TaxCut 2004 Deluxe [Old Version] :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Gets the job done in straight-forward situations

2005-12-07
As with all software, the user interface and its workflow has its quirks. Some of it you may find counter-intuitive and not very helpful.

But if you have a fairly straight-forward tax situation and you already know what you are supposed to do tax-wise, then this is a convinient alternative to pen/paper and a lot cheaper than going to a specialist when you send in all the rebates.

I was very disappointed

2005-08-15
My mother worked for H&R Block for many years, so I have no personal problem with them.

I have not used the 2004, but I just quit working on the 2002 edition. I got halfway through my return (20 hours work) and I finally quit. The numbers were incorrect, but I did not notice until the last few entries.

I have rental properties and, even though I entered the information where it belonged, it somehow got transferred elsewhere. All of my real estate taxes got moved from where they belonged to form A. Entering the information directly onto the tax forms required me to override every single step (3 mouse clicks, I think?). Also, I was not able to go to help and figure out what my standard mileage cost was, so it took me considerable time to go through their mileage dialogue boxes when all I wanted was standard mileage.

I had used Turbo Tax in previous years and was not unhappy with them; however, I had heard that Turbo Tax put spyware on the computer, and that it was difficult to install on more than one computer, so I decided to opt for a change. TaxCut was cheaper, and I figured there would really be no difference (I used Parson's tax software years ago and liked them until they stopped making that program). Anyway, at least for year 2002, TaxCut is much worse than Turbo Tax and Parson's old tax program. The big problem is, it puts information in the wrong place; and I have been doing my own taxes for 20 years, so it is not a mistake which I am making.

I downloaded TaxAct just a moment ago; it is cheaper than either turbo tax or taxcut, and so far, it behaves just like it is supposed to. I have been entering some info by their prompts and other info directingly onto the tax forms, and, except for the fact that the auto-save requires me to hit the hardreturn every time, other than that, I really like TaxAct. It is functioning exactly how it is supposed to. Furthermore, I have entered in a couple of properties and printed it out, and everything is going where it belongs.

I'll never use TaxCut again!

2005-08-05
What terrible customer service! Here's a brief description of what happened to me.

TaxCut said the State of Maryland would deduct my taxes owed from my SAVINGS account - then, around the middle of MAY - I get a letter from the state saying they only deduct from CHECKING accounts - along with a fine and penalty. So, I look and that fact is on their web site! Silly me - I trusted TaxCut. When I present this in a claim to the company they reply that it's not a processing error or an arithmetic error, so my claim is denied. How odd. Even a simple man like me can see that, in fact that's not even the issue! It's a FACTUAL error, an INFORMATIONAL error. DID ANYONE THERE BOTHER TO READ MY CLAIM? Any company that treats its customers that way will certainly not get any more of my business.

Problems with TaxCut

2005-04-24
I have been using taxcut for 6 years. This year it dropped one of my deductions. The child was listed in the interview and appeared to be included, but was not submitted in the e-filing. This is pathetic. NEVER USE THIS PRODUCT.

I will never use Tax Cut again

2005-04-22
A new addition to this year's version (when filing electronically), allows H&R Block's bank (HSBC Bank) to check your social security number with other select banks to see if you have defaulted on any loans. If you are due for a refund, they will use the refund to pay off the debt and give you the balance. I didn't see any problem with this since I have not defaulted on anything in my life. However, Bank One advised HSBC that there was an overdue loan (from 1992!) with my social security number. Since the loan did not have my name or address, Bank One's response was that it must be identity theft (I believe Bank One made a data entry error - God knows they probably can't locate the paperwork for a loan that's 13 years old). In order to prove the loan is not mine, I had to send Bank One my social security card, birth certificate, marriage certificate, tax return, and a letter from the Social Security Administration. I had to put out a fraud alert with the Social Security Administration and the 3 credit bureaus. In addition, I had to file a report with the Federal Trade Commission and the police. I am still waiting for Bank One to correct their records so I can get my refund back! Next step - lawyer!
If you must use Tax Cut - DO NOT FILE ELECTRONICALLY! Print your return and mail it in!

software Just okay, beware of rebate

2005-04-16
Kiplinger TaxCut Deluxe 2004 . TaxCut Deluxe 2004 puts you in control of your federal taxes like never before. Deluxe is packed with resources to help you take advantage of the newest tax breaks and save money on your taxes.

