Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • - If you are looking for top of the line tax software

  • so that you can DIY your tax returns for the 2019/2020 year,

  • you're probably considering TurboTax.

  • We've all heard of turbo Tax.

  • In this video, I am covering a review

  • for the 2019/2020 software and what you need to know

  • in terms of pricing to get your taxes done with TurboTax.

  • (slow music)

  • Hey guys, welcome back to The College Investor,

  • Investing and Personal Finance for Millennials.

  • We're talking about TurboTax today

  • and we all know that this is a major player

  • in the tax software industry

  • and so I was wondering,

  • what exactly are you getting with TurboTax

  • and is it really free?

  • You may be able to file your taxes for free with TurboTax

  • under a very specific condition and that is

  • if you are a W-2 income earner

  • and if you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit

  • or the child tax credit.

  • So, if you have those one of those two things

  • plus the W-2, you could file at your federal

  • and your state return for $0.

  • However, you can't take any other deductions.

  • So, if you have things like paying on student loan interest

  • or you have a health savings account,

  • you wouldn't be able to qualify for that free plan,

  • you'd have to upgrade to the deluxe or the premier plan.

  • And let's go over those pricing packages

  • on TurboTax's website.

  • Okay so, TurboTax has a couple of different plans

  • for you depending on your situation.

  • So, I've covered the free edition but I think most people

  • are probably going to align with the deluxe edition

  • or the premier edition.

  • So, deluxe is $40 and then you'll get to add

  • some homeowner tax breaks,

  • it looks like you can get some one-on-one help

  • from a TurboTax specialist, all these different things.

  • And then I like how it has a breakdown of okay,

  • I could get tax deductions here,

  • mortgage of property deductions and so on.

  • You may even end up falling under the premier plan

  • which is $70 in which you can auto import

  • your investment info and tax data which is a big time-saver.

  • I definitely appreciate being able to import forms

  • rather than typing them in manually,

  • it leaves less room for error.

  • And if you are self-employed,

  • then you'll be looking at the $90 self-employed plan.

  • What I like about this one is it also includes

  • one year of QuickBooks.

  • In fact, if you are a QuickBooks user now,

  • you can import your data directly in a TurboTax

  • which saves time.

  • However, if you are just getting started

  • and you want to add QuickBooks to your business plan,

  • you can get that if you've not been a QuickBooks user

  • in the past.

  • And it's true that TurboTax often has high prices.

  • In fact, we've found that they are at the top of the market

  • when we compared these to other

  • software companies out there.

  • So, you'll wanna do your due diligence.

  • I wouldn't recommend the deluxe or the premier plans

  • if price is a deciding factor for you.

  • Also, a side note,

  • TurboTax, it tends to adjust their prices

  • throughout the tax season so you'll wanna lock in

  • your rate early on.

  • That's typically in December and January

  • when the prices will be offered at its lowest.

  • So, if you plan on doing deluxe, premier or self-employed,

  • you'll wanna lock in those rates as soon as possible.

  • Once you have aligned with the right plan for you,

  • you can go ahead and jump into the tax software.

  • Let me show you a complete walkthrough

  • of what the TurboTax software looks like once you're inside.

  • When you first get started with TurboTax,

  • you'll need to obviously sign up.

  • If you have been a previous QuickBooks user or a Mint user,

  • you can use the same login information to log into TurboTax.

  • I'll go ahead and use new information

  • so you can see exactly what it looks like

  • when you sign up for the first time.

  • When you first log in, there'll be a screen to point you

  • in the right direction.

  • So, you can click on any of these little boxes

  • and then it'll take you to the right step.

  • So, I'm going to select that I have a job at W-2

  • and if I click on anything else,

  • it's going to recommend the right package for me.

  • So, when I clicked I'm self-employed

  • then it's going to recommend the self-employed plan.

  • So, for a simple W-2 return, it's going to stick us

  • into the free edition.

  • So, let's go ahead and click file for $0

  • then you'll consent to providing your information

  • through the software

  • and then it'll just prompt you

  • through the different questions.

  • I really like how simplified the dashboard is.

  • There's not a whole lot of areas to click out of

  • and I think the questions are really straightforward,

  • I don't feel like this is confusing at all.

  • This is cool.

  • It says if you have a PDF copy of last year's return

  • then you can upload it and start pulling info

  • which is really nice.

  • For the sake of this tutorial, I'll just go ahead

  • and type my info.

  • I really like this screen too.

  • Let's get an idea of your financial picture.

  • So, there's a lot of different things

  • that could've occurred throughout the year

  • so you're just going to click on the box

  • that makes sense for you

  • and then it'll walk you through the right forms to fill out.

  • Then remember that the free edition only counts

  • if you're a W-2 income earner or if you qualify

  • for the Earned Income Tax Credit or the child tax credit.

  • So, let's go ahead and keep going.

  • Then you'll just input your personal information.

  • I'll go ahead and just put in the dummy information for now.

  • Then we'll get to the filing status

  • which is single, in this example and click continue

  • and then it'll give you a nice summary.

  • I like how at the end of inputting my information

  • that it'll give me a quick summary

  • just to make sure everything was put in correctly.

  • Then TurboTax is going to try to upsell you here.

  • We're still in the free edition but it's also asking

  • if we'd like to get advice and specialist support.

  • I would go ahead and skip this for now,

  • especially if you are finally in a simple tax return

  • or you've had experience filing your taxes

  • on your own before as well.

  • So, you can see up at the top of the screen,

  • the tax return is broken into different sections.

  • So, you'll first start with wages and income,

  • followed by deductions and credits

  • and then other miscellaneous tax situations

  • and then you'll do a review

  • of your federal return before filing.

  • Once you get done filing your W-2 information,

  • it's going to show you your federal refund so far.

  • This number can change as you input new information

  • and TurboTax will give you the best estimate

  • of what your potential refund or the potential amount

  • that you'll owe.

  • And then they'll go ahead and check for more information

  • about your 2019 income by answering

  • a couple of simple questions.

  • The cool thing about this year is you can always

  • click the learn more button

  • and there's going to be a pop-up window

  • that explains why they're asking this information

  • and then sometimes what forms that you would need

  • in order to fill out everything correctly.

  • So, that's really nice.

  • So far, everything within the TurboTax software

  • is really easy and simple to use.

  • I like that everything is broken down into layman's terms.

  • I don't feel that I am confused by anything so far

  • and the questions that are asked throughout the process,

  • it seems very guided

  • so I don't have to go looking for things.

  • All right, now we're gonna jump into the second section

  • which is the deductions and credits.

  • Then once you get to the part

  • where you need to pick either standard or itemized,