Gyroscopic Investing

I'm spending so much time on the online version that I think I'd have been better off doing it with pencil and paper.

The latest annoyance is that after correcting my employer's W2 form (which THEY messed up, according to Turbotax), Turbotax decided that my HSA contributions (which were deducted from my paycheck) should be listed as "other income" on the 1040.  Which is fine if that amount is later deducted from income, but it isn't.

I'll have to find time to call them tomorrow (grr) but has anyone else run into this problem?

I ended up switching to h&r block software since it was cheaper, using it for this tax return and also did for 2014 too. TurboTax before that. No complaints about either for federal returns but ymmv.

I figure it out.  It "corrected" my federal return and undid something that I had to go back through the data entry process to redo.  Software bug which I guess could afflict any of the programs.

It's annoying.  If it weren't for the automatic import of W2s, 1099s etc, it would definitely be quicker to go the virtual pencil and paper route and use the free online forms for state & federal. 

My experience with TurboTax online this year was poor.  I gave up after about 15 minutes due to incredible slowness.  I purchased a download version to use on my MacBook and all went extremely well - fast, easy, no errors that I'm aware of, automatically informed me of filing status and acceptance. 

... M

I unfortunately had a similar confusion with HSAs in TurboTax online a few years ago... the HSA distribution got counted as taxable income somehow, and the IRS questioned me about it, but they were satisfied  when I sent HSA documentation. It was not a happy time.

I hear good things about TaxAct Online, but have not tried them yet.

I've used TaxAct online for several years and have been very happy with it.

TaxAct user for the past 3 years with no complaints. It's a lot cheaper than TurboTax, too.

I don't use online versions of tax software, partly for security reasons, so I can't comment on them. But the H&R Block software that I bought seems to work pretty well overall, although it doesn't have some of the schedules I need.

I just wanted to announce the cheapest way to get TurboTax Premiere each year...

Open a checking or savings account with State Farm Bank and then use the provided link to get the download only version for $30.

I don't recommend using the online versions at all for various reasons.  For one thing they don't tell you what isn't supported until you try to enter it or how much it is going to cost until you get to the payment point because the pricing is not guaranteed.  And the second and more important is I don't trust Intuit to recognize their butthole from their piehole when it comes to security against hackers.  The way they have consistently destroyed Quicken inspires no vote from me!

That being said, I completely FUBAR up a Roth recharacterization for two separate years, so I had to file 4 amended returns one after another.  This was due to user error in not understanding the incredibly obtuse regulations and missing a second 1099 form that was included in a single PDF for a different tax year.  It was a nightmare to unravel, but in the end don't assume you're smarter than TurboTax unless it doesn't ask you a question you know it should be asking you.  It's smarter than you until proven otherwise.  However, it clearly failed at the job of dealing with recharacterizations since you have to write in all of the gory details and do all of the calculating yourself.