TaxAct for Windows

User Reviews

• XP Users... go to HELL

  rdelaplazaApril 18, 2016

  Pros

  NONE ... did not install.

  Cons

  TaxAct sent to hell all Windows XP users without remorse Don't even try, you will lose your time, download wont do ANYTHING wont run AT ALL. Forget about it and find a better solution.

  Summary

  XP user? Don't even try, DO NOT LOSE YOUR TIME. TaxAct sent TO HELL all Windows XP users without remorse and they don't EVEN TELL YOU. ! ! ! .. WTF ! ! After all the hassle of opening a TaxAct account and giving them ALL your data... Download wont do ANYTHING. Wont run AT ALL. Forget about it and find a better solution.

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• RIP OFF!!!!!

  SINBADApril 14, 2014

  Pros

  Fairly easy to follow instructions

  Cons

  They advertise that its free but this is false. Last year I paid $4 which wasn't bad. I figure I would pay it this time but not until the very end do they tell you it is $14.99. This is not fair. You are unable to get any real help from them. Unable to print or view my State return so I have no idea what I am filing. They say the state filing is free but when I tried to file my Fed by mail and print it out I was unable to view or print my state unless I agreed to pay the $14.99. I decided to go ahead and efile both since it was the same price but increased 27% since the previous year. So I proceed, give credit card info and submit. It says "pending" for 8 minutes then shows "Page cannot be displayed." Tried again, same outcome. So now they have my payment, credit card info and i have ZIP. I spent several days using this software only to get nothing in return. I have no idea if my taxes have been filed. All of this for a $25 State refund? I owe nothing to Fed.as I am on SSA

  Summary

  WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. DON'T USE THIS SOFTWARE. They probably ripped me off for my money and I got NOTHING in return. No taxes filed or proof of taxes being filed. Not even a copy of my paperwork so i could just take it into the tax office and tell them about this. I am plain SOL. You are not advised until very end that this is not free as advertised. By then it is too late to do anything about it. Large increases in prices . Increased 27% this year. Watch out for the extra services they try to sell you. I never fall for that.

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• Cool thorough tax program.

  AROZMANDecember 18, 2011

  Pros

  Straightforward and easy to use!

  Cons

  I haven't found any. Been using the program for years.

  Summary

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• Excellent results with TaxAct for at least 10 years

  BigCon34October 22, 2011

  Pros

  Can complete 1040 by either interview or form fill-in and software determines if submission of 1040 or 1040a is required. Has all necessary forms for my federal retirement and SS.

  Cons

  none noted in all the many years I have used

  Summary

  My son and grandchildren are also using the FREE version which includes FREE electronic file - no postage and refund in just days.<br /><br /><span class='notifyMsg'> Updated </span>on Oct 22, 2011<p/>I have been so pleased with this product that I have been using their PRO version for a number of years for just $9.95 which also includes the FREE E-file.<br /><br /><span class='notifyMsg'> Updated </span>on Oct 22, 2011<p/>I have been so pleased with this product that I have been using their PRO version for a number of years for just $9.95 which also includes the FREE E-file.<br /><br /><span class='notifyMsg'> Updated </span>on Oct 22, 2011<p/>I have been so pleased with product that I have been using their PRO version for $9.95 which also includes the FREE E-file.

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• Inexpensive and convenient

  peterungarApril 8, 2011

  Pros

  Inexpensive and convenient. When I needed help a year or two ago I got it promptly.

  Cons

  Transfer of data to state returns could be better, see below. Also, some forms I opened in the program were not exactly the same as the ones I got in the mail and needed to copy into TaxAct.

  Summary

  I switched from TurboTax to TaxAct a few years ago because it is cheaper. The year I switched I used both and I found opening and switching forms a little more convenient with TaxAct. I am retired and the sources of my income are neither numerous nor complicated. I still like TaxAct but my limited experience with the state forms revealed some weaknesses. This is what happened. I have installed TaxAct Deluxe and the state programs for NY, MA and RI because I am a resident of NY and I am a limited partner in a real estate partnership which has properties in MA and in RI. I filled in the NY resident tax form first, hoping that this will inform TaxAct that I am a nonresident of MA and RI. When I opened the MA nonresident form I had to put in by hand my address which should have been transferred automatically. My MA income was $1960 but at this stage TaxAct said I owed something like $2600 in MA taxes. What happened was that TaxAct copied to MA Schedule D, line 3 from US Schedule D, line 11 my capital gain from futures contracts. That item got there from federal form 6781 and was obviously not a MA item for a nonresident taxpayer who spent 0 days in MA. The way to get rid of it was to put the equal amount in MA Schedule D line 9, but it took me a long time to figure that out. I next went to the TaxAct RI forms. It turned out that TaxAct put my data on RI-1040, resident income tax return. I then opened a copy of RI-1040NR (Non-Resident) which was blank. It turned out I had to open the resident income tax return, notice that on it there was a question whether I was resident or nonresident. I marked nonresident which caused no visible change. Fortunately I then closed the form and to my delight under it was the NR form with my data on it, and the information that I owed RI $8352 tax on my RI income of $3192. (0 days of residence in RI) Going through the lines I got to where nonresidents are instructed to go to page 7, schedule III to separate RI and non-RI income. I could not find Schedule III on what TaxAct calls pages 7 and 8. It turned out that RI page 7, schedule III can be found on what TaxAct calls page 5. Kind of confusing.

