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TaxSimple Review
presented by Shopperosity.com
TaxSimple is a decent online filing service for 1040EZ or simple 1040 filers who are looking for a quick refund. As a bonus, the electronic filing fee is included in the purchase price and they provide quick loans at an additional cost. But overall, this tax preparation package tends to be higher priced than similar services with the same features.
TaxSimple Has Some Catching Up to Do
The creators of TaxSimple had
a tough task trying to take on industry stalwarts like TurboTax and TaxCut,
and unfortunately they didn't meet the challenge very well. Even though the
program navigation is fairly intuitive, it is is not necessarily convenient.
This is most obvious when you need to go back to a previous page to make changes or corrections. The program forces you to finish the page you are working on before allowing you to go back to the section that you want to correct. Most other programs are much more convenient and the TaxSimple team needs to address these needs by field testing their software more extensively.
TaxSimple does include importing of data which save a lot of time, and includes the ability to import from financial software like Quicken and Microsoft Money.
TaxSimple Favors Those Familiar with Forms
Fill out your return with TaxSimple is eerily similar to filling out the paper forms. This makes it less valuable for first time tax filers and better for those who like to see exactly where the data they enter is going.
Like most of the programs, TaxSimple asks some preliminary questions. From there, the program determines what forms you need. After that, you pretty much fill out those forms digitally instead of on paper. While this may not be great for novices, it is certainly a good feature for others, especially those who understand the income tax process well and like to have the visual control over which forms are getting filled in and how. TaxSimple is only available as an online service, therefore there is never and software to download or install. While this is a little scary for the traditionalist who is used to having a desktop application, online services do offer some nice benefits. First, you don't have to worry about constantly keeping your software up-to-date throughout the tax season since the actual software is hosted on the TaxSimple server. Second, you can do your taxes anywhere -- even if you are vacationing in a warmer climate. No need to get home before April 15. Do your taxes on your own terms! Finally, your return data is held in secure online storage, so if you have a computer meltdown, buy a new computer or are away from your home computer, your tax return data is always safe and accessible with a simple internet connection.
Setting up an online TaxSimple account is an easy process,. and only takes a few minutes.
TaxSimple is Not Quite so Simple
While TaxSimple offers few tax preparation features, it does offer several add-on options like tax refund advance loans, archiving options, and a bound copy of your taxes. All these features will cost you an additional fee. Audit assistance is also available for an extra fee.
This service can help you electronically file federal and state tax returns and they offer quite a few of the extra forms you may need such as income reporting, small business income/loss, deductions, credits and a few special forms.
As far as customer support goes, TaxSimple has a knowledge base section and FAQ page on their site. They also offer live help via chat, email and telephone contact.
The Final Word
TaxSimple was not our favorite tax preparation service, but it is a decent service that can get your tax job done. If you like to see your tax form right in front of you and need to know where the data you enter goes, TaxSimple is the tax return solution for you. For the rest of us, a more user-friendly service like TurboTax or TaxCut will do a better job of hiding the complexity of the tax forms and make doing taxes less stressful.
Back to the Tax Preparation Software Review
Also see:
TurboTax Review
H&R Block Taxcut Review
CompleteTax Review
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