Looking At The TurboTax Redesign

If you’ve used TurboTax before, then you should expect some changes this time around. Recently, Intuit’s tax software has become a little confusing. The user interface didn’t exactly welcome simplicity and efficiency. Sometimes, users would get frustrated by looping links and other problems. Such issues could easily hurt a person while preparing their taxes using the software. Intuit finally listened to customers’ concerns and made changes to the popular tax preparation software in a TurboTax Redesign.

TurboTax Redesign
Screenshot: Intuit’s Customer Community (Photo credit: miss_rogue)

For TurboTax 2014, filing taxes now looks a lot smoother and easier to navigate. A TurboTax Redesign of the user interface has been undertaken and completed. Intuit stated a desire to lessen the time required to complete a return. With that in mind, the software now takes better advantage of prior year returns. TurboTax now analyzes that information and focuses upon each person’s typical tax situation. Returns are partially filled out before a person even starts their return.

While using the software, your tax liability indicator changes with each tax question. In the past, there were no real explanations for the changes. TurboTax 2014 now explains why these calculations affect your tax liability. New guides help explain various tax law changes, including Obamacare. Of course, each modification is designed to make things more simple and efficient for filing taxes and filing back taxes. Intuit has returned power to taxpayers by allowing them to complete their taxes with ease.

In the end, the company focused upon the right things for TurboTax 2014. Filing taxes is now much easier because prior returns are utilized to create a custom experience for each taxpayer. Plus, the competition hasn’t made similar bounds forward. Therefore, Intuit still offers the best tax preparation software around. Nobody needs to spend a fortune on tax preparation because Turbo Tax offers every tool a person needs to succeed each year.

Tax Changes For The Wealthy

2013 and 2014 taxes may be different for the wealthy due to several new tax implementations. The top tax rate may be steeper, and the actual percentage may depend upon what is included. People may be surprised by the changes, and this may be the ideal time to let TurboTax 2013 guide you through efficient tax preparation.

Income inequality continues to be a major political issue, and things like extending jobless benefits, raising the minimum wage, and imposing changes that affect the top tax rate are central to addressing this issue. Some of the newer 2014 taxes include changes to capital gains taxes, and 2013 is the first year that taxpayers will feel the impact. New payroll and Medicare taxes may effect wealthy taxpayers starting in 2013, and the increases may net $87 billion over the next decade.

The 2013 tax filing season will begin on January 31st, but wealthier individuals may already see differences in their withholding going forward. The law is applied unevenly, and this may result in withholding for some people, exemptions in some cases, and larger tax refunds for others.

Changes involving capital gains, interest, dividends, and other types of investments may increase tax bills, but income after taxes may decrease by a small percentage. The percentage may not seem like much, but losing this share of income may seem substantial. You may not know where your income will place you in terms of the current tax rate changes, but TurboTax 2013 may give you the important answers you need.

IRS Forms To File Back Taxes

IRS Forms To File Back Taxes

Even if one is certain there are no mistakes in the forms when following federal tax procedures, a little shiver goes down a taxpayers spine at the very thought of a letter arriving from the IRS. The Internal Revenue Service blundered recently when the office sent penalty notices to business owners who had requested an extension in filing tax return Form 5500 to file back taxes. An error in programming caused the mistake regarding the required Form 5558, the Application for an Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns, before filing Form 5500. Normally, taxpayers are penalized if the Form 5500 is late or unfinished. However, the notice to those taxpayers who filed the proper forms in the right order received the penalty notice, CP 283, Penalty Charged on Your 5500 Return.

Legal research
Legal research (Photo credit: gwilmore (I HATE THE NEW LAYOUT!))

A letter of explanation concerning the inaccuracy was instituted November 8th to IRS employees. Citizens received a penalty notice before the Form 5558 had an opportunity to post to the accounts. Therefore, letters of explanation were prepared while telephone assistors and tax examiners were instructed to apologize to callers. Penalties were removed in all cases, up to five if the caller was a person with multiple plans or clients. If the person was responsible for more than 5 accounts, they were requested to solicit their abatement in writing. The Internal Revenue Service accepted responsibility for the penalty notice to the taxpayers and the charges were removed. It seems filing back taxes can be simple most of the time, but one small computer error can create a fiasco of work.

Tax Carnival Ecstasy – October 1, 2013

Good Lord, I'm sure that's Councillor Bill Smi...
Good Lord, I’m sure that’s Councillor Bill Smith from Melrose – unless my eyes deceive me (Photo credit: Ninian Reid)

Welcome to the October 1, 2013 edition of Tax Carnival Ecstasy. In this edition we start with an article from Matt Becker on the deductability of mortgage interest and why it’s not the great tax deal everyone thinks. Bill Smith reports on TurboTax and eHealth working together and the IRS Fresh Start Program. Laura Anderson has some Nanny Tax Myths that you should know about. Hope you enjoy all the articles, bookmark, share, tweet and come back soon.

deductions

Matt Becker presents Is the Mortgage Interest Deduction For Real? posted at Mom and Dad Money, saying, “When people talk about the financial benefits of home ownership, one of the big points they typically make is that the interest paid on the mortgage is deductible. This is only semi-true and in any event is not really the big win that many people claim it is. So today I’d like to run through the reasons why the mortgage interest deduction is not always all it’s cracked up to be.”

filing

Bill Smith presents TurboTax Is Integrating With EHealth posted at 2013 Taxes, saying, “eHealth, the United States’ predominant private Internet health insurance exchange, has announced that it will enter into a partnership with Intuit Inc..”

retirement

John Schmoll presents Should You Pay Off Debt or Invest in the Stock Market First? posted at Frugal Rules, saying, “There can be a fine balance between paying off debt or investing in the stock market first. The truth is that it’s a personal decision and one that will aid your wealth building, debt reduction and saving for retirement at the same time.”

