Customer Reviews
Beware! Tax Cut installs adware on your computer. 
2008-04-13
Tax cut installs adware on your computer when you do the update. The adware is pdfedit995 and software 995. When I pay for a piece of software I don't expect to be bombarded with ads or have third party software installed in my computer asking me for more money. The adware is installed without any notice to you or option not to install it.
I will not be buying Tax Cut next year. I recommend choosing something else.
Very poor software if you're self-employed 2008-04-09
This is my second year of using Tax Cut, and I faced with the same problem, which I think it is from a poor setup of this software. We can finish e-filing smoothly but you can't be guided for the estimate tax withheld. I had to go 1040-ES and State-ES to find how much I should pay and manually find the form. My wife asked why I changed from Turbo Tax, and I could answer, "It's cheaper." She just laughed. Yes I was cheap and have to pay for being so.
Don't be like me, use Turbo Tax...
taxcut does the math wrong 
2008-04-06
Taxcut calculates the final refund incorrectly and is lower than turbotax. this is because taxcute prematurely rounds up all the "paid tax" numbers after the decimal point which results in lower refund value by $1.00. Every year, this is what is the difference in math between taxcut and turbotax. turbotax always gets you a $1 more in refund for exactly the same information you input into both the software programs.
They acknowledged the mistake last year and gave my money back when i sent them printouts of the calculations of taxcut vs turbotax for exactly the same data input.
Easy To Use But not good for State Taxes (in Vermont at least). 
2008-04-01
I like this program - in general - much more than Turbo Tax because it installs fully the first time without "problems" and it is very easy to use!
However - for Vermont, where there is a property tax "prebate" that residents must know to apply for...TaxCut does not have the forms one needs AND they do not tell you you need the forms. SO - I would never get the $550 "prebate" that I was entitled to this year, except that I knew about it from previous tax filings.
Also, it bothers me that in order to get my "prebate" I had to fill out downloaded forms by hand after searching for needed information in my files and using a calculator to get some needed totals. To me, this is NOT what I should have to do after spending over $65 for a Fed./State/e-filing program!!!
Besides, if Turbo Tax can fill out these forms automatically and have these same forms in its State of Vermont Tax Program - what is wrong with TaxCut doing the same thing??? (I chatted online with TaxCut's customer support about this problem and they told me (a week ago) that there would be no updates to their Vermont program and that they "do not include all needed forms" in their program.)
NOW, wouldn't you think it is important to know about and be able to file forms HS-122 and HS-144 when you might get $500 or more back for submitting them?
What does this say about TaxCut and their completeness of tax preparation software?
What does this say about TaxCut's concern for their customers????
It tells ME that I need to go back to Turbo Tax next year - even with its installation problems - and save myself the hassle of handwriting information on self-downloaded and self-printed forms and not have to print an envelope and stamp it -- from now on!!
I was very disappointed with TaxCut and it's "help."
On-Line filing was easy and quick.
ITIN efile validation bug 2008-04-01
In Taxcut website customer surport page, they claim the valid range for an ITIN is ***-70_*** to ***-80-***. However, the IRS website publishes the range as ***-70-*** to ***-88-***. This out-of-date info in Taxcut software is preventing people (with ITIN range between ***-81-*** and ***-88-***) from e-filing the tax returns. I called Taxcut twice, and pointed out this problem, but the support people were either too ignorant of the ITIN number and software update routines, or just gave me some wierd unhelpful solutions, such as delete the number, close the software, wait for 5 minutes, then try again. I am having little hope that Taxcut will fix this problem this year, and I can only do a paper-filing now even though I paid for the version with e-file included. Also, thinking of all the trouble I have to go through to get a refund, I don't even want to bother.
Very reliable product 
2008-04-27
I have been using Tax Cut for many years and I am very satisfied with it.
Watch out for adware/malware and whatever else 2008-04-27
I was angry to find out, after an update/file, that taxCut installed a piece of software called pdf995 on my machine without my permission. If you've installed TaxCut, do yourself a favor and do not launch pdf995. It's adware at a minimum and it could be malware. TaxCut, since they installed it, has to be considered adware/malware by association. As a user of TaxCut, I have to ask: What else did you install on my system w/o my consent? What files are you transmitting that I don't know about?
helpful for the experienced 2008-04-17
do not recommend for independent contractors or for those without in depth prior knowledge of filing taxes. very easy to use, but professionals can find more ways for you to save money than the program clues you in to.
E-Filing "Free" or not??? 2008-04-17
Ok...I'm one of those "last minute" guys with taxes, so, I need to use "E-Filing"....where the taxes are submitted to both the Federal Gov't. and your State Gov't.. Having said that, I've used TaxCut for about 10 years...maybe longer. I always get the "Camry" cd in the mail months before filing time. Yes..."Explore" the cd...the program is called, "Camry."
Anyway...I've always remembered the software being REASONABLY priced at around $35 or so for both Federal & State with "FREE" E-filing; this year...it was $69.95!
I had put the "Camry" cd in and and it says the program for both Fed. & State is $39.95...I can deal with that, I thought. THEN, it says if you want to E-File, you'll need to add a charge of $30.00! VERY unreasonable considering the fees charged in the past. However, I needed to forge ahead seeing as I'm down to the wire.
Fast-forward: I'm about to E-File and this notice comes up in the software which says I can use a code to get the "E-Filing" for free...What?!?!? Didn't I just get charged $30 for E-Filing?
I used the "free" code it gave me and filed both Fed. & State taxes...no problem. I thought, "Maybe they won't charge me for the extra $30 then..." Nope...I saw a charge of $69.95 on my credit card. When the "Free" code was mentioned in the software, it said each E-Filing fee was/is $19.95 (?). Let's see: $30 charge for E-filing, then Free E-Filing totaling almost $40....doesn't make any sense. Double-talk??
I contacted customer support; I looked all over the site for an email-contact, but they don't have one; it's either phone or real-time chat. Anyway...I did the chat and we stayed on for about an hour. I Just wanted to know why I was being charged $30 extra this year if I got a code in the software for "Free" E-filing. It wasn't really explained why the weird wording ("$30 for E-Filing," then later, "use this code to get E-Filing for free"). They shouldn't be charging for E-Filing at all and I don't recall them having charged for it in the past. Last year, I believe there was a little notice in the cd jacket which gave the code for "free" E-filing.
I will continue to use these guys...as I'm familiar with the software and all of my information is carried forward, etc.. It's good software and is easy to use...details explained, terms, etc.. However....
I gave 3 stars for the "double-talk" on the E-filing fees ($30 for E-filing, then later, "It's free")...and the lack of being able to EMAIL the company, have them research and answer on their own time...as opposed to me having to sit on the pc for an extra hour going back and forth about it.
Who knows? Maybe a new tax-software contender will step into the ring and "keep it honest."
Package missing key code for e-file 2008-04-15
After ordering this in February (so it's past the return period) we discovered this evening that this item is missing the keycode required to e-file. The instructions say the keycode is printed on the CD sleeve, but nothing is printed on the CD sleeve.
Fortunately, there's still time to print and mail a paper return, but we PAID FOR a package that included e-file, and we're not very happy about not getting it. If H&R Block can't do any better than this, we'll be looking for a new tax preparation program next year. If you bought this and are planning on e-filing tomorrow night, you'd better check and make sure there's a key code in your package, or you might be making a mad dash to the post office.
