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Email this12:06 pm
December 23, 2011
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I meant perform.
What is wrong with turbo tax
1. They try to UP-SELL to other versions just after you have done a few entries, when you don’t need it
2. Offers “Pro Review” at the end. If the program does what it is supposed to, why would you need?
3. There is no explanation to splitting T5 income for “recipient type 1” vs “recipient type 2”.
4. Income splitting is a 2-step process; why not just leave it as a 1-step process towards the end of entry.
5. It warns you that you could do income splitting even though you just did.
6. Says a tax saving opportunity. …medical expenses are below threshold and to transfer to spouse or carry forward. I had no expenses….why the “opportunity”?
7. Using easy step it is very difficult to do an update of a T slip
8. Runs with script error and have to search the internet to find out it must be run under “administrator”
9. Goes on sale every year just after I buy for full price
10. Mac version is more expensive, hard to find, and is an "online version" only.
11. In the past it was clear that it could be installed on two computers.
12. It is "always" a struggle to print the PDF copies....errors...errors....restart..wasted paper!!!
For as many years they have been producing this program it should be a lot better than what it really is.
If you are frustrated with the poor product…vent here.
3:54 am
December 12, 2015
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As I posted elsewhere, I had big problems with Turbotax this year after many years problem-free. Most problems were related to trying to load info from CRA and Rev QC. I followed procedure before starting to check for and load updates. Initially the program refused to load any info. I called tech support after finding a phone number with difficulty and they told me to run the program as administrator. This allowed me to load info, but the T-slip data loaded was wrong, mixing up federal and provincial amounts, and with some completely missing T-slips. So I changed to a different return, but the software still loaded information from the 1st return, though I had entered a new CRA account number. Then when I tried to correct the info manually it made odd changes and would not accept the corrections. Finally I gave up in frustration, then returned to it a week later, installed an update, an tried again. This time it entered the data without the fed-prov mixup, and without the errors of loading wrong person's info, but some t-slip info was still missing and needed to be input manually.
I agree with most of Kanaka's criticisms, and would add the lack of provincial compatibility for Mac has kept me from switching to Mac...I have to do taxes for family memebers on my old PC!
6:00 pm
February 18, 2016
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>9. Goes on sale every year just after I buy for full price
One word: torrent
>12. It is "always" a struggle to print the PDF copies....errors...errors....restart..wasted paper!!!
If you are having a problem printing from TT as PDF or whatever, I suggest to get nice little program which after installing becomes 'printer driver' and you can re-direct all print jobs to it creating PDF file. Then you can open created PDF with your favorite PDF reader/editor and print/edit/etc.
>For as many years they have been producing this program it should be a lot better than what it really is.
Most likely majority of program code is copy/paste with minor updates due to tax changes from year to year. So far TT had at least 8 updates which is the most I have seen so far since I started using Quick Tax aka TurboTax. But do not forget: this is american software. What to expect from american 'developers' if main OS has updates week after week. Their tax soft even has updates after tax season is over...
>If you are frustrated with the poor product…vent here.
Blame the Can government Not to providing free software or on-line filing.
Do you suggest using any other really free (or commercial) tax software? It will cost me only time to data entry and I can compare one to another. Reason I use TT year after year is easy transfer from previous to current year; no looking for SIN, typing address, etc.
12:52 am
December 12, 2015
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Wasting time on videogames and other "entertainment" is a personal choice. Wasting time inputting data into an unneccessarily complex tax system is a waste of my limited lifetime hours, not to mention a waste of accountant time at the government level, accountants who would be better employed figuring out how to make money for me rather than how to take it away from me.
So with some frustration with turbotax in tow, I loaded studiotax and proceeded to reinput my data. Didn't take long before I realized the studiotax system was inferior to and much less user-friendly than turbotax, so I ran back to TT.
I have never had issues printing with TT. American origin is likely the reason it isn't immediately perfected to our tax system and why the lag occured in it improving bugs in loading info from CRA. But unless studiotax improves their interface by a lot, I will buy TT again next year.
5:19 pm
December 23, 2011
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Saver-Mom said
Wasting time on videogames and other "entertainment" is a personal choice. Wasting time inputting data into an unneccessarily complex tax system is a waste of my limited lifetime hours, not to mention a waste of accountant time at the government level, accountants who would be better employed figuring out how to make money for me rather than how to take it away from me.
So with some frustration with turbotax in tow, I loaded studiotax and proceeded to reinput my data. Didn't take long before I realized the studiotax system was inferior to and much less user-friendly than turbotax, so I ran back to TT.
