About.com Rating
Vendor's Site
Using TaxACT Online , the free online tax preparation software from Second Story Software, I have prepared several Schedule C forms for myself and others, for sole proprietorship income as part of a personal tax return (Form 1040). TaxAct's online basic version is free; the state version is $14.95. Both versions include free e-file. You can purchase a Deluxe version of TaxACT, which is $9.95 for the federal version plus $8.00 for the state version, with e-file.
What I Liked about TaxACT for 2009 Schedule C and 1040
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What I Liked
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What I Did Not Like About TaxACT Online for Schedule C and 1040
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Many Features Not Available in Basic Version
My biggest problem was that much of what I thought was available turned out not to be part of the free software.
Numerous times, I clicked on a help section, and was told I had to purchase the Deluxe version to get this. The Deluxe version is only $9.95, far less expensive than other software, but I still felt like this software was doing a "bait and switch" on me. For example, here are some of the features I couldn't get:
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No Preview of Return and Schedules
I looked all over for copies of the actual tax forms, so I could review them. I finally found them under "forms" but I was not able to preview the forms without paying $9.95. I didn't want to print the form, just to preview it, but I was not even allowed to do this.
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Tax Calculations and Help on TaxACT Online
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Some calculations were not as easy as on other tax software. In the worst example, I was attempting to calculate a home business space deduction. I entered the square footage of the office and the square footage of the home. Then I was required to determine the percentage of the home space that was used for business, and also to determine the direct and indirect amount of specific deductible items. Other tax software I used did this calculation for me.
For example:
I entered 140 square feet for the home office space and 1500 square feet for the square footage of the home. So the percentage of the home office to the whole house is 9.3%.
Then I was asked to separate the real estate taxes into direct and indirect percentages. The direct amount is for the home office space; the indirect amount is for the rest of the house. In other tax prep programs, I would enter the amount of the real estate tax and the calculation would be done for me. The same happened with mortgage interest; I had to understand the direct and indirect expense concept and do the calculations myself.
Stock Purchase Calculations
The same thing happened with stock purchase calculations. TaxACT had no provision for entering stock information for stock purchased at various times. Other tax software suggested that "various" was an appropriate entry.
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Who Has the Tax Return
Since the tax return is online, there is no tax return file unless you want to pay for access to that file. I would always prefer to have a file on my computer that I could back up and keep forever, printing it out if necessary. What happens if you are in a hurry to print out a copy of your return and you find that you can't get online or that the site is down or you forget the password? I realize these are not common in today's Internet environment, but you know Murphy's Law....
Vendor's Site
The TaxACt software I used was free; I did not purchase the Deluxe version or the state version.
Vendor's Site
Using TaxACT Online , the free online tax preparation software from Second Story Software, I have prepared several Schedule C forms for myself and others, for sole proprietorship income as part of a personal tax return (Form 1040). TaxAct's online basic version is free; the state version is $14.95. Both versions include free e-file. You can purchase a Deluxe version of TaxACT, which is $9.95 for the federal version plus $8.00 for the state version, with e-file.
What I Liked about TaxACT for 2009 Schedule C and 1040
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What I Liked
- The software was easy to download, and I had no problems starting out.
- I was asked if I wanted to download last year's return from TaxACT (You must have the Deluxe version to do this). I am not sure if I could download a 2008 return from another tax software company.
- I could see a running total of what I owed or the amount of my refund, after every entry.
- I could choose a Quick Entry option or a Step-by-Step, if I was not sure what I was doing.
- The questions were easy to understand, with the very simple Schedule C I was preparing. I had few problems. I was stuck on one question: I was asked if my car was a car or a light truck/SUV. I have a van, so I wasn't sure which category to put it in. There was no place to ask a question about this.
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What I Did Not Like About TaxACT Online for Schedule C and 1040
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Many Features Not Available in Basic Version
My biggest problem was that much of what I thought was available turned out not to be part of the free software.
Numerous times, I clicked on a help section, and was told I had to purchase the Deluxe version to get this. The Deluxe version is only $9.95, far less expensive than other software, but I still felt like this software was doing a "bait and switch" on me. For example, here are some of the features I couldn't get:
- To view tax forms as I completed the interview
- To get advice on deducting car expenses
- To get the TaxACT Tutor with help on specific issues
- To get a Depreciation Summary, Donations Assistant, and Stock Assistant
- To download last year's TaxACT return
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No Preview of Return and Schedules
I looked all over for copies of the actual tax forms, so I could review them. I finally found them under "forms" but I was not able to preview the forms without paying $9.95. I didn't want to print the form, just to preview it, but I was not even allowed to do this.
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Tax Calculations and Help on TaxACT Online
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Some calculations were not as easy as on other tax software. In the worst example, I was attempting to calculate a home business space deduction. I entered the square footage of the office and the square footage of the home. Then I was required to determine the percentage of the home space that was used for business, and also to determine the direct and indirect amount of specific deductible items. Other tax software I used did this calculation for me.
For example:
I entered 140 square feet for the home office space and 1500 square feet for the square footage of the home. So the percentage of the home office to the whole house is 9.3%.
Then I was asked to separate the real estate taxes into direct and indirect percentages. The direct amount is for the home office space; the indirect amount is for the rest of the house. In other tax prep programs, I would enter the amount of the real estate tax and the calculation would be done for me. The same happened with mortgage interest; I had to understand the direct and indirect expense concept and do the calculations myself.
Stock Purchase Calculations
The same thing happened with stock purchase calculations. TaxACT had no provision for entering stock information for stock purchased at various times. Other tax software suggested that "various" was an appropriate entry.
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Who Has the Tax Return
Since the tax return is online, there is no tax return file unless you want to pay for access to that file. I would always prefer to have a file on my computer that I could back up and keep forever, printing it out if necessary. What happens if you are in a hurry to print out a copy of your return and you find that you can't get online or that the site is down or you forget the password? I realize these are not common in today's Internet environment, but you know Murphy's Law....
Vendor's Site
The TaxACt software I used was free; I did not purchase the Deluxe version or the state version.