Should I use Turbotax or go to HR BLock?

[Anonymous]

$550,000 mortgage
$80,000 home equity loan
charitable contributions
about $100,000 taxable investments (mutual funds)
IRA's
401Ks

Paid the AMT for the last 10 years.

Nothing too complicated but I'm a little nervous about doing it myself. Any advise? Has anyone used a particularly competent agent from HR Block?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$550,000 mortgage
$80,000 home equity loan
charitable contributions
about $100,000 taxable investments (mutual funds)
IRA's
401Ks

Paid the AMT for the last 10 years.

Nothing too complicated but I'm a little nervous about doing it myself. Any advise? Has anyone used a particularly competent agent from HR Block?

You sound like a classic case for Turbotax. There is nothing out of the ordinary about your case and nothing so complex that it isn't a standard part of Turbotax. I've used Turbotax for 20 years and at for several years had significantly more complexity than you and it was still standard enough for Turbotax. Now, my taxes are much closer to yours and it's easy. It's harder to get all of the documentation I'll need than to sit down and actually run through Turbotax.

[Anonymous]

I really liked TaxAct. Started out with Turbotax but moved on to Tax Act at taxact.com. I have the same tax issues as you do except for the home equity loan.

[Anonymous]

I use Taxact, too. If you use their online service and realize you need a professional, it won't cost you anything. They charge when you file or print.

[Anonymous]

Definitely TurboTax!

[Anonymous]

Agree with TurboTax (full disclosure -- used to work for Intuit). TT Premier is the best version if you have investments. This year, TT has a free service and you can call to get your questions answered by real CPA's, tax attorneys and enrolled agents. From what I understand, the preparers at H&R Block just have to take a course. You are much better off with TT. Also, I highly recommend buying the disc (or downloading it from the website) as opposed to using the software online. The disc (known as the desktop version) allows you to see where your information goes on the forms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with TurboTax (full disclosure -- used to work for Intuit). TT Premier is the best version if you have investments. This year, TT has a free service and you can call to get your questions answered by real CPA's, tax attorneys and enrolled agents. From what I understand, the preparers at H&R Block just have to take a course. You are much better off with TT. Also, I highly recommend buying the disc (or downloading it from the website) as opposed to using the software online. The disc (known as the desktop version) allows you to see where your information goes on the forms.

Agree with Turbotax, but chances are you don't need premiere. You certainly don't need it if you didn't sell investments, and you probably don't need it even if you did. I generally find you can do fine with onelevel less than TT recommends (i.e. basic instead of deluxe, deluxe instead of premier).