TurboTax Deluxe for Tax Year 2007 from Intuit Inc.
By Howard Berenbon
It’s tax time again, and April 15 is approaching very fast. So, if you haven’t already started, it’s time to get going on your income taxes. I hope you’ve been collecting important papers from 2007 to keep track of your deductions like property tax payments, home improvement expenses, health related expenses, interested paid and business expenses (if you run your own business). You’ll need that information plus the 1099s and W-2 forms you get from banks and employers to work on your taxes. So assuming you have what you need, you have three choices: call your accountant and have him do your taxes, do it yourself the old fashioned way with pen and paper forms, or buy Intuit’s Turbo Tax 2007 and do it yourself with the help of, what I think, is the best tax software available. It will save you time and money, and you'll never turn back. It's not expensive, usually around $39.95 for the year, which includes one state data download for your local returns. And it can end up free after rebates when purchasing with other software packages.
I say it every year, and I'm sorry, but I have to repeat myself: TurboTax is the best, computerized, tax preparation program available. If you do your own taxes and haven’t tried TurboTax, now is the time. Just do it! Once you use TurboTax you’ll never prepare your taxes any other way. Intuit is continually improving their software, and it keeps getting easier from year to year. If you have trouble, they offer lots of help within Turbo Tax from every screen you’re on and online. And speaking of online, they make it easy to file online. And if you worry about accuracy, don’t, because Intuit guarantees that their calculations are 100 percent correct. One more piece of advice: if you are considering a different brand of tax software, stop right now. In my opinion, no other software can do your taxes as well as TurboTax! And, if you're worried about the results, TurboTax will double-check your return for errors and will flag any potential audit risks. And new this year is their Audit Risk Meter to help reduce your chances of being audited. Also included and improved for 2007 is their ItsDeductible software to help you value your donated items so you can get the best possible deduction.
Many tax preparers are using TurboTax to prepare their clients’ taxes, often having their assistants enter your information, so why not do it yourself?
And even if you have some special tax situations, you can solve them, and file your taxes on time without any extra help. All forms and instructions are included either on the CD or online. You also have access to all IRS publications plus some expert videos for help. And new this year: you can get answers live online from TurboTax experts and users.
TurboTax will calculate your taxes the best possible way, and give you the highest legally allowable refund. As you enter your data, you’ll see the actual form displayed at the bottom of your screen. Also, if you have a question about a particular entry, you can enter your question into a search box at the top right of the screen, or check your question against commonly asked questions listed below the search box. When you’re done, it prints all your forms, or you can file electronically; and TurboTax keeps a record for next year’s taxes.
This year it took 13 minutes to install from their single CD, but the time can vary depending on the speed of your computer. Once installed, you’ll probably need just an hour to complete your tax forms if you don’t have any special situations. Expect a few hours for more complicated taxes. After you run the program, you'll get to choose your free state data download. If you used TurboTax last year, then it will download your previous years' data with all personal information. You’ll just need to add the new numbers from 2007. When you’re entering your tax information, you have a choice of having TurboTax ask you questions (the Interview) and enter the answers and numbers from your tax documents, or go directly to each form and fill in the blanks. And don't worry if you made a mistake or need to correct or change the information, you can easily go back and make your changes. I like having TurboTax ask me questions and I enter just the answers or numbers, but often I look back at the forms to make sure everything is going in the right place.
TurboTax Deluxe is the best software for anyone filing US income tax returns. You'll get professional tax preparation help without the expense of paying a tax professional. And once you’ve used TurboTax, you won't want to do it any other way. Even if you have a more complex tax situation: say you run a small business, have stocks and bonds, have rental property, own a vacation home and have kids to claim as dependents, TurboTax will work for you. Intuit does offer other versions supporting specific tax needs including TurboTax Premier ($67.99) and TurboTax Home & Business ($69.99).
TurboTax Deluxe 2007 sells for $39.99 (with free shipping) and will run on any multimedia PC (Windows or Macintosh), Pentium 200 MHz or faster processor, 240 MB hard disk space, 128 MB RAM with Windows 98/2000/ME/XP/Vista and a CD-ROM drive. Mac - 165 MB hard disk space, Mac OS X (10.2.8) or greater. For more information, or to order, visit Amazon.com.
Software Companies Mentioned
Intuit Inc.
2500 Garcia Ave.
Mountain View, CA 94043
Phone: 1-800-446-8848
URL turbotax.com
Version Comparison
| Step-By-Step Guidance | Deluxe |
Premier |
Home & Business |
| EasyStep Interview |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Imports Data from TurboTax Quicken, QuickBooks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Import W-2 and 1099 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live Answers Online | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| E-file | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Maximize Deductions | Deluxe |
Premier |
Home & Business |
| Deduction Maximizer Center |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Handles Changes to Your Taxes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ItsDeductible | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audit Risk Meter | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Investments & Rental Property | Deluxe |
Premier |
Home & Business |
| Extra guidance for investment sales |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Cost Basis Lookup | No | Yes | Yes |
| 401(k) Maximizer | No | Yes | Yes |
| Additional Help for Rental Property | No | Yes | Yes |
| Sole Proprietors and Self-Employed | Deluxe |
Premier |
Home & Business |
| Expanded Schedule C guidance | No | No | Yes |
| Simplified income and expense entry | No | No | Yes |
| Create W-2 and 1099-MSC forms | No | No | Yes |
| Shows start-up costs deductions | No | No | Yes |
