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| From: H&R Block
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $1.79
You Save: $28.20 (94%)
New (9) Used (5) from $1.79
Rating:  71 reviews
Sales Rank: 445
Format: Cd
Platforms: Windows Xp, Macintosh, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me
Media: CD-ROM
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Windows XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.3 x 1.5
MPN: 1036600-06
Model: 1036600-06
UPC: 735290102058
EAN: 0735290102058
ASIN: B000K2P9HM
Release Date: November 15, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 disappointed December 11, 2006
Sam (MA)
20 out of 37 found this review helpful
Like others, I've used this program over the yrs and one of the biggest selling feature was the included e-file. Without that, this program is not good enough on it's own merit. Thanks to the suggestions below about other alternatives. I will look elsewhere.
Unable to import data and poor customer service February 2, 2007
Stuck in Muck (Massachusetts)
20 out of 21 found this review helpful
Seeing how Turbotax increased their prices this year I thought I'd save myself a few bucks by trying TaxCut Premium Federal+State for the first time. The box says it is compatible with Mac OS X and will import data from last year's TurboTax returns so I gave it a try.
I installed the program on my Mac and opened it to start my return. I have a fairly complex return so importing last year's data is a helpful timesaver. Unfortunately, after many attempts I was never able to import anything, not even my name. I called their customer service and tried all kinds of solutions to no avail. They said someone from their "escalation team" would contact me within 24-48 hours. Eight days later there was no news from them so I called back. They had no record of my case and I had to go through the whole explanation all over. Once again their rep had no clue how to fix the problem and gave me a phone number to call for further assistance or a refund.
I called the number and once again no case number! A third round of explanations with another service rep and his manager followed with no solution and no money back. Now I must wait for someone in their "escalation team" to contact me a fourth time but they will not provide a timeframe for the call.
The delays in response, their inability to track a case number, their weak product knowledge and their reluctance to provide a refund after this much hassle make this a poor product in my opinion.
UPDATE:
A quick update for fairness' sake on my review. Three weeks after my first attempt to use TaxCut I finally figured out what went wrong.
It turns out TaxCut cannot import TurboTax files with password access. I had to disable the password setting on last year's Turbotax and was then able to import data. The second reason I could not import last year's files is because two different customer service reps told me the file had to end in .t05 and NOT .tax. Well, as it turns out, the latter file is the one that works. A line or a note about this on the "Import last years data" screen would have saved a lot of hassles.
I have not finished my return yet but so far the software seems reasonably good. Turbotax seems to have more resources handy if you don't understand a question (IRS instructions, their own take, etc.) and TurboTax also imports data from brokerages which is helpful.
(TaxCut on a Mac OS X Panther user).
 Back with Mac... January 13, 2007
Nubblyman (Baltimore)
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
I'd been using Tax-Cut since 1998 on MAC platforms. Tax-Cut abandoned MAC users for 2005 taxes, so I was forced to Turbo-Tax. This was a pain because I had to re-enter information from scratch, as opposed to reading in from the prior year. I found turbo-tax not any better than Tax-cut in 2005. I have a mix of self employment incomes, some rent etc, requiring lots of forms but I am no business owner.
For 2006, I emailed TaxCut to see if the '06 software could read the MAC '04 resturns. Answer=NO. So, I was going to use Turbo-Tax again. However, Turbo-Tax had done the dirty this year, and divided their premium software by forms (schedule C, then rentals), so I'd have to buy the most expensive "small business" Turbo-Tax software, as opposed to just the premium package (even though other reviewers note that its not really for small business). The price differential of the Schedule C Turbo-Tax, with Tax-Cut is really very large. On the other hand, returning to the Tax-Cut web-site is omenous in that the "FAQ" and software demonstration portions are "To be developed". However, I don't like monopolies, so I decided to give Tax-Cut another try, figuring I can go back and buy Turbo-Tax if necessary.
I haven't seriously started '06 taxes yet, but I am pleasantly surprised with '06 Tax-cut Premium Federal + State. It looks to be the same as the MAC '04 version. Better still, it actually read in a bunch of simple '05 Turbo-Tax returns from my minor children. However, it could not read my '05 Turbo Tax return for some reason (will try some more). Having not expected to be able to read in any of last years data however, I feel I am at least ahead to some extent.
There are complaints by other purchasers about new e-filing charges for Tax-Cut. I don't e-file, so I am unaffected. If the IRS wants a 30-page return with circular nonsensical computations that are so complax that we are forced to buy software and a computer to process it, then they should have the courtesy to read those 30-pages. You would think we should get a tax-break for e-filing, or the IRS would pay e-filing charges considering the effort it must save.
Bottom line: This will work. If you don't want a Turbo-Tax monopoly, this is a choice.
 Amgiguous questions January 1, 2007
K. Holub (Boulder, CO)
17 out of 26 found this review helpful
I just did my taxes twice: once using the irs.gov instructions for 1040; and once with Tax Cut. I felt more confident doing them manually using instructions from irs.gov. I felt the instructions from irs.gov were more precise while the Tax Cut questions were ambiguous - I was not sure how to answer them - or get the answers as directed by irs.gov. For instance, one question asked, 'Who is the student loan for?' The only choices I could select was for either me or my spouse, not for our son who is in college! I'm pretty sure Tax Cut messed up my HSA calculations - it would not let me zero it out. The HDHP portion was especially confusing. In all honesty, I do not yet have my W2's. Tax Cut will have an update Jan 4th for new laws such as a deduction for college tuition. Perhaps these problems will be fixed with the update or perhaps I answered the questions incorrectly. On the other hand, Tax Cut did give me a good suggestion on prepaying my January mortgage. This kept me from having to pay the dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax. For that alone, the $25 purchase of the software was worth it. However, I'm pretty sure I'm going to submit my manual version.
 taxcut 2006 January 18, 2007
B.W. (Monroe)
14 out of 21 found this review helpful
purchase process was very good from Amazon. the taxcut product has no state info and needs to be updated by downloading directly from internet. for people who have no access to internet, the product is useless. taxcut should have complete products, including federal, state and all updates, available on CD.
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