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Very quick and easy for simple tax returns, and great step-by-step interview questions for handling more complex tax returns. TurboTax Premier is highly recommended for accurate preparation of your tax return. I finished a complex tax return in about 60 minutes on the Web, compared to 2 hours on the PC. A simple tax return is even faster: 10 minutes using TurboTax Essentials.

Pros:

TurboTax Online is amazingly fast for simple, straightforward tax returns. It took me only 10 minutes, from start to finish, to complete a federal and state tax return for a single person with one W-2 using the new TurboTax 1040EZ product. TurboTax even caught a data entry typo I made. This is a common tax preparation mistake, and TurboTax quickly prompted me to verify my numbers to make sure everything was correct. TurboTax Premier, Intuit's premium-version tax software, handled my demanding complex tax scenario smoothly. Their step-by-step interview questions were clear, appropriate, and not too overwhelming. The Web version of Premier has all the same features as the CD-ROM version, such as the cost basis guide, depreciation guide, and fair rental value comparison, making Premier a valuable business tool and not just a nifty tax program. If you need to set up business assets, you will find TurboTax offers a great set-by-step approach to depreciation. A definite plus is TurboTax Premier's 401(k) Maximizer.

Using my W-2 data, TurboTax Premier said, "you can increase your 401(k) contribution ? without reducing your take-home pay." This is a great feature, and provides an action plan I can definitely go for.

Cons:

TurboTax Online has very few drawbacks. It did take me 60 minutes to complete my complex tax return. The interview felt a little too long. Not all federal and state tax forms were available for testing. TurboTax alerted me that their forms for casualty losses and net operating losses were not yet updated. Compared to no alerts (TaxCut) or a cryptic warning (TaxACT), TurboTax anticipated my needs and told me to wait for the next software update.

Glitches:

Using the tab key to move to the next data entry box does not work on Mozilla or Firefox. (The tab key works fine on Internet Explorer.) The data input screens do not seem to scroll when using the Opera web browser. I recommend using Internet Explorer when using TurboTax Online. Not all IRS forms were updated at the time of testing.
Comparison of TurboTax Premier and TaxCut Premium:

TaxCut was faster, but TurboTax more accurate. TaxCut did not prompt me to make a Net Operating Loss election, but TurboTax did. (This is not a common tax situation.) TaxCut Premium does not have a 401(k) Maximizer, a feature I found absolutely incredible in TurboTax Premier.

Special Offers and other Add-ons

TurboTax offers the following added services:

• Import from Quicken (free),
• 401k Maximizer (free),
• ItsDeductible software add-on (free in TurboTax Deluxe and Premier) for tracking itemized deductions,
• Professional Review (extra $49.95) to have a tax professional review the tax return,
• Audit Defense (extra $34.95 federal, $5 state) to have a tax professional defend your tax return in an audit,
• Refund Bonus Dollars (extra $29.95) to purchase gift cards with your tax refund.

Testing Methods:

TurboTax Online was thoroughly tested using three different tax scenarios.

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