- If you are looking for top of the line tax software
so that you can DIY your tax returns for the 2019/2020 year,
you're probably considering TurboTax.
We've all heard of turbo Tax.
In this video, I am covering a review
for the 2019/2020 software and what you need to know
in terms of pricing to get your taxes done with TurboTax.
(slow music)
Hey guys, welcome back to The College Investor,
Investing and Personal Finance for Millennials.
We're talking about TurboTax today
and we all know that this is a major player
in the tax software industry
and so I was wondering,
what exactly are you getting with TurboTax
and is it really free?
You may be able to file your taxes for free with TurboTax
under a very specific condition and that is
if you are a W-2 income earner
and if you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit
or the child tax credit.
So, if you have those one of those two things
plus the W-2, you could file at your federal
and your state return for $0.
However, you can't take any other deductions.
So, if you have things like paying on student loan interest
or you have a health savings account,
you wouldn't be able to qualify for that free plan,
you'd have to upgrade to the deluxe or the premier plan.
And let's go over those pricing packages
on TurboTax's website.
Okay so, TurboTax has a couple of different plans
for you depending on your situation.
So, I've covered the free edition but I think most people
are probably going to align with the deluxe edition
or the premier edition.
So, deluxe is $40 and then you'll get to add
some homeowner tax breaks,
it looks like you can get some one-on-one help
from a TurboTax specialist, all these different things.
And then I like how it has a breakdown of okay,
I could get tax deductions here,
mortgage of property deductions and so on.
You may even end up falling under the premier plan
which is $70 in which you can auto import
your investment info and tax data which is a big time-saver.
I definitely appreciate being able to import forms
rather than typing them in manually,
it leaves less room for error.
And if you are self-employed,
then you'll be looking at the $90 self-employed plan.
What I like about this one is it also includes
one year of QuickBooks.
In fact, if you are a QuickBooks user now,
you can import your data directly in a TurboTax
which saves time.
However, if you are just getting started
and you want to add QuickBooks to your business plan,
you can get that if you've not been a QuickBooks user
in the past.
And it's true that TurboTax often has high prices.
In fact, we've found that they are at the top of the market
when we compared these to other
software companies out there.
So, you'll wanna do your due diligence.
I wouldn't recommend the deluxe or the premier plans
if price is a deciding factor for you.
Also, a side note,
TurboTax, it tends to adjust their prices
throughout the tax season so you'll wanna lock in
your rate early on.
That's typically in December and January
when the prices will be offered at its lowest.
So, if you plan on doing deluxe, premier or self-employed,
you'll wanna lock in those rates as soon as possible.
Once you have aligned with the right plan for you,
you can go ahead and jump into the tax software.
Let me show you a complete walkthrough
of what the TurboTax software looks like once you're inside.
When you first get started with TurboTax,
you'll need to obviously sign up.
If you have been a previous QuickBooks user or a Mint user,
you can use the same login information to log into TurboTax.
I'll go ahead and use new information
so you can see exactly what it looks like
when you sign up for the first time.
When you first log in, there'll be a screen to point you
in the right direction.
So, you can click on any of these little boxes
and then it'll take you to the right step.
So, I'm going to select that I have a job at W-2
and if I click on anything else,
it's going to recommend the right package for me.
So, when I clicked I'm self-employed
then it's going to recommend the self-employed plan.
So, for a simple W-2 return, it's going to stick us
into the free edition.
So, let's go ahead and click file for $0
then you'll consent to providing your information
through the software
and then it'll just prompt you
through the different questions.
I really like how simplified the dashboard is.
There's not a whole lot of areas to click out of
and I think the questions are really straightforward,
I don't feel like this is confusing at all.
This is cool.
It says if you have a PDF copy of last year's return
then you can upload it and start pulling info
which is really nice.
For the sake of this tutorial, I'll just go ahead
and type my info.
I really like this screen too.
Let's get an idea of your financial picture.
So, there's a lot of different things
that could've occurred throughout the year
so you're just going to click on the box
that makes sense for you
and then it'll walk you through the right forms to fill out.
Then remember that the free edition only counts
if you're a W-2 income earner or if you qualify
for the Earned Income Tax Credit or the child tax credit.
So, let's go ahead and keep going.
Then you'll just input your personal information.
I'll go ahead and just put in the dummy information for now.
Then we'll get to the filing status
which is single, in this example and click continue
and then it'll give you a nice summary.
I like how at the end of inputting my information
that it'll give me a quick summary
just to make sure everything was put in correctly.
Then TurboTax is going to try to upsell you here.
We're still in the free edition but it's also asking
if we'd like to get advice and specialist support.
I would go ahead and skip this for now,
especially if you are finally in a simple tax return
or you've had experience filing your taxes
on your own before as well.
So, you can see up at the top of the screen,
the tax return is broken into different sections.
