Tax Day is April 17 -- Download TurboTax

[Forum Boss]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the 2012 deadline for Tax Year 2011 is April 17 at 11:59 PM.

If you haven't done your taxes yet, here's a package that covers Federal AND State returns and lets you eFile for a quicker refund. I've use the downloadable TurboTax version for quite a few years. It works pretty darn well considering the complexity of the tax codes. NOTE: If you are self-employed, be sure you look into the deductions for self-financed medical insurance -- can make a big difference in your tax obligations. Likewise business owners with hardware purchases in 2011 should look at Section 179 expensing option. FYI, if you are claiming business vehicle expenses using flat mileage rate, there are two rates in effect for tax year 2011: $0.51/mile from 1/1 - 6/30/2011 and $0.55/mile from 7/1 - 12/31/2011. See: http://www.efile.com/tax-deduction/mileage-rates/

TurboTax DLX Federal + E-file + State 2011 ($44.40 Download)

 

[CaptainMal]

Obviously they sponser this site or you would not be advertising for them.

Now - Ask them why I cannot log in?

Did taxes with them the last few years. Also got audited two of them and last year again paid penalty and interest because of screw-ups. Been filing standard deduction also - no business and it's still messed up.

Each time, the past few weeks, I have asked for my "lost" password or ID, they respond with somethng different and none of those work.

Maybe they are owned by Krieger or McGowen?

 

[Forum Boss]

Sorry to hear about your problems. The set above is a downloaded version (not the online version), so you should only have to log-in once (to check for updates) -- the return can otherwise be prepared without an internet connection (until you efile, which is optional). Intuit, maker of TurboTax, is not a sponsor, but we do receive a couple dollars from Amazon if one of these kits sell.

I mainly put this up as a service to Forum members to remind them of impending tax deadlines. There are other ways to do your taxes of course. However TurboTax is the most popular of the online tax filing and preparation software products. Last year more tax filers filed with TurboTax than all the other tax filing software products combined. We're talking tens of MILLIONs of users.

While it is VERY unfortunate you were audited, my accountant says the IRS is LESS likely to challenge software-assisted returns than returns that are filled out manually. According to USA Today, efiling does NOT increase the chance of an audit. USAToday wrote in March 2010:

[N]early 83% of individual taxpayers who filed their tax returns did it electronically. But nearly 12 million submitted their returns the old-fashioned way: by U.S. mail. Some taxpayers mail their returns to save on filing fees. Others don't trust the Internet. But some taxpayers take the low-tech road because they've heard that e-filed returns are more likely to be singled out for audit.

The IRS says this is flat-out wrong.

"The way IRS determines whether a particular return is audited has nothing to do with the way that you filed it," says IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge. In fact, e-filing could reduce your chance of an audit, she says. "When you file electronically, you file a more accurate return, so you're less likely to hear from the IRS."

As noted above, you can use TurboTax to calculate your return and still print out the return and file it via the USPS mail if you prefer to file a hard copy.