Tax Act

[MAMalody]

Has anybody tried this software from 2nd Story. I understand they used to be Parson tax program.

Mike

[JohnSpadaEA]

taxact

Yes, I have used it. My summary is what it does it does well, but it is very limited in the areas of multi state returns, NOL's, no form 982, and so no. It is missing a lot if you have a diverse practice. On the other hand I know a couple of guys with small practices and it works fine for them.

[Holland]

Has anybody tried this software from 2nd Story. I understand they used to be Parson tax program.

Mike

I used it for a few years. Very low price, very easy to use, very esy to train staff to use, reasonable speed. Severely lacking in forms that I needed, No NR, no part-year state, etc.

Christopher Mewhort, EA, CGA

[GIMoe]

Tax Act

Has anybody tried this software from 2nd Story. I understand they used to be Parson tax program.

Mike

I have been using for the past 3 years. It is a very inexpensive program ($500 will get you 1040 and all states and unlimited e-files to fed and state, if you do not e-file, then $151 will get you unlimited paper 1040 and all states and you can still PPR e-file if you choose) and very easy to use. You can use their interview mode or do direct forms entry.

They do also have a business package for federal and some states that includes the 1065, 1120, & 1120S. I haven't used their business package, so I can't say much about it.

My complaints about it is mainly the lack of forms that should not be missing from any tax program (in my opinion) such as Form 4852 for example. Also, they are missing a lot of state forms as well. I have found that state returns and forms are especially lacking. for example, it is not very user-friendly when it comes to doing state returns for out of state military.

These are the kinds of things that have me looking at switching this off season.

[Roberts]

I used it several years ago. Basically it is designed for the tax preparer who only e-files 35-40 returns or less. After that, you are almost always better off upgrading to a more inclusive product. ATX for example will now allow 100 e-files next year for considerably less than the cost of TaxAct at 100 E-files.

For the preparer just starting out - it's a great, affordable product.

[Joe Btfsplk]

Tax Act

Tax Act does an excellent job on even complicated 1040s. It only costs $ 79 if you order it in May. I found that it would handle situations Drake, Tax Slayer and ATX would NOT handle.

However, I would suggest that anyone who does anything other than 1040s order Drake or some other more comprehensive program to cover State taxes, especially non resident returns, and for 1120s, 1065s and other non-1040 returns.

I plan to order both Drake and Tax Act. If Drake works better than when I previously tested it, I may switch to Drake alone once I gain sufficient confidence in it.

I don't do a lot of efiling, which comes free with Drake but is a separate charge using TaxAct, so my efiling will probably all be done on Drake.

[erchess]

Curious

What will Tax Act handle that the ATX won't? Which version of ATX were you looking at? The version I looked at is supposed to handle anything. The only reason I went with CS Ultratax is that ATX was more recently purchased by its new owner than CS.

We all know that the IRS regulates software. I think that it should require software packages to be capable of doing all possible Federal State and Local forms and to offer a pay per return price where any up front fee and 90% of the per return fees count toward the fee for unlimited use.

[Roberts]

Why do people buy two different programs? That seems like a big nightmare in the making.

[erchess]

Here's Why I have two programs

Most of the returns I prepare can be done on Orrtax which costs me around $400. The software is easy to use and accurate. But, to do a social security lump sum election I have to fill out by hand the relevant worksheets. Furthermore the package I have doesn't have state estate tax forms. I could fill out those forms by hand or on fill in pdfs or I could turn away that business. What i choose to do instead is spend $160 up front plus a per return fee for UltraTax. I'm way ahead financially compared to the roughly $2K that Ultratax would charge for the package I would have wanted if they had been my only software.

I use both MS Office and WordPerfect Office Suite, but that's another story.

[JohnSpadaEA]

1040Works

I am just taking a look at the taxworks demo. They are offering a low cost product called 1040works with one state for $395 and all states for $595, including unlimited efile. To me this product is much better than the other low cost programs out there.