TurboTax Basic 2004 [Old Version] :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

TurboTax Spyware

2006-04-07
In response to questions regarding TurboTax & Spyware.
Judge for yourself before buying this product by doing a search using "turbotax" and "C-Dilla".

Look at the results from legitimate sites...

I will not purchase any product from any company who uses or has used hidden spyware of this caliber in their products. PLEASE do the same. Money talks very loud. Again, please take 5 minutes & judge for yourself. I chose 2 stars due to the fact I must select something & this is close to the mean.

Turbo Tax Basic? Not!

2006-01-11
When I purchased Turbo Tax software basic, I had tried Turbo Tax before in the previous of tax years. When I first started out, I could definitely tell the difference from doing the job by hand. I received more money back from my return than I would have done so by hand using my state's 1040EZ form. The program went well the first couple of years. Suddenly, this previous year, after a purchase from Wal-Mart I began to have problems:

* Trying to install the software was a major hassle. The security code that came with the software purchase did not work and after weeks worth of e-mailings I finally got to install the software completely.

* After the installation and performing all of the work and calculations, I STILL did not receive the kind of deducted refund expected from the bank (after paying bank charges and tax fees) which had taken over half of my refund.

Turbo Tax Basic an excellent software...asta la vista, baby! I am going to Tax Cut this year!

Not all tax programs are equal

2005-04-12
We used TurboTax for a couple of years then switched to TaxCut on the advice of friends. We were amazed at how much more money TaxCut saved us! TaxCut is more knowledgeable when it comes to making the most of ones deductions. We are sorry we didn't switch last year.

I should have filled out forms by hand.

2005-04-06
I guess TurboTax is a *little* bit better than filling out forms by hand. I've used TaxCut the last few years and found its interface fine, if not spectacular. I decided to try TurboTax this year because I got the Mac and PC version on one disc and I wasn't sure which computer I was going to do taxes on yet. While both programs cover a lot of the same ground in the same way, I keep running into extremely frustrating aspects of TurboTax. For example:

* Several times, I have been asked to calculate amounts myself. Didn't I buy software so I wouldn't have to do that?

* A few times I have been given cryptic choices on how I want my obligations computed. In TaxCut, these would always have a recommendation ("We recommend not claiming the dog as a dependent").

* To get actual advice with TurboTax, it costs a minimum of $29.99 and you must sign up on their webpage. TaxCut provides enough answers to questions with the software that I've never had to call their (free) advice line.

* Some things just aren't included with the program. For example, I donated a lot of furniture to charity this last year. I had to compute the resale value for everything myself. There's a utility for TurboTax which computes values for you. You can order it off the website for $20 (more than TurboTax costs).

None of these are show stoppers, really. But they are significant slower-downers. I definitely haven't saved any time and money this year because of purchasing TurboTax and in the past four years, I've felt that I *did* save time and money by using TaxCut. And that's the bottom line.

Don't Let the Reviews Scare You, Turbotax is Still Great

2005-04-05
I was reluctant to buy Turbotax again this year because of all the negative reviews. I decided taking a chance with Turbotax was still more desirable than paying someone to do my taxes for me, though, so I bought it anyway. It worked perfectly. I had no problems loading or using the software. However, I do recommend downloading the updates; they must be there for a reason.

Did the trick for me

2005-04-03
TURBOTAX BASIC V2004 WIN/MAC

AVOID THIS PRODUCT -- VERY BAD

2005-03-25
I have used Turbo Tax for the past 3 years, and have loved it. It was easy to install, pretty straightforward to use.

So when I sat down to install 2004, I didn't give it a second thought. However, the product developers probably need to go back to school on this one, and the manufacturer needs to issue a major apology to everyone who has tried to use this.

I consider myself way above average on the computer skills side. I could not get the product to load on a Compaq with Windows ME operating system. I kept getting error messages to install a second disk. It only comes with one.

I took it to another machine, and tried installing it on a Dell with Windows XP-Professional Edition. Here too, it would not install properly. It indicated that the installation was finished. However, it didn't install several files needed to make it work. It downloaded an update. You have to turn your computer off, then back on to install the update. The update wouldn't install. In fact the computer stalled. Had to reboot again, and start from scratch.

Since I was unable to install the product on either machine, I can't tell you how it handles the routines of calculating your income tax. My guess is that it is very error prone. If you used Turbo Tax, I'd pay an accountant to review your numbers to see that they are correct. Then I'd send the bills to Turbo Tax.

For me, I'm now checking out other products.
Since it won't install on either machine

Version degradation

2005-03-04
I've happily used TTax Basic for four years - but this year the functionality is much narrower than in past years, forcing a Premier upgrade to get some of the stock and Schedule C options.
2004 was my last year with TurboTax. Goodbye!

Not worth the time invested and money wasted on e-filing

2005-02-27
After following the customized interview for Turbo Tax Deluxe Federal, and State, I was asked if I wanted to e-file (which I replied "yes"). It took all my bank and visa information, successfully sent my returns onto IRS for review (needed to wait 24-48 hours for acceptance/rejection notification), but when it printed out the forms no routing number and account information was on the returns!

Then I was rejected and asked to send through the information again. I didn't have to input a thing...it was all there to begin with, just kept pressing the "continue" button. A promise was made that no charges would be incurred, but it also stated that there would be a charge of $14.95 for State e-filing. I opted to print and mail the returns.

So, out $29.98 for e-filings that were rejected. We'll see if Intuit will be prompt in sending my rebates. They have you jump through many hoops, therefore lots of room for errors.

Jill
Portland, OR

caveat emptor

2005-02-26
This is a review of the Mac version of TT Basic from a first time user. My beef is with customer service, which in my opinion is part and parcel of the product.

I've had a problem getting the program to include deductions to a SEP IRA (Form 8880). Talked to a customer service rep who had no experience with the Mac platform, so he wasn't any help. He promised a callback that evening, I'm still waiting. Moreover, I got an email stating that they had tried to contact me but I wasn't home (this after being on the phone with the rep for approx 30 minutes!). Emailed customer support again (restating the problem) and specifically asked the issue to be resolved by a person familiar with the Mac platform. Within 24 hours, got an email response with suggestions on how to solve problem. However, none of the suggestions helped. Seems there might be a problem with the program. However, I can't definitively rule out lameness on my part at this point. Hence, more calls to customer service in my future.

For the most part, I liked the program and would have given it 4 stars. However, this issue with getting the deductions right and questionable customer "service" is very annoying.

Bottom line: buy it if you've fortunate enough to be filing a "straightforward" return. If you ever need cusomer service and you use a Mac, good luck. Also, not sure why there have to be so many updates - not that big a deal if you have a highspeed connection, but I imagine this would be a real pain if you have a dial-up connection.