TurboTax Premier Federal + E-File + State 2012 [Old Version]

I don't think I "love" this program, it is income tax preparation software, after all, but if you own rental property and do your own taxes, this is the go to program. I've used this program for many years so I don't use their EasyStep interview process which makes entry much faster for me, but if you are a novice the EasyStep process is really helpful to identify issues that relate to your unique tax situation. What makes this program worth the price for anyone with rental property is its ability to handle depreciation calculations accurately and to use it to carryover depreciation deductions from year to year. Also, since I bought it from Amazon I paid $5 less for the Premier version than I would have paid for the Deluxe version locally and got free shipping with Prime! You must buy the Premier version for the extra guidance with rental and investment income. For Schedule C assistance you need the Home and Business edition. Free federal e-file is included with all versions, but they do charge for e-filing your state taxes which you don't need TurboTax to do for you, so I just skip it and file State taxes via my State's website. In addition to actually completing the tax forms for you accurately, the program also provides you with a searchable database of tax information and other tax guidance.

This is a preliminary review of my first impressions of TT as software. I will update this review and, perhaps, add more stars after I complete my return. See below for update.I am running TT on Windows XP Pro 32 bit SP3. There are two problems that are quite annoying. The first is that TT requires a specific version of the .net framework. The .net framework is optional Microsoft bloatware and each year TT needs the latest version rather than using just any version. Why is this an annoyance? Because 1) .net, unlike most other software, keeps old versions when you install newer versions and 2) these .net framework versions occupy 562 MB of disk plus 51 updates plus related security updates plus god knows how many server and client processes loaded at system start-up. On my machine this bloat is used by precisely two applications: TT and the APC UPS user interface. By the way, although I'm a computer professional I haven't a clue about what of the .net framework I might safely uninstall. Neither does anyone else - that's why all those old versions are kept around. (Ask Microsoft.)The second software issue is that I want to use my computer as a restricted user (i.e., as a non-administrator) for reasons of security. Well TT won't let you. It goes like this with XP: TT would like to check for and install updates each time you start the application. The `check for' is fine. However, if there are updates and you choose to install them, a message appears: the essence of the message is that updates can only be downloaded and installed by an administrative user. So what you may ask happens when I log in as an administrator and download the updates? Well when I log back in as a non administrator the updates are not visible. Wait a minute you say, there might be a second (batch of) update(s) so go back to administrator mode and check. Nope, that isn't the cause. This has happened several times. Then everything works fine. In other words, there is an update sync problem between administrator and non-administrator modes. Sometimes! This aspect of the software is rather silly. It is also a justification for deducting some stars.Oh, by the way, you might wonder what happens if you try to run TT from a restricted account using the `run as' option to do updates as an administrator. You are curious aren't you? Well the shortcut installed for TT blocks the `run as' option! Those folks at Intuit are devilish.Last year the need for (an earlier version of) .net and the need to run as an administrator were there too but I gave the deluxe version of TT a five star rating based on the free support of a tax `expert' via chat who helped solve a rather kinky problem. So here I am still using TT for at least ten years. My point is that we are starting the second decade of the 21st century and it is time that TT improve some aspects of their software. I'm weary of .net and the security risks perpetrated by the need to use administrator log ins. Remember, this is the company that, several years ago, was installing root kits (code written into the boot sector of our computers during installation) that were run invisible during the boot process on user's computers. It's time that Intuit grow up.As I said in the first paragraph, I'll update this review and the product rating after I complete and file my taxes. Meanwhile I've only gotten to the point with the 2012 product where bloat and security risks are apparent.THIS IS BELOW: My rating of TT as software remains 1 star. Now I will make some comments about it as Tax software were my rating is high enough to give an overall 4 stars. My tax return includes a rental property, retirement income, and part time self employment in a "cash" business (one were payments are cash and the bookkeeping is primitive). In other words, just enough variety to generate a large number of forms.TT gives the user a choice of methods to do your taxes: Guided were TT selects the topics and asks all the questions or Manual were you pick the order that topics are visited. I use manual to avoid anxiety attacks wondering where, when, and if TT will ask me for a particular item. There were only a few places where TT asked for information in an ambiguous way and the help didn't clarify. Here's an example: what's the difference between remodeling and capital improvement to a rental property - the dollar amounts for these two are asked for at quite different times so it's a real puzzle. The answer turns out to be - remodeling is done before the property is first put on the rental market and the other is later. There's no one place were this is spelled out. There are a few head scratchers of this sort but fortunately not too many. This means that we, the users, must stay alert throughout the process or we can make a mess.Overall the experience was fairly straightforward and our taxes were prepared easily. Electric filling went fairly smoothly but there were two issues and I wasn't quite sure what I expected or should have expected from TT. First, the state contacted us by mail and asked for copies of some 1099's - we e-filed. Since this could have been the start of an audit, I went back to TT to see what assistance it offered. I was surprised that e-filling didn't connect TT to the request in some way. In any event, we sent the requested copies and got our state return in the mail a few weeks later.The second issue was that we used the wrong routing number for our return - our bank was bought out and stilled honored previously printed checks but the routing number on those checks couldn't be used for wire deposits (or whatever it's called). We looked to see if TT had anyway to aid in the process of changing that information but it did not. If we had used an accountant instead of TT, we would have expected to have a conversation about both of these issues/problems. However, with TT you deal with the issues yourself and save some money. It's a wash extra anxiety devalues the money savings. That, said we'll probably use TT again next year.

I have been using TurboTax for years. The transfer of data from prior years is fast and easy. I use it when it first comes out each year to do some quick tax calculations to plan my year end transactions. For planning purposes where one does not have all the various forms from financial institutions, one must force the program to ignore certain missing information, or go back to the paper copies of the various forms received from those institutions in prior years. These problems, of course, go away when one is doing the actual tax return, since those forms for the current year would be at hand. This is only a problem when doing early estimates without the various forms.I like that the program is constantly updated as one approaches the actual filing time, so that everything is current and up to date at the time of filing.A good solid product that gets better each year.Be sure to buy the level of Turbo Tax that you need for your own particular situation - since moving up their product line can be expensive.