John Schmoll presents When It Comes To Investing, Be The One Who Dives In Head First posted at Frugal Rules, saying, “Many allow fear to hold them back when it comes to investing in the stock market. However, if you give yourself some practical lessons you can put yourself in better standing to build a retirement portfolio and begin to grow your wealth.”

tax law

Bill Smith presents Tax Help 101: Casualty, Disaster, And Theft Losses posted at 2014 Taxes, saying, “Financial losses incurred because of disasters, casualties, or theft may be tax-deductible.”

taxes

Laura Anderson presents Expert Insights: Nanny Tax Myths with Guy Maddalone of GTM Payroll Services, Inc. posted at eNannySource, saying, “When it comes to employing a nanny, it’s important to know what’s true and false. Guy Maddalone, founder and president of GTM Payroll Services, Inc. and household payroll and tax expert, provides some important insight that can help separate fact from fiction.”

Bill Smith presents IRS Fresh Start Program posted at 2012 Taxes – Free Tax Filing Options, saying, “There is a new system called the IRS Fresh Start Program which aims to make it easier for people to pay back taxes and avoid a lien coming against them. There are three major parts to the IRS program.”

tips

Bill Smith presents Guidance For Personal Finance That Can Save These Days posted at 2012 Tax – Free Tax Filing Options, saying, “The government has become a popular source of security but real financial security is found at home when you reduce debt and have a savings.”

Bill Smith presents Free SCORE Tax Tips posted at 2010 Tax, saying, “Having your own small business can be a rewarding experience. There are many aspects that can be difficult to accomplish on your own though.”

That concludes this edition.  Submit your blog article to the next edition of tax carnival ecstasy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Intuit TurboTax Class Action Lawsuit

Intuit TurboTax Class Action Lawsuit

Intuit TurboTax began drawing a lot of customers to their site when they began marketing, ‘file 2008 taxes free‘. However, a class action lawsuit was filed against Intuit TurboTax stating that the company was not revealing fees being charged. The lawsuit stems from TurboTax allowing filers to have their preparation fees deducted from their tax return. TurboTax charged an additional $29.95 if online customers opted to have fees deducted.

Class Action (film)
Class Action (film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The lawsuit alleges Intuit’s processing fee was not disclosed as a finance charge so an APR or annual percentage rate was never provided. Since TurboTax essentially lent money to filers who chose this option, an APR should have been present. There was another class action lawsuit, Smith v. Intuit, Inc in February, 2013, which was resolved with the new lawsuit pending.

Intuit has denied that it was involved in any deception or wrongdoing and agreed to give customers full refunds through the class action settlement fund.

Currently there is a $6.55 million Settlement Fund. How much each person will receive depends on the number of people who actually file a valid claim form. The deadline to submit a claim form is October 28, 2013.

Anyone who used TurboTax online and opted to have their TurboTax fees deducted from their refund between January 12, 2008 and May 28, 2012 can take part in the settlement. Claims can be filed online at the official website, TurboTax Class Account, which makes the process easier for anyone wishing to file.

Intuit TurboTax is a very popular online software tax preparation that walks people through the process of filing their federal and state income taxes. They check the return for errors and you have the choice to e-file, which makes getting refunds faster.

How To File A Tax Extension

How To File A Tax Extension

Each year, millions of people find that they are unable to file their taxes in time for the April deadline.  While the IRS can be very unforgiving about some aspects of their collections, one thing that they do make available for all tax payers is a tax extension available for several months.  You can use TurboTax 2013 software in order to take advantage of this tax extension.

IRS Form 1040X, 2005 revision
IRS Form 1040X, 2005 revision (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

E-File First

Begin by using the TurboTax 2013 software to actually file you taxes, putting in as much information about income, securities, investments, and deductions that you are able to, even if it is only a smidgen.  You want to do this now so that there are no surprises you may have missed once you sit down to do the full job.  Once you have that done, find out when you are able to finish the extension to the closest date.  Log into TurboTax 2013 software and either e-file an extension or print out the paper copy.

Paper Or Digital

While most people might be more comfortable with filing their tax extension by mail, you can do so digitally with the TurboTax 2013 software.  In fact, since this process is instant, it is not recommended that you file an extension by mail since it will take a few days to reach the IRS offices and runs the risk of becoming overdue if it is not postmarked by April 15th.  Once you have sent it in, you have until October 15th of 2013 to fill out the full tax form.