# TurboTax, WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 9, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921 "2008-02-09T14:21:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/1 "2008-02-09T14:21:13Z")
So I had a copy of TurboTax for Mac on my shopping list on my recent vacation. Lo! Behold! A free copy of TurboTax awaited me in my mail when I arrived! Goodie. Just get back here and download updates and file away. So I pop the disc in my Mac. There is an icon. I click on it. It tells me to go to [TurboTax.com](http://TurboTax.com). So I do, expecting to get the latest and greatest. WTF? Is TT now a web-only application? There are no downloads of any sort (that are obvious) on the site? Harumph! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/2 "2008-02-09T14:43:23Z")
They still sell they versions that stay on your computer. You can order it on CD or download it. I think what you have is just a promotional CD. [http://www.intuit.com/commerce/account/downloads/tax\_download\_faq.jhtml#same](http://www.intuit.com/commerce/account/downloads/tax_download_faq.jhtml#same) ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/3 "2008-02-09T15:37:56Z")
Did you ask the box? (Sorry - could not resist…) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/4 "2008-02-09T18:16:22Z")
I don’t think that CD is a free copy. It’s a partial copy and if you want the full version that you can do a complete return on, you have to pay for it on the TT site. ---
**Author:** ![Satyagrahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Satyagrahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satyagrahi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/5 "2008-02-09T18:33:35Z")
That’s typical of the way Intuit likes to do things. I bought a copy of TT a couple or three years ago. However, during the install process, the thing kept dunning me to buy this or buy that; worse than any freeware I’ve ever seen, let alone something I paid forty bucks for. It got me so irritated that I aborted the install and returned it, eventually getting my money back from Intuit. I’ve been very pleased to do my own taxes ever since. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/6 "2008-02-09T18:59:19Z")
I ditched TurboTax during the safecast / c-dilla mess, and the related botched installations a few years back. I switched to H&R Block Tax Cut, which seems just as good, as far as I’m concerned. It was also perfectly willing to import my previous year’s return from TurboTax. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/7 "2008-02-09T19:38:28Z")
Is being a web-based app a problem? I did our taxes last week with it, and had no problems at all. Having it be able to pull info from last year’s returns was a treat. No entering addresses, SSNs or even needing to dig out last year’s numbers to set up direct deposit. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/8 "2008-02-10T02:09:33Z")
My Internet is still rather shaky, even by local standards. I prefer an on-computer application. So youse guys are saying that I can download it? I will look at the site more closely. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/9 "2008-02-10T02:16:49Z")
There’s a “buy download or CD” button near the bottom of the page. I clicked through a couple of links and it appears you \*can \*buy the program and download it, not just use a Web-based version. [http://turbotax.intuit.com/](http://turbotax.intuit.com/) - look near the bottom [TurboTax 2022-2023 Online Tax Software | E-file Your Taxes](http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/#go_tt_cd) - download page ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/10 "2008-02-10T02:54:35Z")
I’ve been using TT for several years with no problem. In fact I have the new CD, still unopened, right here. If I recall from last year, you can use the disk and work out your taxes, but at some point you have to pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/11 "2008-02-10T03:09:35Z")
Turbo Tax expires every year. You have to purchase it in some form every year if you want to use it to do your taxes, even if you get a “free” copy. This is part of the Evil (from a consumer standpoint) Genius (from a business standpoint) of Intuit. As far as I know, it has always been this way. With what you got in the mail, if it’s the same as the free trial I have, you can do all of the work EXCEPT viewing the final results, printing the final results, or filing right from Turbo Tax. Since you can’t view or print you can’t just do your taxes in Turbo Tax, print and turn around and use one of the free filing services online. If your internet connection is shoddy, use your current program from the disc to do all your taxes and use the prompts to pay to register it online. Then you will be back to using the Turbo Tax you are used to. Unfortunately, the download and CD versions are $45 and the online version is only $29. So you’ll be paying extra to use your “free” trial. But, you have no choice because of your connection - unless you use one of the other recommended programs. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/12 "2008-02-10T03:12:03Z")
I used taxact-online; it cost me $16.95 to do the deluxe version of e-filing state and federal returns online. Took about an hour. Got my refunds just the other day. My return was relatively uncomplicated, though, it might take a bit longer to do it if I were self-employed or had much non-wage income or other special circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/13 "2008-02-10T09:51:49Z")
Thank you all. Let me try this at the home computer in a few hours. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/14 "2008-02-10T13:47:19Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] So I had a copy of TurboTax for Mac on my shopping list on my recent vacation. Lo! Behold! A free copy of TurboTax awaited me in my mail when I arrived! Goodie. Just get back here and download updates and file away. So I pop the disc in my Mac. There is an icon. I click on it. It tells me to go to [TurboTax.com](http://TurboTax.com). So I do, expecting to get the latest and greatest. WTF? Is TT now a web-only application? There are no downloads of any sort (that are obvious) on the site? Harumph! [/QUOTE] As noted by \*\*missbunny \*\* [TurboTax Online 2025-2026 | Tax Software & Pricing](http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/) has both the online and download versions…where did your link take you? For your pauper friends, don’t forget that the IRS will let you prepare and file online for an AGI under 54,000. I use TaxCut and I suspect the business models are similar. First, you do not want to use last year’s program and you don’t want to use the program that comes on a disc, b/c tax law for your circumstance can change. If you install the program from a disc, the first thing it will do is ask if you want to go out to the Internet and get the latest update, to reflect any changes from the time the discs were printed to the present moment. Seems to me when I did that this year, the update file that was returned was pretty large–I don’t know if it was as large as the file on the disc. The cheapest TaxCut is about $20 for the program and then a filing fee. You can use the program and file a different way if you are cheap. Back to the business models: they want you to use their software, and they want you to pay a license fee for it. If you get a disc in the mail, it’s gonna still need an internet update. It’s gonna ask for a licensing fee when you fire it up, and it’s (usually) gonna have some teasers in it–a coupon for a discount on an upgrade version (say, with more tax advice) or a discount on a filing fee or a program to calculate charitable deductions or whatever. Any good tax program should be able to import standardized tax files from any other tax program or money program (quicken; MS Money, etc). You are not limited to what you used last year; you just have to have access to the file. The cheapest way to get a license is to buy the cheapest version as a delivered disc from a reseller, online or from WalMart or from wherever you get stuff in Saudi Arabia. Anything that comes from Intuit or H&RBlock is going to be full retail but perhaps w/ some coups. But for $20, how much do you want to complain? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbotax-wtf/436921/15 "2008-02-10T14:15:30Z")
Got it downloaded in less than an hour. Now all I need are those 1099s.