TaxCut Deluxe 2004 Features:

Error Check automatically reviews for common errors
Step-by-step guidance for filing Federal tax returns
Take advantage of the newest tax breaks and save money
Kiplinger's tax and financial planning library up-to-date IRS publications
Retirement savings enhancer helpful tax-law assistants

This year's TaxCut has major flaw in AMT (alternative minima

2005-04-16
This years taxcut has major flaw in for 6251 (AMT) line 7. It doubles the state tax refund deduction, and will cause you big trouble with IRS if you are subject to AMT.
There are other issues with TaxCut too. My e-file was repeated rejected due to TaxCut mistakes (asking me to delete a form that was empty etc). Customer service people are nice but clueless. Had to paper file.
Also there is a 30 day limit on rebate for state. I preordered in Dec and opened in Feb after my w-2 arrived, and I could not qualify. The money back garantee is a joke.

Avoid Taxcut

2005-04-15
Taxcut Deluxe gets the award for the worst experience I have had filling out Taxes. I have used previous versions of Turbotax and Taxcut and felt that these were comparable programs -- they did not always give the same results -- but after some tweaking you could figure out waht was going on.
This year's version of Taxcut has made me swear not to use their product again. First, I had trouble getting the rebates. OK, no big deal.
Then I got a host of warnings when filling in the K-1 forms that turned out to be spurious -- they added stress.
Where I had questions, the program was largely unresponsive. Several times, asking for IRS instructions brought up absolutely nothing. Instructions for Schedule C did not bring up business codes.
I needed to file as non-resident in 1 state and resident in another. The program asks me if I would like to buy another state. The second state cost me an additional $25 -- I felt that this was high given that I had basically 1 item of income to report. Never mind, I thought, it is worth getting it for the convenience of electronic filing (another$15.95, incidentally). After I got through the entire process and got to e-filing the program would only let me e-file a single state return. After poking around I discovered from the help menu that TAXCUT can ONLY file ONE state return per federal return -- completely ridiculous -- a waste of time and money.

I found that several people offer Excel based federal and state tax forms on the web. Next year I plan to retreat to that method, since at least you are clear on the formulae and other things being used by the program and there is an ability to directly consult IRS forms. I may also give the other tax programs a look

DON'T BUY IT

2005-04-12
The problems with this program as well as all the others by H&R Block are too numerous to mention here, but take it from someone who learned the hard way, don't waste your money on this product.

I reported bugs in both the federal and state editions 3 years ago and they STILL haven't been corrected. One of which is the employer ID number allows for 14 characters but some employers have 15 or more. Another, if you go back and make a correction and forget to TELL the program to recalculate, everything that follows, including your taxs due or your refund amount will be incorrect. Isn't this what you pay for? A program that ELIMINATES errors instead of creating them? If you buy this product, DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR RETURN.

Used Turbo Tax in the past - switched to Tax Cut this year

2005-04-11
I made the sad mistake of switching to HR Block Tax Cut this year after using Turbo Tax for the past several years. WHAT A MISTAKE!!!
Fortunately I have some accounting experience. The mistakes were rampant, examples: It copied all the expenses I had put in for a rental property I own and ADDED them to a small Royalty payment I get from a oil stock. The result of that was a major error (underpayment) in my taxes. I went in and had to manually fix that and discovered it had ignored the depreciation on my rental property. When I tried to do the State Tax I discovered that there were many errors (never asked in the "worksheet" interview such as PERA payments my wife made that are credits, nor did it ever give the state credit for pension payments. To call them about anything cost $10 a call. Be forewarned.... DONT USE TAX CUT!!! It is really a lousy program!!