TurboTax Premier 2024 Tax Software, Federal & State Tax Return [PC/MAC Download]

I have been using TurboTax for many, many years - at least 20 and probably longer. I use it on a Mac and the only issues I've had are with the need to constantly update the MacOS to get TurboTax to work; in one case I had to upgrade my desktop computer to make TurboTax work, but that was a price I was willing to pay to be able to make the taxes (relatively) simple and quick to do.I like the integration of all the pieces - automatic downloads from investment managers like Fidelity; this eliminates a lot of error-prone data entry. Care must be taken however - if you download two people's data and you share a common brokerage account, make sute you only select an account once when you incorporate it in TurboTax.I'm now firmly "in the eco-system" of TurboTax so I know its foibles and oddities; but if I stand back and evaluate it more objectively, I think the interface, while useable, is a bit clunky. TAB keys should sometimes behave a bit differently as should the RETURN key on the keyboard. Eventually, I hope Intuit rethinks the user interface a bit to make it more modern and graphic.If you own corporate bonds, there is one 'gotcha' I haven't found a work-around for. Bond owners of course have taxable interest to report. They also have the requirement that any premium paid over par to acquire the bond (this is quite frequent) be amortized over the life of the bond. The math for this is quite complicated, but fortunately, at least for Fidelity customers, the amount is calculated for you and included in your year-end report. TurboTax can handle this, but it cannot simultaneously handle any accrued interest paid at the time of purchase; this must be manually entered. Finding a place and a way to do so is tricky in my opinion, and it's such a basic part of bond ownership I can't understand why TurbotTax doesn't make that a stand-alone entry line.I find the help screens and texts of limited usefulness. It may be terminology but I don't seem to find an answer on the first try and frequently wind up scanning the forums for answers, which is risky because people like me are posting their own experiences and opinions on the forums, and you must make absolutely sure you are following the tax law.To be fair, I haven't done my 2024 taxes yet, so my comments are based on my history with TurboTax up to 2023. I will report later if there are new or resolved issues.The download was smooth and worked great; immediately after the download you are directed to go to the TurboTax website and download updates. This, too was seamless.I haven't tried the competitive proucts so my comments relate only to my experience with TurboTax.

I don't qualify for their "free" service. I've been using TurboTax since the old "Lotus 1-2-3 compiled spreadsheet" days. (Yes I'm an old dinosaur) It's always easy to use and makes the complexities of IRS easy to navigate. It has helped me find deductions that I'd probably have missed without it. I'm a longtime customer and I don't plan to change.

We have used TurboTax for years - as millions of other folks have. Overall, it is relatively easy to use in most instances to navigate a path through the infamous IRS labyrinth. You can proceed on your own or you can be guided through the process - and you can jump back and forth. Many of the IRS forms are virtually impossible for anyone to easily comprehend - even tax accountants - and TurboTax can lessen the pain a bit on the most egregious villains. Our returns are typically pretty straightforward and relatively easy, and it really aggravates me that a product like TurboTax is even needed. So much for venting; we will use it again next year.I would recommend you double check the AGI produced by TurboTax against the published IRS tax tables to be sure the proper ones are being used. A valuable lesson learned there!

After 2 hours of inputting all the info, it went through all the checks and showed that it was error-free and ready to file, but at the very last step after click "send", the attached error came up. Another couple hours online and on the phone, transferred from "experts' to "tech support" to "desktop desk support", all the people are just reading off whatever manuals they have, but no one can actually solve the issue, so finally the last guy send me a link to request for a refund and said to to retry the online version. I am now in the process to try to get my refund, but since I also purchased "Audit Defense" and "State Tax" while amidst using this software, so whether I can get my money back remains to be seen. I am not optimistic considering how no one at TurboTax seems to know how to deal with any problems if its not in the manual.The story continues as I then used the online version and below are my observations:1. The online version detected an error that a 1099-INT issued by Goldman Sachs (ie. Apple Card Savings) in the addresses where the zip code and state don't match, however, since this is a scanned form uploaded to TurboTax, you cannot actually make any changes or corrections. I finally found a solution which is to simply delete this 1099-INT and re-enter the amount myself manually WITHOUT uploading the document. I'm guessing (but not sure) this was the error that caused the Desktop version to fail, because the online version only caught it at the final review and did not show the error throughout the entire process until the very end.2. The online version insists that maximum IRA contribution is $23000 but does not allow for the extra $7500 for people over 50 and makes you click through bunch of penalty screens that made no sense. This did not show up in the desktop version.3. The final amount of refund is about $1500 difference. The online version had lower refund from the state than desktop version, but Federal remain the same.It gets better, I also tried the "Full Service" version just to see if they can do better when they assign an "expert" to do it for you . The short answer is NO, they cannot, DON"T WASTE YOUR MONEY!! The first person seems to knowledgeable, but after 45 minutes of going through the numbers, he suddenly said he just got a pop-up saying that my account got re-assigned to someone else, so after couple hours of trying to find out what happened though the "helpdesk", again, no one knows what's going on so blamed it on "Computer glitch" and said I had restart and get another "expert" assigned. So I did, and the second "expert" has no clue, she was ready for me to review and sign the return when I reminded her that she never asked me about the home sale and purchase and capital gains, even though she has all the documents uploaded in front of her. Her reply was that she was not qualified to do that and would have to transfer my return to a CPA and will get back to me next week. Imagine the consequences if you didn't ask that question...In any case, TurboTax is going backwards over the years, they are simply a high volume and low service outfit now that spends all their effort in upselling all the collateral products instead of focusing on the core software. I strongly recommend try other alternatives this year if it's not too late for you. You've been warned.