Intuit TurboTax Home and Business 2015 Federal Software - PC/Mac

Good for the Price

The Home & Business software is a very good product, at a low cost, for those who have an ownership interest in a business, receive a K-1 or are independent contractors for it covers most of the tax situations that would apply. Additionally, although not intended for professionals, if you do a limited number of returns, it's beneficial, for you don't have to sign of as a paid preparer.

While easy to use, understandably, it is not all-encompassing. It would be useful to have a feature of adding a PDF attachment to the return which could be done with the prior year version but not 2015 (unless they update it). For example, I needed a NYS form for an Other Credit which was not supported by TurboTax; the software directed me to the state tax website to fill-out the form but did not allow attaching it to the return. That means that the state return has to printed and mailed, rather than efiled. I noticed others who had similar issues regarding attaching an election or statement to a return. Please be aware that the software will not alert you to every credit that may apply to you. Therefore, I recommend going to a NYS website, for instance, and scanning all the credits which are summarized early on in the instructions to see if you they apply to you.

Overall, reasonably satisfied with the product.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: wilzeecorp

TurboTax Home & Business (W-2 & 1099)

Most of this program is like what I was used to and generally straight forward. I have used TurboTax products for over twenty years. I like this version because of the W-2 and 1099 generating properties. However, this year seemed to be different in that the program did not apparently store or save the W-2 and 1099 section with rest of my tax file as it did last year. When I came back later to continue my file, the previously completed 1099 was no where to be found. I spent/wasted a lot of time trying to find the file both online and looking within the help sections. I stumbled on the saved 1099 file quite by accident when I decided to start a new tax file and then the previously saved 1099 section magically reappeared and I was able to find the saved 1099 file in the start of a whole new tax file, not in my previously saved tax file where it was last year and where you would expect to find it. This isn't a very good way to handle this and I'm disappointed in the way this part works. Maybe this was just a fluke with my program, but it was much better last year.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: auctionairecorp

TurboTax remains a good product

This year it was easy to do my taxes. Not because anything had changed, but because it imported all my stuff from Quicken directly. This makes TurboTax a good companion product to Quicken. In previous years, one had to export sdAnd, once you have made the associations between Quicken and the Tax forms, each year gets easier.

I will note that the instructions for e-Filing were a little vague, and I was unsure of what to send to the State. I owed money to the State, so e-Filing was really almost a waste of time.Read full review

Home & Business

TT is a good product, and this version is needed for a small business. I encourage others to use it, rather than do all the manual work themselves. Of course TT has an online, free version for certain situations.

I think the product is overpriced, especially since they allow 5 installations, which seems strange. When I find 4 others that want the product, we can split the cost :)Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: sandymoore1

Turbo Tax Home and Business

Most people probably don't need this level (Home and Business) of the Turbo Tax line but my taxes got a little more complicated this year and at the discounted price I thought it prudent to go with this elevated version. I have not completed my taxes yet so can't say it worked flawlessly from start to finish but I have never had problems in the past with other Turbo Tax products. This particular vendor was excellent, shipped quickly in a sealed package so I have no reason to expect anything other than Turbo Tax's excellent service again this year. Last year was a problem one for Turbo Tax as they tried a strategy geared toward forcing users up a notch or two. For example someone who, perhaps, had always used Deluxe was told they needed to upgrade a level or two. However, user backlash was severe and Turbo Tax has pledged not to repeat this ploy. Of course one cannot expect to buy the lowest version and expect it to handle a complicated home business properly but , then again, someone who has only made, say, $1,000, from a hobby business over the year should not be expected to buy Home and Business. Deluxe or Premier should work quite well for them. Considering how much one can save in taxes using Turbo Tax the typical price on eBay is a steal. If you are not sure how much you should be paying do a search for different levels of Turbo Tax and use the "completed listed" option to see what they are going for. Many people are uncomfortable buying anything but a "new" package but I have had very good luck with "once used" packages. Most importantly make sure what you are buying has what you are expecting. For example not all packages have Federal + State + Federal eFile which is what I look for. State eFile is not, in my opinion, worth the extra money as you can simply print out the state form and mail it in or take it in your local County/City office. If you plan on sharing your Turbo Tax with friends and relatives (quite possible) make sure that you have enough "files" in your package. If you are buying a used package one or more may have been used. You also need to be aware of the number of e-files you are entitled to. Also, in the past, you could typically do more than one state return as long as it is the same state. Sometimes this information (how many federal, how many same state, how many e-files is not easy to find (I don't think Turbo Tax likes to make it easy to find) but the number is generally very generous.

