Using Tax Cut On-line is a Mixed Bag
Written: Mar 15 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cheaper than the CD version
Cons: More frustrating than the CD version
The Bottom Line: Preparing taxes on-line is not for everybody. Answer the questions in the review to decide if you are one who should. The recommendation is very conditional.
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| gamblin_man's Full Review: H&R Block TaxCut Premium And State 2005 Full Versi... |
We have been using tax preparation software almost since the first home user versions came out and it has gotten better over the years. It is easier to use, has more helpful features, and just makes life in the first quarter of the year a little easier. This year we tried the on-line version of tax preparation from H&R Block. We were somewhat impressed. It is not for everyone.
We usually do the taxes for one of my grown sons and for our two teenage daughters as well as our own. The teenagers file 1040A forms and the son and wife file a 1040 with a Schedule A. Ours, however, has a little more complication. I have a small business and am retired with lots of 1099 forms coming in the mail during January, some for us and some for the business. I will try to relate our experience so you can decide for yourself.
Getting to the on-line version of Tax Cut is pretty simple. If you have never used it before they let you try before they ask for your credit card number. If you find yourself pulling your hair out, we did when we tried the most complex return, you can just quietly go away, no harm; no foul.
After filing three returns and giving up on one, we have the following suggested questions you should ask before you decide to use the on-line version:
How complex is the data you have to enter?
If you are like many taxpayers and have a couple of W2s, a little interest income, a few deductions (or so few you will take the standard deduction) and no special dependant issues , then you might find the on-line version of Tax Cut to be just right for you.
Have you used tax preparation software before?
The tutorials that come with most CD and downloadable software are less available and useful in the on-line version. The learning curve isn’t steep for a simple return but it could be really frustrating with help harder to use on-line.
Do you have a high speed internet connection?
We have satellite based internet and it is much better than dial-up, but we found the relatively long load times as we cycled through the many pages of questions that had to be answered got in the way of a smooth experience.
Are you an accomplished typist and very accurate in data input?
Making a mistake will likely be caught, but sometimes much later in the process. Cycling back to earlier input screens is slow and frustrating. Going to a specific page directly is hard and in most cases you have to go to the start of a section and watch page after page load until the one where the mistake occurred is reached.
Are you expecting a refund?
If you have to send more money with your return and your return will be simple enough to make Tax Cut a breeze, then maybe paper forms would be easier and less frustrating; and certainly cheaper.
Are you computer phobic?
If you quickly run when things don’t go well on a computer or are one who starts pounding keys, then this method of on-line tax preparation is not for you. When we did the first returns the buttons that you have to repeatedly click to go forward or back through the myriad pages kept disappearing and we had to guess where to click. It didn’t happen that way on the last return we did several days later, so maybe they got it fixed.
Our Experience(s)
We attempted to use Tax Cut On-line to file four returns. We gave up on one and were successful on the other three. We have been using the CD versions of tax Cut since 2001 so we had a lot of experience with this software. It helped, but not as much as one would think. The on-line version, although using the same series of questions in an interview format (supposedly like a tax preparer would do) as the CD version, has a lot of differences. It may be that the prior knowledge was more of a hindrance than a help.
Two Simple Returns
The first two returns we did were for our teenage daughters. We went into this experiment confidently because we had all the required information and had done it several times before. They both only needed a 1040A since they would be taking the standard deduction, had no dependants, no interest, and just W2s to enter.
The first nice thing we encountered was at the very early personal information screens. We were asked if we had used tax preparation software for last year’s taxes. We had and the program asked us to point to the file on our computer where it was stored. We did and the program uploaded all the personal information for us. That was lots of typing and potential mistakes avoided. The same savings will occur if you used the on-line version the previous year.
Our first frustration occurred as we entered the W2 information. It is set up to follow the W2 data well, but is spread over two or three pages. This is where we began to notice the relatively slow and variable load time as each page cycled up. We made a mistake on the second W2 and had to go back and correct it. It would have been easy except the back button disappeared and we clicked where the forward button, which had already disappeared, should have been. That got us out of sequence and we had to find out how to find the page we needed to correct. A couple of attempts got us back to the beginning of the income section and we had to cycle forward through each page to get to the one that needed changing. By keeping the cursor over the place where the Forward button kept disappearing, we got there and moved on. It is pretty intuitive once you figure out how the main sections and subsections are laid out and accessed, but still slow.
The rest of the screens were handled by simply checking No and clicking where we thought the Forward button should be. We got through the whole process in about a half-hour and the results pleased Daughter. The refund she really had plans for would be direct deposited to our account in 14 to 21 days. We clicked for electronic filing and entered a key code (more about that later) to pay for it. Several hours later we received an email that the return had been accepted by the IRS. A week later we checked the IRS site by clicking on that option when we went back into Tax Cut On-line and found that it was being processed with an expected deposit date right when we had been promised by Tax Cut.
The second return for second Daughter went very smoothly with only one W2 to enter and data from the local disc to use. The refund shows that it will arrive the same day as that for first Daughter. They are smiling in anticipation.
A Much More Complex Filing
We started to use the on-line version to do our joint return. We uploaded the personal data from the local disc and were on our way. An early question asked if we had business income. A yes there took us quickly into the business questions. We never it made it past there. We found their idea of how to gather business expense data didn’t coincide with ours and we would have to completely re-characterize the data from our local business accounting program to work with their program. Couple this with the thought of all those 1099s and the slow (thirty seconds per page average) we were facing, and the disappearing buttons and we decided to go with the CD version for this return. We are doing that now and, although tax time is never fun, we are almost pleased with the decision.
A Moderately Complex Return
My son and daughter have some dependants, a couple of W2 forms, and need Schedule A for deductions. This year they had the opportunity to have their return done by a tax professional as a job perk. This tax person, however, did not have the capability for electronic filing. Their Federal Return showed a sizeable refund which they wanted right away.
They brought the return over and we input the federal portion only into Tax Cut On-line so they could take advantage of electronic filing and direct deposit to speed the money to their fingers. For some reason we didn’t have their prior year forms on the local disc so we had to enter everything in the personal interview section. It mostly went well since we were copying from an already filled out form. One of the dependant’s SSI numbers had been copied to the form incorrectly and that caused problems later.
Inputting went smoothly in the income section as there were only two W2s to enter. The deduction section caused a hiccup. They had not brought over all the work sheets from the tax preparer and they had over $500.00 of non-cash charity deductions. We exited the program while they went back to retrieve them since this takes a detailed listing for a Form that is required.
Getting back into the program was simple and getting to where we had stopped only a little onerous. At least the Forward and Back buttons were no longer disappearing randomly. We finished the federal return and, after it was checked for errors, filed it.
A few hours later we got a rejection notice. The IRS was unhappy with a dependant SSI number. Again, the program pointed us right to the error and we discovered the mistake, corrected it, and re-filed. A few hours later another email informed us of a second rejection. It turns out that those SSI numbers are entered in twice in two different places. Cycling through the section on dependants finally showed us both and we corrected the second one.
A third attempt to file met with success and they are now counting the days until their refund hits their bank.
Conclusions and Disclosures
I don’t think we will be using the On-line version of Tax Cut next year. Although the experience was mostly okay, it certainly did not compare favorably with the experience of using the local CD. We gave it a fair try and we would recommend it to a select group of taxpayers, but not to all.
We used Tax Cut On-line this year because the kind folks at Fleischman-Hilliard had H&R Block send us a key code so we could use it free in exchange for an honest evaluation of its usefulness.
Recommended:
Yes
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