I have never had issues printing with TT. American origin is likely the reason it isn't immediately perfected to our tax system and why the lag occured in it improving bugs in loading info from CRA. But unless studiotax improves their interface by a lot, I will buy TT again next year.
Unfortunately American business does not value Canadian customers. It is apparent when I compare prices at Home Depot, Harbor Freight, and Gasoline comparing prices US vs CDN. When it comes to Turbo Tax I would imagine we are very low on the totem pole to have simple and logical changes made. It is just American business emptying our wallets as we rarely say anything.
I am happy with Studio Tax. I don't have a complex tax report so there are a few things that are not built in that I will "actually have to remember". But there service to respond to a few of my "dumb questions" were answered quickly, I have done parallel entry with Turbo Tax and it should be the same on Studio Tax. This will allow me to dump Windows 10 and 2 PC laptops soon.
8:32 pm
December 12, 2015
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Ok we'll agree to disagree...I could only see where to input regular employment income on studiotax, not seeing where to put professional income and all the specific deductions I have. So no one else here does their own taxes? I am saving BIG bucks on accountant fees just to do tax returns for myself, my spouse, 2 young adult dependents and one parent. Better ROI than any of my HISAs!
Oh, and now I am wondering if the problems inputting t-slips directly from CRA may be a CRA issue rather than just TT issue. They are still sending incomplete data...
9:32 pm
April 6, 2013
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Saver-Mom said
Ok we'll agree to disagree...I could only see where to input regular employment income on studiotax, not seeing where to put professional income and all the specific deductions I have. So no one else here does their own taxes? I am saving BIG bucks on accountant fees just to do tax returns for myself, my spouse, 2 young adult dependents and one parent. Better ROI than any of my HISAs!
....
Business and professional income goes on T2125 forms.
I haven't started with StudioTax 2015 yet. But, for the year before, StudioTax 2014 did not include business and professional income in the Quick Start Wizard. One needs to use the wizard for what it does support. Then afterwards, add the number of T2125 forms needed and then fill them in.
I agree that the StudioTax user interface, at least for past years, has been second rate. However, it is free. In contrast, Intuit Canada's Turbo Tax Home & Business is around $100. The money is just not there to fund a StudioTax development team that is big enough to match the slick user interface of TurboTax.
7:46 am
December 23, 2011
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Saver-Mom said
Ok we'll agree to disagree...I could only see where to input regular employment income on studiotax, not seeing where to put professional income and all the specific deductions I have. So no one else here does their own taxes? I am saving BIG bucks on accountant fees just to do tax returns for myself, my spouse, 2 young adult dependents and one parent. Better ROI than any of my HISAs!
Oh, and now I am wondering if the problems inputting t-slips directly from CRA may be a CRA issue rather than just TT issue. They are still sending incomplete data...
I would not say we have to disagree. You have different needs and preferences. I have tested Studio Tax for two reasons.
1. I want to go all Apple and have files on my computer. Turbo Tax does not offer.
2. Turbo Tax has issues in pricing and quality of product.
Studio Tax is Canadian and has, for me, a couple of extra steps to do to complete tax returns for my wife and I. Those steps I can accept.
10:49 am
March 7, 2013
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Saver-Mom, I also decided to save on huge accounting fees and do my own taxes for professional income over the past several years.
Personally, I love Studio Tax. Once you have gone through it for the first year, I think you will find extremely simple in subsequent years, as it repopulates most categories for you.
There's a button across the top for Forms. You can add whatever forms are specific to your situation. Everything you need to enter for professional income or business income is done on form T2125.
The first year, I went through my copies of the forms my accountant used to send in, and basically used the same categories for professional income.
I wouldn't recommend uploading T-slip info directly from CRA. It's glitchy. They only had half my T5 slips on their site this year. It's quite easy to enter the T-slip info yourself.
Anyways, for what it's worth, I'm a big fan of Studio Tax. Doing my taxes as a self-employed business professional used to take me weeks to assemble all the information required, add up and record everything, summarize it in a form my accountant could use, take it in, go back when he'd completed all the forms, sign off and pay the big bucks. Now it takes me only a couple of evenings, and the final product is virtually identical to the forms my accountant used to send in.
4:17 pm
December 12, 2015
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Agreed the auto fill feature of CRA is very glitchy, to be used with great caution or not at all. Perhaps I will try Studiotax again next year, but for now I am done. Still hoping the govt will simplify the whole tax system.
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