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TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

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Re: TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

#61

Post by tsestrich »

morgante wrote: post #50

My tax situation is complicated enough that I no longer want to do it myself, but I also can't find a good accountant easily. Why isn't there a web service which will let you easily hire a good accountant online? There's absolutely no reason your accountant has to be local to you, yet all the information I've found online has been for finding a "local" professional. I can't wait to see the Uberization of professional…

I'm sorry to come in with a blatant promo, but we've just done exactly what you described! https://www.taxaroo.com.

We can match you with a preparer from anywhere in the country, we quote you a hard up-front price, and you interact with your preparer entirely online.

My co-founder (a CPA) and I just launched it this year, and we've received extremely strong interest from professional tax preparers. We actually did a Show HN a little bit ago, but didn't get much traction: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11074466

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Re: TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

#62

Post by nissimk »

I used TurboTax for years, but last year they messed me up so now I will never use them again. They wouldn't E-File my NY State tax form for my business because of some missing information on their side and kept saying it would be available soon until right before the deadline I gave up and switched to TaxAct in a hurry. Then I had to wait for Intuit to refund the cost of my software. It was a very unpleasant experience. I didn't like TaxAct as much because I was used to the Turbotax interface and it couldn't automatically pull in the numbers from the previous year, but I think it worked out OK in the end.

Re: TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

#63

Post by [deleted] »

patio11 wrote: post #3

I last used TaxAct in 2011, and would still be using it but for an increasingly complicated business situation which necessitates lots of accountant time (one benefit of which is that form manipulation is thrown in for free). It's great. If any of you are doing uncomplicated W-2 or small business returns which don't have a gazillion moving parts, give it a spin; it's much better than the price suggests. Edit to add:…

[deleted]

Re: TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

#64

Post by masklinn »

johnward wrote: post #52
algorithmsRcool wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this really the case? Can't most people can just file with a 1040(A or EZ) and be done pretty quickly. I was under the impression that you only have to break out the crazy worksheets or software if you want to get fancy with your deductions or take advantage of tax credits. You can save alot of money this way, but really it's the deductions that are the complication (and the audit risk...) but how can you simplify…

> I was under the impression that you only have to break out the crazy worksheets or software if you want to get fancy with your deductions or take advantage of tax credits. I don't think you can use a 1040EZ if you want to take any deductions (like mortgage interest, student loan interest, etc).

I don't know why an e-filing system couldn't handle that, form wizards aren't rocket surgery, you'd just have e.g. a page were you select types of loans outstanding, which would insert steps to fill in relevant information. And the system could even remember that year to year so next year they'll be preselected and if you haven't taken/discharged anything you can just nextnextnext to whatever section comes after that.

Re: TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

#65

Post by rhino369 »

vdnkh wrote: post #22
jonathanjaeger wrote: post #15

I've been using TaxACT ever since I became an "adult" and started filing my tax returns. I can't really compare it to TurboTax, which I've only used for business taxes, but I can't imagine anything else being easier or cheaper. It amazes me how some people who have really simple tax forms still pay accountants..

>It amazes me how some people who have really simple tax forms still pay accountants.. My W2 is "simple" (single, no kids, etc.) but I give it to an accountant anyway. Costs $30 or so but the accountant knows certain tricks to maximize my tax return. Not illegal, but she knows how broad exemptions can be. For example, I work from home some days. I built a new computer. Technically, it's exempt because it's a work exp…

30 dollars is insanely cheap. And technically a new computer that is sometimes used to work from home is not a work expense unless you own your own business and use it >50% of the time.

She's betting you won't get audited.

Re: TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

#66

Post by tsestrich »

I've used TurboTax the past few years, and completely echo the sentiment expressed by others regarding the hidden charges that get tacked on when starting with a "free" return. Turned out that losing money on the stock market also cost me extra on preparation fees as well...

Partly because of the negative experiences with TurboTax, my co-founder and I just launched a company [1] in this space. We're actually "replacing" a TurboTax product that was recently discontinued called "Personal Pro". We're something of an "Uber" for tax preparation, acting as an online marketplace and platform for clients to get their taxes done by professionals. TurboTax had tried this for a few years but it appears they're betting on a continuing shift to DIY.