So, you'll first start with wages and income,
followed by deductions and credits
and then other miscellaneous tax situations
and then you'll do a review
of your federal return before filing.
Once you get done filing your W-2 information,
it's going to show you your federal refund so far.
This number can change as you input new information
and TurboTax will give you the best estimate
of what your potential refund or the potential amount
that you'll owe.
And then they'll go ahead and check for more information
about your 2019 income by answering
a couple of simple questions.
The cool thing about this year is you can always
click the learn more button
and there's going to be a pop-up window
that explains why they're asking this information
and then sometimes what forms that you would need
in order to fill out everything correctly.
So, that's really nice.
So far, everything within the TurboTax software
is really easy and simple to use.
I like that everything is broken down into layman's terms.
I don't feel that I am confused by anything so far
and the questions that are asked throughout the process,
it seems very guided
so I don't have to go looking for things.
All right, now we're gonna jump into the second section
which is the deductions and credits.
Then once you get to the part
where you need to pick either standard or itemized,
I like how it gives you the visual of showing
you'll get the most out of your tax return
if you pick one or the other
and here it says the standard deduction is best for you.
So, you can always change that
but because I'm just inputting a simple W-2,
I'll stick with the standard deduction.
And then we'll hit section three,
any uncommon tax situations.
And I like how as you answer the questions,
it's just very simple.
Do you want to apply your refund to next year's return?
And it's it just makes it really simple to click yes or no
that I don't feel like this software's clunky at all.
If you have any questions, things are broken down for you
in these simple windows.
And then if you are, you feel like you're missing something,
you can always type in the search box for something
that may pertain to your financial situation.
I really like TurboTax
and the simplicity of their dashboard.
Then you can see up at the top
that they have this nice little bar of showing you
what your potential federal refund and state refund will be.
And then as you complete your federal return,
it's going to transfer your tax information
into your state return and that makes it really simple
and speeds up the process.
All right, so since I'm filing a state return in California,
it's going to ask if any of these situations apply
and then if they do, you can click the start button
and walk through those prompts.
If they don't apply to you,
you can actually just scroll to the bottom
and click done with adjustments.
And then you just follow the prompts and questions
as they pop up.
All right, so it looks like there's a couple of different
state credits that I could opt for.
So again, you would just click start
and then walk through those prompts.
If you don't qualify, they'll even cut you off
before you can even start clicking through the questions.
So, it says, it looks like you don't qualify
for a California Earned Income Tax Credit
and then you can click continue.
And then as you complete things,
it's going to pop up this gray button right here
where it says, revisit
so I know I've already looked into this area
and then I can continue down the line if I want to.
Otherwise, if it doesn't apply,
you can just scroll to the bottom again
and click done with credits and taxes.
All right, then it's going to do a quick check
of my California taxes before I'm ready to file.
If some of your tax forms aren't ready just yet,
they'll give you a quick list of those things
that you would need to look for.
Most forms will be available early to mid January.
So, once those forms are available,
you can log back into TurboTax and input that information.
All right and then one more time they're going to try
to upsell us again with this plus a help and support.
This just helps you if you were to ever go through an audit.
It's got a couple of different things here
that you could use but since I'm filing a simple return,
I don't think I need to spend $30 on help and support
if I don't really need it so I'm going to click not now.
And then as you progress through the software,
you'll see exactly where you're at in the menu.
So, we started with inputting my personal information,
federal state review and now we're ready to file.
There are three steps to filing in TurboTax.
You'll start by reviewing your order,
click to input your refund information
and then save and file your returns.
So, because I did a simple W-2 return,
I am in the free edition which is awesome.
So, I'll go and click payment options
and then in order to file you'll just have to provide
your name and address.
Then the IRS will have to finalize some of the forms,
typically happening in January.
Once the forms are finalized then we'll be able
to go back in and input where we want
a potential refund to go
and then save and file your returns
so you can just sit tight, input all of your information,
log back into TurboTax and then file your return.
Okay so, free users who qualify with that W-2,
the Earned Income Tax Credit or the child tax credit,
you definitely wanna jump on TurboTax, it's free.
It's absolutely free for you.
Self-employed users will also find some benefits here,
especially if you wanna add QuickBooks
and you're new to QuickBooks.
They'll add that in a year plan for free
in addition to the $90 you pay with the self-employed plan.
Personally, I have a hard time seeing TurboTax
really benefiting users who fall into those
deluxe or premier options.
You'd probably have better luck using tax software
at a bargain deal such as TaxSlayer which I really like,
H&R Block or FreeTaxUSA.
I found the software really easy to use, the navigation,
everything was put into layman's terms.
I didn't feel confused while I was using TurboTax.
So, if you're wanting that hand-holding,
definitely wanna check this one out for you 2019 taxes
and filing them in 2020.
For more information on tax reviews,
be sure to visit thecollegeinvestor.com.