I had my taxes done before by a "professional" and must say the Turbo Tax experience was much more satisfying. Despite what any tax prep service on-line or otherwise might claim they are not going to get you out of a jam with the IRS. The best strategy - "honesty is the best policy" - no joke. Along those lines, Turbo Tax does have a very nice feature which checks your return for IRS "red flags" and gives you a rating as to how likely your return is to be audited. I don't know how accurate it is but it is comforting. Certainly if Turbo Tax showed a high probability of audit I would be very cautious and perhaps go back and ease up on a few deductions if possible. You have to weigh the few bucks you may be gaining through a questionable deduction to the hassle of an IRS audit. Before Turbo Tax, the Internet, etc. I used to do my own taxes. I once neglected to check a couple of boxes I should have and got a letter from the IRS and eventually a call from an IRS agent. He went over my taxes with me over the phone and found another error I made. I ended up getting an additional $400 refund. I expect this was an unusual IRS encounter but, needless to say, I was relieved and happy.

One final note, regardless of how you file your taxes there are numerous scam artists out there who can sound very threatening and very convincing. They may have some convincing personal information and will threaten you will jail time if you do not pay-up immediately. DO NOT BE FOOLED. The IRS does not operate like that. The IRS will initiate contact via a letter and follow up with a phone call. You should follow up ANY contact from the IRS will a phone call to the IRS. That is, you call the IRS and ask if they contacted you. Make sure you have a legitimate IRS phone number. Get the name and number of the agent you spoke with. If you are not satisfied with the conversation call back the next day and ask to speak to another agent.

Please check the web for many, many descriptions of tax scams and what to do about them.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: avantbellwether

Great product!

I've been using Turbo Tax software for several years. No problems what so ever! Great product. Saves you money! I hated bookkeeping in school and passed with a C. Not great. When I started my own business, I was paying a CPA big bucks to do my yearly taxes. Waste of money. I was paying in every year. Since I started using Turbo Tax Home and Business, I've saved thousands of dollars. Even if you aren't bookkeeping savy, Turbo Tax walks you through each step and then at the end of your return, rechecks everything and lets you know if there are areas that need attention. It also rates your audit chances. Again, this is an easy to use and comprehensive software product and will make filing your taxes not so unpleasant.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: avantbellwether

Easy and consistent

TurboTax is Great! I have used it to do my own taxes for many years, 20 +. Seller provided as advertised. Shipped quickly and arrived in good shape. Product picked up the information from my prior years taxes and the work is half done! Now its just answering questions and entering data. Very easy.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: bestdistributor

First Turbotax product

Good price with reasonable shipping. Product is more expensive than H&R block but had no installation issues that seem to plague that product. Imported most info from previous software. Some navigation issues that I did not have with Block but I can't recall details. Very pricey compared to Block.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: avantbellwether

Not intuitive

Having done my own returns long form for the last 10 years, I expected this to be easy. The problem is the questions are so rigid that they did not match my business. Very confusing steps, not easy to navigate, with no explanations on how it determines it's numbers, it just does it. I had hoped this would make doing taxes easier. It didn't.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: wilzeecorp

Will not work with Windows 10

Some modules were not finished when the dvd was pressed, making update after install mandatory. All attempts to upgrade result in fatal failures, including download of the included State software. I tried all troubleshooting recommendations, still in the same boat. Wasted money, the dvd box is not even heavy enough to hold down the boat.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: bestdistributor