimated tax to pay - it told me unbelievably I had a credit. I disbelievingly paid estimated taxes anyway, and just hope it is enough so that I am not fined by the IRS. On the phone I was informed that they knew there was a problem with the Premier product with this and that it would be fixed on Jan 22nd. Apparently it was, but only with the online version. Turbotax knows who has registered as having purchased the Premier version - why could they not notify those people who have registered with them?
Sigh...... In short, the product has glitches.

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Comment on TurboTax Deluxe Federal + eFile 2008 [OLD VERSION] by L. Johnson

L. Johnson — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:14:21 +0000

81 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

Extra Charge for every return printed, November 21, 2008

L. Johnson (Seattle, WA) -

This review is from: TurboTax Deluxe Federal + eFile 2008 [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

Intuit has raised the price of the product this year with a basically hidden fee. Every time you print a separate return you have to pay an additional fee. NOTE: the fee is not an efile fee... you are charged even if you don't efile but simply want to print another return on your own printer at home! I find this completely unacceptable and after years of using TurboTax I'm going to switch... bye Intuit. Hope you learn that you actually have to treat your customers as if they have some value... you are here because of us, not in spite of us!

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Comment on TurboTax Deluxe Federal + eFile 2008 [OLD VERSION] by Ulrike H. McConnell

Ulrike H. McConnell — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:51:09 +0000

41 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

TurboTax 2008 Too Taxing for Families, December 1, 2008

Ulrike H. McConnell (Colorado Springs, CO, USA) -

This review is from: TurboTax Deluxe Federal + eFile 2008 [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

Be aware! Do you have children or parents that you have been filing returns for? The Intuit TurboTax 2008 license pricing is a dramatic change to your tax preparation expense!

With TurboTax 2007, I completed our return and a return for each of my three minor children. Preparation of up to five returns was included. This year, Intuit wants me to pay a significantly higher price for the first return and pay another $10 for each of my kids returns. You pay when you get to the printing phase, AFTER you have transferred and filled in all of that important information.

Intuit says they have included a federal e-file at no additional charge. If this is all true, what is the 60% price increase Intuit is asking me to pay this year going to do for me?

Even if all you do is your own return, can you believe, with that higher price, that a federal e-file is included at no extra charge?

I have been a TurboTax/MacInTax user for around 20 years but when e-filing has become something Intuit forces everyone to buy, even those who cannot or do not want to use it, it becomes clear that Intuit has lost its way.

Intuit lost a very dedicated customer today. My strong recommendation is that you consider H&R Block's Tax Cut before you decide which tax preparation product to purchase this year.

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Comment on TurboTax Deluxe Federal + eFile 2008 [OLD VERSION] by M. Hemenway

M. Hemenway — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:50:44 +0000

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

change in TurboTax restrictions of use, January 5, 2009

M. Hemenway (Austin, TX, USA) -

This review is from: TurboTax Deluxe Federal + eFile 2008 [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

TurboTax initially upset its long-time users (such as those, like me, who went back to Mac-in-Tax era) by planning to impose a fee for multiple printing of returns. Those of us who find the need to print out sample copies to check over, or who have more than one person in the same household needing to file a separate return, were horrified. They have since changed the policy and now state: "Prepare and print unlimited federal returns; e-file up to five federal returns (per IRS guidelines) at no additional charge"
I'm pleased they have responded to their customers. And, I'm pleased they continue to make a Mac version available.

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Comment on Tax Free Retirement by Daniel S. Glickman

Daniel S. Glickman — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:17:08 +0000

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Reads more like a brochure for universal life insurance, October 6, 2011

Daniel S. Glickman -

This review is from: Tax Free Retirement (Paperback)

As a fairly sophisticated investor who has been advising others for over 30 years, I find the concept of utilizing permanent life insurance to fund tax free retirement workable only for high income individuals. For the average, middle class investor, this concept is deeply flawed as it disregards the extremely high commissions that are associated with the financial product the author is pushing. I have a much bigger problem with the manner in which the author summarily dismisses the use of high quality, insured and guaranteed municipal bonds. My experience, and those of countless other financial advisors, has proven that a portfolio of carefully selected and diversified high quality municipal bonds will provide solid, reliable tax free income to investors without the high commissions of permanent life insurance.

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Comment on Tax Free Retirement by Niki Collins-queen, Author "author"

Niki Collins-queen, Author "author" — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:50:01 +0000

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

I wish I'd read this book sooner, April 18, 2010

Niki Collins-queen, Author "author" (Forsyth, Georgia USA) -

This review is from: Tax Free Retirement (Paperback)

Universal Life Insurance is Patrick Kelly's answer to a "Tax-Free Retirement" if you earn over $160,000 and want to save more than $4,000 per year. He says a Roth IRA is better if you save less than $4,000 a year, have no need for life insurance and are close to retirement. Individuals who are close to retirement may not have enough time before the withdrawal phase to properly fund the insurance option.
Kelly says Universal Life Insurance can be structured to work similar to a Roth IRA as the taxes are paid upfront from your paycheck. Both generate interest, allow tax-free withdrawals of earnings after 59½ , don't require minimum withdrawals after age 70½ and the account can be passed on to heirs where they won't owe a penny of tax.
The LIVING benefits of Universal Life Insurance are many. Clients can take out a loan against the cash value with little or no interest and do not need to pay it back during their lifetime as long as they stay under the contribution maximum. This means the first amount of money withdrawn can come out tax-free as a withdrawal up to the total contribution amount. The rest of the money can be taken out as a loan (tax free) from the insurance company for ½ % to 0% interest. (The client is charged 5% interest for the loan and their Life Insurance Policy earns 5% interest.) Since it's a tax-free death benefit it is important that the policy stay in force until the client's death. If the life insurance is used properly there is no need for record keeping or tax forms.
Kelly also shows how to avoid the nine common financial landmines: Planning, procrastination, interest, instant gratification, following the masses, inertia, get rich quick, lack of generosity, acting as if there's no future.
I wish I'd read this book sooner. I'd have chosen a Roth over a traditional IRA.

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Comment on Tax Free Retirement by Book Worm "Book Worm"

Book Worm "Book Worm" — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:48:10 +0000

70 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

Tax Free Retirement, March 13, 2009

Book Worm "Book Worm" (Washington, DC) -

This review is from: Tax Free Retirement (Paperback)

I am not an insurance agent or an affluent investor, but was given this book by my financial advisor who wanted me to make up my own mind on utilizing a Univeral Life Insurance policy for more than just the death benefit.
I was very suspicious at first, wondering why he did not just direct me towards a mutual fund or something more 'sophisticated sounding.'
This book was very easy to comprehend and a breath of fresh air.
Kelly doesen't talk over your head, and for once financial advice that makes perfect sense.
Every hardworking person (middle class especially)should read this book.
We are spoon fed our retirement options (401k's and 403b's) and we HOPE that we are doing what's in the best interest of our family and our future.

Kelly asked one question in this book that sent bells off in my head: (paraphrasing) Based on the current and potential future tax implications why is saving all my money in a Tax Deferred account a good thing? Furhter, who's retirement am I saving for, mine or the governments?

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