TurboTax 2001 Premier

Installation of TurboTax Premier is quick, and a linked series of wizards helps users compile all the information they need. Back-and-forth navigation is simple; the software keeps track of which steps have been skipped and returns as necessary. Users who must pay state taxes need only type in their information once if they use a TurboTax state package (free after rebate with TurboTax Deluxe, Premier, or Home & Business).

First-time users would be well-advised to ask a knowledgeable friend to help out. Although much of the hard work is done automatically, some decisions are far from intuitive and may require some detective work. The copious online help functions are both smart (they often answer questions before they're asked) and thorough; this goes a long way toward easing users' troubled minds. Data entry is relatively painless, especially for returning users, who can port in last year's information and edit as needed. When it's all over, every form is printed out complete with everything but signatures, or users can opt for easy electronic filing.

If you own rental property or are a big investor, TurboTax Premier is probably your best option when it comes to tax prep software. Extra guidance for investors helps you handle capital gains and losses, while the Deduction Finder and new Audit Alerts are geared toward property owners who file Schedule E. This beefed-up version of TurboTax also includes an Office Expense Advisor for those who work out of a home office.

New features such as the 401(k) Maximizer help balance retirement investments and take-home pay so well that some users will find that their savings pays for the software many times over. The savings in stress and time are also well worth it for the rest of us. --Rob Lightner

Amazon.com Product Description
TurboTax Premier is Quicken's ultimate tool for preparing and managing taxes. It guides you through your return and helps you make the most of the new tax laws. New tax-slashing tools include 401(k) Maximizer, Year-to-Year Deduction Manager, and 10-Year Tax Forecaster. It also helps you manage the tax impact of your investments with extra guidance for capital gains and losses.

If you own rental properties, take advantage of the new Deduction Finder and Audit Alerts designed specifically for rental property owners who file Schedule E. Also new for rental property owners, the Depreciation Expert helps you determine the best way to depreciate assets and maximize your depreciation deduction. Office Expense Expert helps you identify which office expenses you can deduct, and Tax Advisors provides tips and information to save you money on taxes.

TurboTax Premier also includes all the money-saving advice in TurboTax Deluxe: official IRS publications, the new Tax Law Advisor, Money magazine's Income Tax Handbook, comprehensive tax planners, and more.

If you have rental property or other depreciating assets, those balances are also brought forward to the next year's return. For a Schedule C business, this is hard to top, carrying forward last year's business info. It also picks up all the previous year's W-2s and 1099s so you only have to fill in the new numbers. One helpful hint - try to have all your income and expense data handy when you start working, it will make the process go more quickly.

Although I never use the data import function from Quicken, I did create categories in Quicken that corrolate to the Schedule C categories on turbo tax. If you are meticulous about categorizing all your transactions in every account you use in Quicken, the import function will work quite well. I cross check a categorized report from Quicken and the enter the totals manually.

There are two approaches to use: the interview, which asks you questions about your sources of income and picks the forms you need, helping you fill them out by answering questions; and the forms method, which lets you just pick the forms you need and fill them out like they were in a typwriter. I prefer the interview method in general, but it is easy to toggle back and forth if you suddenly find a receipt for something you should have entered earlier. There is also a progress checklist that you can refer to to see where you are in the overall process.

One step that you should always do at the end is the error check routine. This will pickup any missing answers, even if they have no calculated value. This helps ensure an error-free return when you go to print or send it. You can file electronically and pay your taxes with a credit card this year.

The tax reference materials are great. You can look up the code and interpretations with court precidents to help guide you with expenses, deductions and the like. There are a few less-common forms missing from the software, but links to download them are available. I had poor luck finding the one I needed at Intuit, but it was, of course at the IRS site.

I can do a 30 page return in several hours, rather than the several days it took me to do it with paper, pencil and calculator in the pre-tax-software era. The faster you get it done, the more time you'll have to cry before you send another check to the government.


Big Problems In TurboTax Land   February 8, 2002
14 out of 16 found this review helpful

I found a serious problem in one of the forms in TurboTax. This problem would not allow me to complete my return. I verified the problem using Lasser's Tax book and also the IRS. Yet when I informed the maker's of TurboTax about the problem, they repeatedly refused to acknowledge it and, of course, would not agree to fix it. Wow! What an attitude.
This makes me doubt all of the calculations in TurboTax, and gives a reliability rating from me of zero.
In addition, there are several other problems as soon as one tries anything out of the ordinary. Here are some details of two of many problems in the program:
*On Form 8824, using an example straight out of Lasser's, if you enter the date 5/7/01 on line 4 and then enter the date 7/1/01 on line 5, the program will give you an error, saying that more than 45 days have elapsed. This is WRONG: exactly 45 days have elapsed, and this is confirmed by the example given in Lasser's.
*If you have a 1031 exchange, it is impossible to get the program to correctly calculate the appropriate depreciation for the new property in 2001. The program suggests you split the new property into two properties for the purpose of depreciation. This won't work because it can not deal with the fact that the relinquished property started depreciating long before the sale date, but only depreciation starting at the sale date counts for this calculation. Sound complicated? It is, and this is just what a decent program should help you with. Who needs a program for the simple stuff?
If you have anything but the simplest of returns, forget this software.


Like having a financial advisor on call 24/7   January 7, 2002
Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA)
34 out of 38 found this review helpful

It is just NOT possible to keep up with tax law changes and the intricacies of deductions without some kind of software. I've tried several competing tax softwares and I have definitely settled on TurboTax. Not only does it link seamlessly with Quicken, but it has a lot of extras that are extremely valuable.

Even if you have a tax accountant or tax preparer, TurboTax helps you understand your tax situation and organize your paperwork to make the most of the preparer's time (time IS money, after all.) And, since most of us have to manage our own retirement funds, the Premier edition has some incredibly useful tools to forecast tax and investment outcome not only this year, but down the road.

If you own rental property or take special deductions, the deluxe version allows you to run a "what-if" to see how robust your deduction is.

The premier version has much more help for the investor. Since most of us must manage our 401(k), the Maximizer, Year-to-Year Deduction Manager, and 10-Year Tax Forecaster are quite helpful--especially if you are nearing retirement age in a decade or less. It also helps you reduce the tax impact of your investments with vital information about capital gains and losses.

I think this is the best version yet.