Can anyone give me their opinions on Tax Software? My brother died lat year and I need to prepare his final personal 1040 and also a 1041 for his estate. Does any program handle both types of returns or do I need to get multiple programs? Neither return will be very complicated (as tax returns go).
I’ve been using H&R Block’s software for 13 years, no complaints. according to discussion on their website, the premium/business versions of the software do include the 1041 form.
I use and love Turbo Tax.
And, to apply to your situation, when you start a new return, one of the first questions is “Is this return for someone who has died before filing”. It seems that was tailor-made for you.
Second Turbo Tax. I’ve been using it for years.
We have W2, Schedule C, Schedule E, and Schedule K income, and the Schedule C income has depreciation on multiple pieces of machinery. I tried a bunch of them and ended up settling on Tax Act. It’s the only one where I’ve never decided I needed to hand it all off to my CPA to finish up.
I’ve used Turbo Tax in past years and it has seemed okay. This year we’ve gone with a tax professional to do our returns since our taxes have gotten gradually more complex over the years and as a sanity check that we’ve been doing it right.
Turns out we’ve been doing it wrong, and neglecting the sales tax deduction that is typical in states like Washington with no income tax. So the guy pretty much instantly paid for himself.
If you’re dealing with simple 1040s I imagine Turbo Tax will be fine.
I always use H&R Block’s software (the online version), and they ask that question as well. I suspect most of the major tax software programs do the same.
To be honest, though, when my mother passed away a few years ago, my brother and I just took her various information to an accountant and had him do her taxes that year. The situation was unusual enough that we wanted to make sure nothing got overlooked, and the cost wasn’t all that much more than what buying the Premium software would have been.
Sorry about your brother.
That makes sense. I doubted it was an exclusive feature, but it stuck out in my mind having just done my taxes this weekend that I figured I’d mention it.
And now I kinda feel like an asshole for not offering condolences. Sorry from me as well.
Thanks for the responses.