TaxACT has both an interview-mode (called "Q&A" on the navigation toolbar) and a forms-mode for data entry. Switching to the forms can speed up the data entry for taxpayers who feel comfortable working directly with the tax forms. TaxACT's consistent interface from year to year helps users to navigate through the software quickly and easily.
What's Different about TaxACT
TaxACT, like other tax software, enables you to input all your financial information and calculate your taxes. Also similar is TaxACT's interview format and tabbed navigation bar, providing quick access to areas you want to work on.The top tax software companies are offering extra help with tax questions. 2nd Story Software is providing tax help by phone at no additional charge to users of the Deluxe or Ultimate versions of the software. By contrast, TurboTax is using a live community to answer tax and software questions. Users of TaxCut Premium get one session with an H&R Block advisor by phone.
TaxACT also uses your tax return information to prepare a college financial aid worksheet. This will help parents and students in filling out their FAFSA applications. No other tax software offers assistance with the FAFSA, so this is a real bonus.
Drawbacks to TaxACT
TaxACT seems to be a little slow when it comes to data entry. For example, the data entry for the W-2 form is spread out over nine screens. By comparison, TaxCut has one input screen for the W-2 data, which to me seems easier because I can tab through the fields and enter the information quickly.I have been accustomed to entering numerical data, such as dates, without any formatting. TaxACT will automatically round cents into dollars and will add hyphens to Social Security Numbers, but requires users to enter slashes in date fields. This may sound overly picky, but a tweak here could save some time.
While the interface is not as slick as TurboTax or TaxCut, I was able to find where to enter tax data more easily using TaxACT's navigation bar.
Comparison of TurboTax Premier and TaxACT Deluxe
The following is a comparison of TurboTax Premier and TaxACT Deluxe.TaxACT was faster and just as thorough as TurboTax. Both TaxACT and TurboTax caught a data entry error on my W-2 (a common mistake), and prompted me to verify my data. TaxACT's depreciation interview is a little cumbersome, while TurboTax handles business assets and depreciation with relative ease. TaxACT Deluxe does not have a 401(k) Maximizer, but TurboTax lacks the FAFSA worksheets.
TaxACT Product Versions
The standard version of TaxACT contains the federal tax modules. The Deluxe version adds context-sensitive tax tips from JK Lasser, advice for life changes, free technical support by phone, and FAFSA worksheets. The Ultimate version is the same as the Deluxe version, but adds one state tax module.Desktop software:
- TaxACT Standard (free for federal tax return, extra $13.95 for each state tax return)
- TaxACT Deluxe ($12.95 for federal tax return, extra $13.95 for each state tax return)
- TaxACT Ultimate Bundle ($19.95 for federal and one state tax return)
- TaxACT Standard (free for federal tax return, extra $13.95 for each state tax return)
- TaxACT Deluxe ($9.95 for federal tax return, extra $13.95 for each state tax return)
- TaxACT Ultimate Bundle ($16.95 for federal and one state tax return)