Has anyone had any experience here as a client of Personal Pro? Would love to hear how it went!

[1] - https://www.taxaroo.com

Re: TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

#67

Post by morgante »

tsestrich wrote: post #61
morgante wrote: post #50

My tax situation is complicated enough that I no longer want to do it myself, but I also can't find a good accountant easily. Why isn't there a web service which will let you easily hire a good accountant online? There's absolutely no reason your accountant has to be local to you, yet all the information I've found online has been for finding a "local" professional. I can't wait to see the Uberization of professional…

I'm sorry to come in with a blatant promo, but we've just done exactly what you described! https://www.taxaroo.com . We can match you with a preparer from anywhere in the country, we quote you a hard up-front price, and you interact with your preparer entirely online. My co-founder (a CPA) and I just launched it this year, and we've received extremely strong interest from professional tax preparers. We actually did a…

That's pretty much exactly what I was looking for and I'm giving a try right now.

It'd be nice to have some sort of ranking/rating system, or just some way of knowing that the preparer you recommended is qualified and good. Also it seems odd that nearly all the accountants you suggested were in CA despite me setting NY (not that that's a problem, it just seems odd).

Re: TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

#68

Post by Kluny »

suter wrote: post #33

FWIW, we're taking on TurboTax in Canada, https://simpletax.ca . The Canada Revenue Agency introduced an API this year that enables us to auto-fill much of the return: https://help.simpletax.ca/questions/how-to-use-afr .

I've been using SimpleTax for the past four years and it's top-notch.

I've also been working on @suter for about that long to get them to make the years before 2012 available via SimpleTax, for those of us who have friends that have let their taxes slide for a long, long time. Hopefully one of these days the cost/benefit will work out.

Re: TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

#69

Post by tsestrich »

morgante wrote: post #67
tsestrich wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry to come in with a blatant promo, but we've just done exactly what you described! https://www.taxaroo.com . We can match you with a preparer from anywhere in the country, we quote you a hard up-front price, and you interact with your preparer entirely online. My co-founder (a CPA) and I just launched it this year, and we've received extremely strong interest from professional tax preparers. We actually did a…

That's pretty much exactly what I was looking for and I'm giving a try right now. It'd be nice to have some sort of ranking/rating system, or just some way of knowing that the preparer you recommended is qualified and good. Also it seems odd that nearly all the accountants you suggested were in CA despite me setting NY (not that that's a problem, it just seems odd).

That's awesome! We're excited to have you giving it a try.

Thanks for the feedback. I absolutely agree regarding the ranking/rating system. We've really just recently launched, so right now we just don't have many reviews. We do have the system in place, though, and we'll be building up those reviews.

Regarding the preparer locations - we plan to add the ability to sort/filter preparers, but we do only show you those that have specifically indicated that they can handle the type of returns required based on your quote. So, if you said you worked in NY and lived in NJ, the listed preparers will be able to handle both states. Same goes for rental property, capital gains, etc.

If you have any feedback or issues as you go, feel free to reach out to me directly at tim@taxaroo.com

Re: TurboTax Takes Aim at Smaller Rival in Fight for Filers

#70

Post by cptskippy »

algorithmsRcool wrote: post #46
willis77 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds glorious. In the U.S., figuring out taxes is like: Take line 39b, multiply it by your age as determined by worksheet 6689. If you are between 41 and 43 years of age, enter '0'. If you were not subject to the Railroad Act of 1938's exempt dependent pension clause (this is not common), add 13 to this number in hexadecimal, else, subtract 2 and multiply by 1.388688. If you did not have healthcare for more than 14…

Is this really the case? Can't most people can just file with a 1040(A or EZ) and be done pretty quickly. I was under the impression that you only have to break out the crazy worksheets or software if you want to get fancy with your deductions or take advantage of tax credits. You can save alot of money this way, but really it's the deductions that are the complication (and the audit risk...) but how can you simplify…

Once you have a kid, spouse, house, or significant medical bills you had better not use an EZ or you're just throwing money away.
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