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True to its name, H&R Block’s TaxCut is significantly less expensive than TurboTax , while offering most of its features. It also benefits from association with H&R Block’s brand of tax advice and assistance. How does the TaxCut experience compare with walking into an H&R Block?
Tax software is serious business and should look professional, but past versions of TaxCut have bordered on the coma-inducing. More recent versions have upgraded the look to a more attractive (yet still very conservative) greenish theme, but some of the grey text in the new theme has little contrast against the hazel background gradient. Prepare yourself for some eyestrain if you plan to spend more than a couple of hours in front of this product. On the help front, TaxCut is strong, but still falls a little short of TurboTax . It takes an interesting approach that basically amounts to asking jargon-filled interview question by default, but placing a “guide me” button that will rephrase technical questions into a series of simplified ones. Support is free, but you’re out of luck if you need help on a weekday.
Version
TaxCut comes in three flavours. TaxCut Basic costs $14.95 ($12.71 with TaxCut 15% off coupon ) and is geared towards users who file with a 1040EZ. Premium costs $19.95 ($16.96 with TaxCut 15% off coupon ) and it adds support for itemized deductions. TaxCut Signature costs $44.95 ($38.21 with TaxCut 15% off coupon ) and it adds unlimited free support from H&R Block advisors. If you make a lot of charitable contributions, you might want to factor an extra $19 into your decision if you plan on using any TaxCut other than Signature, since they all lack the DeductionPro add-on that supports charitable deductions.
Features
Filing with TaxCut starts off with a foolproof central interface that is unmatched for simplicity. The first question you’re asked is if you’ve had any “life changes” since last year—whether you got married, had a child, bought a house, changed jobs, etc. You’re then asked to describe your income streams, and the appropriate forms are selected for you. In addition to the standard real-time deduction tracker, another meter tells you how close you are percentage-wise to completing your return. One advantage over TurboTax in this respect is that you can skip ahead to or revisit individual forms, rather than categories of forms. This makes correcting troublesome errors that are keeping you from filing a lot less of a headache. On the other hand, TaxCut lacks TurboTax’s ability to fill out forms automatically by connecting to banks and payroll companies over the internet. Another big difference is that TaxCut seems to play deductions significantly “safer” than TurboTax. Identical returns run through both pieces of software saw TaxCut significantly show lower deduction totals than TurboTax. Perhaps this has something to do with TaxCut’s free audit defense!
Support
TaxCut’s main strength is the included advice from H&R Block tax professionals. While TurboTax charges $39.95 per conversation with a tax expert, TaxCut Premium comes with one free consultation, while Signature sports unlimited consultations to make sure you get your return right before you file. As mentioned, TaxCut also includes audit defense at no extra charge in both packages.
Conclusion
TaxCut boasts an array of features that comes very close to matching Turbotax’s at a reduced price, while adding support that TurboTax charges extra for. For the user who places a premium on advice from a human professional and the peace of mind that audit defense brings, TurboTax will undoubtedly seem a much better value. Those who value speed and maximizing their deductions will probably want to look elsewhere.
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