Manage updates with the Download AppTaxCut vs. TurboTax 2008 Video
TaxCut vs. TurboTax 2008 Video Transcript
[ Music ] ^M00:00:03
>> Finding your way to the right tax prep program is almost as complicated as doing the taxes themselves, so I'm going to make this as easy as I can. I'm Jessica Dolcourt from CNET Download.com with your First Look at two popular tax prep programs for your Windows and Mac computer, Intuit's Turbo Tax and HR Block's Tax Cut. Now, before we really dive on in there, both of these are solid programs that will take you through your tax preparation one step at a time, so you can't really go wrong either way. Also, both apps come with a handful of online and desktop versions. For both Tax Cut and Turbo Tax, you can import your previous year's tax return if it's stored on the same computer you're using for your 2008 taxes. Turbo Tax will automatically find returns you created with other tax programs, but not Tax Cut. Still, browsing for the file on your computer is pretty easy. Along the same lines as importing last year's tax returns to save time, both programs will scoop up financial data to keep you from having to retype it. Tax Cut is compatible with Microsoft Money, Quicken, and any other program that supports the tax exchange format, or TXF file type. Turbo Tax can also suck in data from Quicken and QuickBooks, but not from Microsoft Money. What it can do, however, is even better. When you enter in your employer identification number, Turbo Tax may be able to import your wages from your W2 form, which will save you additional typing and speed up the tax return process. In addition, Turbo Tax can enter any investment income information that you might have a broker, like if you profited from owning stocks or bonds. Turbo Tax supports a long list of financial institutions. If you received a 1099-DIV, 1099 B, or 1099 Inform in the mail, this could save you a lot of time. Sometimes when you do taxes, you're not exactly sure if you did it right, and if you should be worried about an audit. While Tax Cut and Turbo Tax both check for errors, Turbo Tax has a few more tax tools to reassure you. For example, it's got an audit risk meter that charts if you're likely to receive an audit based on your tax situation. What is more critical for most taxpayers is getting the help they need if they a question or a problem. For some of you, this could be one of your deciding factors in picking a tax app. In 2008, Tax Cut is offering one free session of live support with an agent for those of you who purchase one of their products. No matter how long it takes to answer that one question, they'll help you out. Additional topics will cost you another $20.00 each. Turbo Tax charges $30.00 for the first 20 minutes of phone time, and $20.00 for each additional 20-minute block. Hmm. But Turbo Tax also includes a peer support feature this year, where you can pose a question to the community or answer someone else's question. When it comes to representing yourself if you get audited, Turbo Tax again goes with the self-help route. There's a well organized audit support center that you can download, which will help you identify the kind of audit you received and will help you figure out how to respond. With Tax Cut, live help is free. You can call someone or go into one of the H&R Block offices near you to get one-on-one help. In case you need to show up in court, you can even ask one of H&R Block's tax pros to represent you. That last service will cost you $40.00 if you use Turbo Tax. But it will apply to only a minority of taxpayers. Despite all the live support, Tax Cut is a bit cheaper than Turbo Tax, however, it also has fewer convenience tools to import your wage information and any investment income you may have. Turbo Tax has those tools and takes you through your tax interview faster overall. It's also more clearly worded, and for those reasons, Turbo Tax is worth the extra money. For those of you who value a lot of one-on-one care, Tax Cut is going to be the better option, clearly. I preferred using Turbo Tax myself, but in terms of performance, they'll both do a good job walking you through your tax return and getting you your deductions. Either way you go, you'll also have to decide between the desktop app or an online app. Fortunately, this one's pretty simple. I'd choose the desktop version 9 times out 10 for both Tax Cut and Turbo Tax. You'll get five free federal E-Files with the desktop version instead of just one with the online version, and your tax information will be locally stored on your computer. It will also be a lot easier to import a previous year's tax return if you switch from one brand of tax prep software to another. There are also a few more hidden costs online if you buy the federal review, and then you'll have to buy the state review on top of that. Well, you made it through the video. Congratulations. I hope it'll help you decide which tax prep application is best for your need. I'm Jessica Dolcourt, and we've been comparing Tax Cut and Turbo Tax 2008. Merry tax time. ^M00:04:38 [ Music ]
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Sunday's Best: "Don't Let It Fade"
"There?s a fine line between stick-to-it-tiveness and self-delusion," quips Sunday?s Best drummer/producer Tom Ackerman, "and right now I think we?re happily confused as to where we stand." Seated next to lead singer/guitarist Ed Reyes, who smiles, Ackerman continues in the tone usually reserved for the telling of embarrassing childhood anecdotes, "we have endured a seriously tough winter: a horrible fall tour, the departure of a founding member and primary songwriter, the changing of booking agents, the quitting of our manager/lawyer, as well as my personal troubles of divorce and rehab. Most bands probably would have quit." A great deal of "Behind the Music" style antics have transpired in the last nine months for the Los Angeles-based quartet, despite their somewhat typical beginnings. Sunday?s Best formed in 1997 when Reyes met guitarist (and then drummer) Ian Moreno while working at KXLU, Los Angeles? seminal college radio station. Sunday?s Best first signed with crank! records and released the Where You Are Now EP, and hit the road. Then they signed to Polyvinyl Records and released their first full length, Poised to Break, in October of 2000. After a great run at college radio and some key high profile shows in New York, the band limped home from their 6 week Fall tour and then seemed to implode. Shortly after arriving home from tour, the booking agent and the band parted ways, the manager stopped calling, and Ackerman checked into rehab and his wife filed for divorce. To top everything off, before Ackerman could complete his rehab stay, Pedro Benito, a primary songwriter and founding member, resigned. The days ahead seemed pretty dark. "I thought I was going to be arrested any minute for forging prescriptions," explained Ackerman, "between that and the dissolve of my five year relationship/marriage, band matters seemed relatively distant in my overall perspective." And yet, in the months that followed, when things seemed the bleakest, the true character of the band was revealed. Reyes took over the business aspects of the band and switched to guitar, James Tweedy was added to play bass, and the band got back to doing what all good bands do: writing music. And with the help of a new booking agent Mike Kelly, the band has been playing West Coast dates since late February (with Dashboard Confessional, the Weakerthans, Cursive, the Juliana Theory). The band is about halfway through writing songs for the follow-up to Poised to Break, and has plans to record in the winter and tour in the fall. Reyes caps off the interview with his own thoughts of the bands resolve, "we just kind of stripped everything down and started having fun again. It?s not really all that epic if you consider we just did what friends usually do when the shit hits the fan: we stuck together.
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