CompleteTax Review #3

In January I selected several readers to receive free copies of various income tax software programs. In exchange, they agreed to use the software to do their taxes and write an unbiased review. The summary below was written by FMF reader Andy and contains his thoughts about CompleteTax’s Premium MVP product. Here are CompleteTax Review #1 and CompleteTax Review #2 if you're interested.

I work in the financial services industry, where I frequently reference and analyze personal tax returns.  It is not uncommon for these returns to be fairly complex, as my customers are generally owners of small businesses.  Some of the documents have amounted to more than a ream of paper!  In other words, I am fairly accustomed to navigating tax returns.

I have almost always prepared my own returns, although I can’t remember the last time I simply filed a 1040-EZ.  This means that I normally spend a considerable amount of time each year—maybe four or five hours—getting my taxes ready.  One year, I had earned income while living overseas; another year, our son (who was one year old at the time) incurred capital gains taxes based on a gift of stock from my parents.  Such factors tend to complicate the preparation process.

This year, things were somewhat simpler.  We had:

• W-2 income
• A number of itemized deductions
• Income from interest and dividends
• Capital gains income

I am pleased to say that I spent only a touch over an hour on the preparation and filing process this year!

To me, the CompleteTax software seemed user-friendly enough.  While there may be some room to upgrade the user experience as far as visuals, the flow from one page to the next felt very logical.  Also, the act of inputting the data seemed relatively natural.

Though the whole experience was very good, there were some elements that might be improved.  I did notice one formatting issue while inputting phone numbers.  While that incident did not detract from the functionality of the software, it gave an impression of unpolished or untested work.  That was a touch disconcerting, especially since that issue is encountered so soon into the process.

Also, I was unsure at first whether my progress was being saved automatically since I did not see an obvious “save this page” type of button.  When I took a quick break, I was relieved to log back in and find that my progress had, in fact, been maintained.

Finally, it would have been nice to have more direct help with some of the forms.  For example, I found myself checking the IRS website frequently while working on the Schedule D (Capital Gains and Losses) to make sure I was accounting for my capital asset transactions correctly.  For example, CompleteTax did not give abundant guidance on working with capital loss carryovers, which we had due to the sale of our previous residence two years ago.  If there was more substantial assistance available without going directly to the IRS site, I did not find it.  Such issues did not slow me down inordinately; however, I would anticipate some potential frustration for a user who was not quite as accustomed to the ins and outs of tax returns.

In all, I was satisfied with the product.  With CompleteTax, I spent a total of just over an hour to prepare both federal and state taxes.  This was a significant time savings.  Based on the time saved versus preparing the returns on my own, I could envision paying the $49.99 cost for the Premium MVP product next year.  I wasn’t blown away, but I did have a very positive experience.

Comments

[fka CPA Abroad]

Andy - Having prepared many a tax return in my past for clients, I am curious about one line in your summary: "For example, CompleteTax did not give abundant guidance on working with capital loss carryovers, which we had due to the sale of our previous residence two years ago."

I spent the last two years out of the country so this question may be a product of my own ignorance, but is a loss on your home really deductible? It is my understanding that a loss on a capital asset held for personal use (i.e. your home) is not deductible. Was there a special exemption passed as part of the stimulus that allowed for losses from the sale of your primary residence to be deductible? Or maybe you were using it as a rental?

Again, I am not saying you have done something wrong, I am just curious.