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• Does what it's supposed to do.

  tcosb73March 18, 2011

  Pros

  Easy to use.

  Cons

  Can't bring in info from prior returns.

  Summary

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• Horrible Software

  gk_txMarch 12, 2011

  Pros

  e file - that's really ABOUT IT!!!

  Cons

  no way to manually return 1120S and 1040 NOT consolidated and sold seperately terrible error checking terrible in line help terrible customer service

  Summary

  Horrible software I had used TaxACT in 2008, 2009 and almost 2010 only to find that the software is flawed. I purchased both the 1120 S software for my business and the 1040 software. I found the software did not take my income from my K1 and apply it to my personal filing. I even answered the questionnaire properly. THere was no way to overwrite the form figures to fix this. I ended up having to file an amended return to recoup money from last year AND I ended up filing my 1040 for 2010 on my own. Also my deductions were not calculated properly. The flags were not informative, only provided basic errors on missing info vs. anything else. Health savings was not deducted either. I ran the same numbers thru turbotax and got more accurate results. I emailed their support to inform them of their software bug. The response said I answered the questions wrong. I sent them the screenshots to prove I answered according to what was needed to generate the right numbers. I sent the email twice and received no response back- shameful! DO NOT, I WARN, DO NOT USE THIS SOFTWARE.

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• The best there is.

  hro1628February 9, 2011

  Pros

  Accurate and easy to use.

  Cons

  None that has occurred.

  Summary

  I have been using the Deluxe Edition (purchased) since 1998 and am very satisfied with it.

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• Takes much longer than preparing return manually

  cdgoldinFebruary 3, 2011

  Pros

  Didn't cost anything (except my time)

  Cons

  Inaccurate, time-wasting, bombards you with upgrade ads, irrelevant questions must be answered, rounds (almost) everything resulting in mathematically meaningless results, ambiguous instructions, provides no method of entering required information...

  Summary

  Even on simple returns, Taxact makes numerous mistakes. Yes, you can override them if you are familiar enough with tax law to know something needs to be overridden, lucky enough to spot the error before the return is submitted, and familiar enough with the software to do so -- but why should you have to correct their work? It takes me about ten minutes to do a simple return manually, yet more than an hour with "tax preparation software". Why bother? The ONLY advantage is electronic forms submission, which gets your refund about 10 days earlier than paper submission with direct deposit. But you should adjust your withholding and/or estimated tax so that you always OWE a small amount, rather than making an interest free loan to the IRS each year. That way, you aren't concerned with how fast you obtain your refund. There is no provision for entering "various" in the "date purchased" column of capital gains and losses on Schedule-D (which the IRS requires if you are selling shares that were purchased at various times). If you enter "various" for long-term gains, TaxAct will treat these as short-term gains! Yes, you can get around the problem by entering any date that is more than a year before the sales date, but you have to understand tax law and audit the return to know that TaxAct handled it incorrectly, spot the error, and technically commit perjury, to get an "accurate" return. Similarly, TaxAct does NOT allow you to enter wash sale data in the prescribed method, and there is nothing in their "help" database that resolves this problem -- although you can spend hours looking. Nor have they responded to queries and complaints about this issue in two years. And why does TaxAct have the Schedule-D fields in a different order than the IRS form (which any sensible person would use a a guide in record-keeping during the year)? This makes accurate data entry that much more difficult. Nor, despite asking myriads of irrelevant questions, and repeatedly offering an "upgrade" to a more expensive version, does TaxAct ask if the taxpayer wishes to appoint a third-party designee (a question that appears below the signature line of the paper 1040). There is a way of entering this, but only if you search long and hard. Taxact does not include TWO address lines on the W2 and 1099 input forms, so we can type what appears on the copy we receive. And it truncates most of the data it unnecessarily forces us to waste time entering. Taxact is no worse than any of its competitors, but that's not saying much. And don't be tempted to upgrade. The expensive edition is no better, despite having more (unneeded) "help" screens.

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• not idiot proof but usable

  jtmedinDecember 25, 2010

  Pros

  Does most of the simple things nice.

  Cons

  Got cornered a couple of times &#38; took some time getting it straight

  Summary

  program is great considering the price

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