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2nd Story Software’s TaxACT presents itself as a bargain alternative to more expensive and feature-filled tax software. The price is certainly right, but cost can be counted in hours as well as dollars.
Versions
TaxACT comes in Standard , Deluxe , and Ultimate variations. The Standard version is actually FREE for a federal return, but does not include access to online support materials. Deluxe is priced at $7.95, plus an additional $9.95 for state. Ultimate is essentially a bundled version of the Deluxe product for both federal and state. It costs $16.95.
Features
TaxACT’s interface is considerably less sophisticated and more tedious than its higher priced competitors. For one thing, moving backward or forward in the return is done through drop-down flash menus. Only one interview question is presented per page, so it can be extremely difficult to click back through to a specific form. The font is tiny, making the menus particularly prone to misclicks. Interview questions are filled with tax jargon that the average filer might not always understand. There is a window for online help links at the bottom of each page in the Deluxe version, but they seem to be mostly static links to an equally static glossary of terms.
In a raw comparison of features, TaxAct compares quite favourably to the major suites. Although it doesn’t import data from Quicken or any other tax service, it will happily import older returns filed with TaxACT and keep track of your deductions from year to year. One unique feature that might resonate with some users is the ability to manually fill in forms instead of answering interview questions. For the right power user, this can literally save hours. Information from your federal form is automatically copied to state forms in the Deluxe version. Surprisingly, Deluxe supports a number of income streams that are only supported by the $80 and up ‘Home & Business’ versions of other suites –covering investments, home ownership, securities, and rental income.
As part of its alert system, TaxAct offers “green lights” which serve the same function as deduction maximizing modules in other suites. It’s a nice feature considering the cost of the software, but the suggestions are sometimes irrelevant or not applicable.
Support
Technical support is provided by email, but phone support for TaxACT will end up costing you long distance (unless you happen to live in Dubuque, Iowa) since no toll-free number is provided.
Conclusion
There’s no denying that TaxAct is a great value for the money, especially if you are either a 1040EZ filer or someone who is mostly familiar with the tax system and just wants a quick way to e-file. If you don’t need the complicated investment and retirement planning features of the big suites and aren’t put off by the bare-bones interface or comparative lack of support, TaxAct can save you a surprising amount of cash on software around tax time, even if it might not save you as much on your deductions.
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