TurboTax 2001 Deluxe

The included official IRS publications have been updated, giving you instant access to information direct from the source. Get special tax-saving tools to help you save money in the future. TurboTax Deluxe for Mac gives you a tax savings action plan filled with tips customized to your tax situation. You can print it out and refer to it all year. Plus, Life Events Planner lets you see in advance how major life event changes will affect your tax situation, and Tax Strategy Manager reveals smart tax strategies to reduce your tax burden.

The complete tax library includes more than 1,000 pages of easy-to-find onscreen references, Money magazine's Income Tax Handbook, a tax Q&A, and video tax advice from top financial experts. Instant data entry automatically retrieves W-2 wages, 1098 mortgage interest, and 1099 investment data from participating employers and financial institutions, then enters it in the right forms, eliminating manual data entry and simplifying tax preparation.

And it seems the more you own and/or the more you make, the more complicated it becomes... especially if you want to write off the bags of clothes you donated to your church or the money you just gave to your favorite non-profit.

Installing the application just takes a couple of minutes. All you have to have with you when you start the application is:

1.) Your name (you hopefully know this one)
2.) Your social security number (your card, if you don't have this memorized)
3.) All of your end of year statements from your bank(s), places of employment, mortgage company, stockbroker, etc.
4.) All tax-deductable receipts.

Depending on how you answer certain questions, you will be taken from one screen to another, and "interviewed" by different tax professionals that explain why a certain item can be written off and why another one can't. At any time, you can click on a help button to get a context-sensitive video explaining the area in question.

They continue to update this software after January 1st, so before you start churning away, make sure you connect to the Internet and download the latest updates.

If your state has its own Income Tax, you can download one free state module from the manufacturer and the software itself can be deducted from your taxes!

In about 45 minutes, I entered all pertinent information and answered all dynamic interview questions with the click of a mouse... and had my return sent electronically to the IRS. I got my refund electronically deposited in my bank account in less than one week!

This software prevents pain... the pain of waiting until 9pm on the night of April 15 to even start fiddling with your taxes, and then the mad dash to the all-night post office to drop it off before midnight. I no longer dread doing my taxes (only paying them) and I have TurboTax to thank for that. I no longer go from one library to the next and to one post office to the next trying to find extra copies of books and forms.

Obviously, this software is not a replacement for an accountant... if you are in the 6-figure income range or higher, hire an accountant. For the rest of us who don't have yachts, race horses, farms, electric plants, etc., this is the software that makes tax preparation a breeze.


TurboTax wasn't as great this year as previous years!   April 26, 2002
B. Babb (Virginia Beach, VA United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

Usually this software performs outstanding in tax preparation, however, this year in particular, I found it was confusing, especially when dealing with the government rebate. The IRS says to not enter the amount you received, but enter what you didn't receive (i.e. if entitled to $300 and only received $160, you should enter $140), this software has you enter what you received and early on, I believe it was affecting the tax refund amount. Online updating is great if you have a broadband connection. ..


Download troubles   March 24, 2002
2 out of 5 found this review helpful

TurboTax Deluxe does not actually include the state version, although you'll only find that out if you read the teeny tiny print. They have available a download version of the state software, but there are plenty of problems with that and their support services aren't able to help. After an evening of trying to make it work, I have given up. So I recommend against purchasing a download.


Don't Buy Turbo Tax for Mac   March 15, 2002
Wendy Light (San Jose, CA)
3 out of 7 found this review helpful

I have gotten the worst "tech support" I have ever experienced when I've tried to get help with some nasty bugs in turbo tax 2001 for mac. I don't recommend turbo tax for mac to anyone - I even spoke to supervisors at their tech support number to no avail. They appear to have no knowledge of the program. Unless you plan on having absolutely no questions/problems (which of course is highly unrealistic) I suggest buying Tax Cut, where the support is way better.


Like Aspirin For A Headache   March 7, 2002
Jon Kreisler (New York City, NY USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Taxes are always a headache (unless you happen to be employed by the I.R.S.) TurboTax Deluxe/Mac is a real pain reliever. It can figure out the forms you need to use. It can figure out if you qualify for credits. It will find missed deductions and it can explain everything to you.
It will figure your taxes, fill out the forms for you and allow you to file electronically.
You need to download your state tax forms (or order a CD or diskette for an extra fee.)
Federal e-file is a breeze and, for the first time, painless.
State electronic filing varies by state. (New York is still a bit behind the times; you still have to mail in a form with your signature.)
Overall this package is worthwhile. If it saves you any money on your taxes, it pays for itself. It also provides a good starting point for future tax filing (yes, unfortunately, taxes will be with us for a long, long time.) It's ability to retrieve data from previous years' TurboTax/MacInTax is useful and if you happen to use Quicken, it can import data from there as well.
The movies are a bit boring, but sometimes contain useful tips. (Intuit, how about hiring an actor to read from a script?)
One really nice feature is audit alerts. It can determine (statistically) if your tax return is likely to trigger an audit. (You DID keep receipts for those "business" dinners, didn't you?)