Both tax preparation applications use an interview format, supplying users with fields to plug in numbers. If the taxpayer has made the most of money management software, such as Quicken or Microsoft Money, flagging tax-related items and entering income and expenses correctly, tax programs will import the data they need to fill in many of the blanks. Both will prepare an electronic, paper or PC-format return. Users of tax software in the past can import data from last year's return, saving repetitive data entry. Quicken TurboTax Deluxe consistently beats the competition in the interview department.
Questions are unambiguous, so the information gets to the right place.
If there's the slightest doubt about the meaning of the question, buttons, video clips and links will hold your hand. You'll be quizzed further about how hands-on a business owner you are. TurboTax's big new feature this year is the Automated Tax Return. Taxpayers can import W-2, and 1099 information from participating institutions directly into their tax returns. Allied institutions include payroll companies, brokerage houses and mutual fund companies.