Tax Preparation Software allows users to safely and efficiently prepare their taxes. The software cuts down on the cost of hiring an accountant and the stress of doing it alone. A lot of tax preparation software is designed to look for and detect problems in the information provided and they also pay special attention to those areas which are red flags for IRS audits.
There are three main tax preparation programs: TurboTax, TaxCut, and TaxACT. TaxACT is the cheapest; however it is the least user friendly and does not do well with complex filing. Overall TurboTax seemed to be rated the best; however it is almost equal with TaxCut, which is cheaper. Both TurboTax and TaxCut can be linked with Quicken or Microsoft Money to provide information. One of the versions of Turbotax can also be linked with employers and banks to incorporate both the W2 and the 1099 directly, thus reducing the possibility of error. Either TurboTax or TaxCut is recommended, based on the user's personal preferences.
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