UPDATE (1/26/2011): TurboTax continues to impress me year after year (I first started using TurboTax in 2001)! Each screen is filled with guidance and it amazes me how easy it is to do my own taxes! I spent less than an hour entering information last night, and I’m almost done with my 2010 return (state and federal)! Now I’m simply waiting on the documentation from my brokerage!! It’s annoying how long it takes brokerages to mail tax information (February 15th? Come on!)!
As the tax return deadline fast approaches, I 
wanted to post a quick follow up to my previous entry titled Its 2009 Tax Time: Tax Preparation Software! As mentioned in the post, I’ve been using TurboTax for filing taxes electronically the past eight years. As you can guess, this year was no different and I opted to once again attempt completing my taxes online. I wanted to give you a quick glimpse into my experience this year, as it has been (what I would consider) my most “complicated” return to date. Long story short? TurboTax made filing taxes electronically a breeze.
My “Complicated” Return:
As I said, this year my return was slightly more complex than it was in the past. What changed? A few things:
- I had some money in a brokerage account and was actively trading for part of 2009.
- I changed jobs and moved towards the end of 2009.
- I contributed to a Roth IRA in 2009.
On top of that, I still had the usual items such as student loan interest, mortgage interest, and a few other items to note on my deductions.
How TurboTax Helped With My 2009 Return:
As mentioned in my previous post, TurboTax has an interview process that guides you through filing taxes electronically. By following the “guidance,” TurboTax prompted me for a number of tax situations, including the situations listed above. I was able to easily add information about those situations, here’s how:
- Since I was unable to download my trades directly from my brokerage into TurboTax, I had to manually enter them. However, TurboTax performed analysis on my data to look for missing information and potential “Wash Sales” (which would alter capital gains). I’ll admit, I probably would have forgotten to check for the wash sales had TurboTax not reminded me.
- TurboTax allowed me to input the date of my move and new location, and then easily set up the returns for both my states. Additionally, it gave me the opportunity to allocate relevant deductions to each particular state, helping keep my returns as accurate as possible.
- This was my first year working with a Roth IRA, and TurboTax made it a breeze to start tracking this information. While this didn’t affect my return, it’s nice that TurboTax allows me to start tracking my contributions so that later it can determine whether withdrawals are from contributions or earnings.
A few additional items worth mentioning:
- TurboTax imports information from a number of locations, easing the pain of data entry. For example, it imports information from your previous year tax return, imports your federal information into your state returns, and in some cases can even import your brokerage and W-2 information.
- Their online help community (“live community”) is AWESOME! I had a few questions this year, but a quick search in the community got me to a pre-existing discussion answered by one of their tax “pros”.
Get access to your previous years’ returns. I’m currently in the process of selling my house and this feature has come in handy since some of my “important docs” are still buried from the move!
Overall Thoughts:
At the risk of sounding overly smitten with TurboTax, I have to say that my experiences have always been positive. I particularly enjoy that filing taxes electronically can be accomplished in a few hours time. It also lets you file state taxes online (even for multiple states as was the case for me this year). If you’re a procrastinator and that tax return deadline is too close for comfort, Turbotax can help you file your tax return extension.
You may be wondering Which TurboTax Is Right For You? Well, I enthusiastically encourage you to find out! After all, it’s free to try! You only pay if you attempt to print or submit your returns electronically. Additionally, if you (or someone you know) generally files the 1040EZ form, they can generate and file their federal return for FREE! As always, I welcome commentary on your experiences with TurboTax. If you have questions, feel free to Contact Me directly!
UPDATE:
Just a quick little tidbit I noticed as I was writing this post. It’s been less than a week since I actually filed my returns, and the refunds from both states where I filed are already pending in my accounts! Talk about a quick turn-around! Gotta love filing taxes electronically!
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