One of the essential tasks every taxpayer keeps on priority is filing their taxes in time. Gone are the days when taxpayers had to visit the Income Tax office and stand in long queues to file their taxes. Developments in the information technology and software industry have given a new rise to this genre. One such action is in the form of a tax preparation software, TurboTax. It allows you to file both the state and federal taxes according to the American tax systems. Read on to explore in detail what TurboTax is and how it works.
An Introduction to TurboTax
As discussed, TurboTax is a tax preparation software that allows you to file the state and federal taxes online. You can use both the online as well as the stand-alone software system to file your taxes. Having said that, it eliminates the requirement for you to travel to the Income Tax office and wait in long queues. Besides, TurboTax makes it simpler to navigate the yearly changes in tax laws.
Irrespective of your proficiency in preparing taxes, it enables you to prepare your return quickly and easily. Instances might occur when the tax preparation software is compromised by some corrupted Windows files, resulting in unusual behaviorof the software. In such cases, you need to run the Turbotax Corrupted File Recovery process that will help you recover the defective file and ensure smooth functioning of the software.
What Are The Advantages of TurboTax?
Now that you have read what TurboTax is, read on to explore its benefits. One of the primary advantages of TurboTax is that it is very user-friendly. In a simple question-answer format, it collates your returns data and files your taxes in a hassle-free manner. In case you aren’t well-versed with the income tax preparation, TurboTax assists you throughout the process of tax filing. While these are some of the basic advantages of the tax preparation software, below-mentioned are the ones which can prove really helpful. Let’s have a look at them one by one:
- Utmost Accuracy: TurboTax prepares your return with 100% accuracy. To ensure that, they pay both the penalty and interest to the IRS. All you need to do is provide correct information during the process of tax submission.
- Multiple Packages: Every edition of TurboTax comprises a basic and additional fee for the software and for preparing and filing a state or federal tax return respectively. However, if you are filing multiple state income tax returns, you can purchase the Turbotax State edition. You can use this for filing unlimited numbers of state returns.
- Interface of QuickBooks: With the interface similar to QuickBooks, people who are equipped with QuickBooks will find it pretty easy to use the Turbotax platform. Moreover, it gives you an excellent opportunity to import all the tax-related information directly from QuickBooks into Turbotax. Hence, it will save you a lot of time that you’d otherwise invest in entering the details in every section.
How TurboTax Works?
Since TurboTax works in a question-answer format, it is important that you understand how the questionnaire works. The questions that are asked during the process of tax filing are not only basic, but they are categorized in various basic topics. For instance, TurboTax will start asking you the kind of questions you might have seen in any other usual questionnaire.
This section includes general information, and you can easily complete this in a few minutes. Once this section is completed, the series of questions become more substantial, and most of them are in the “fill-in-the-blank” type questions. For instance, TurboTax will ask you questions that are directly associated with your W2. However, you can directly import these W2 forms for leading organizations quite easily. Next, you need to provide information from 1099s, such as bank interest and the amount of dividends earned.
Things can get a little challenging when you need to enter your stock transactions. However, TurboTax makes it easy for you to import the capital transactions schedule from a broker. This makes the process of entering stock trades a hassle-free deal. Once this is completed, the process of deductions start. Here, you will get the same question-answer format that will help you to fill your deductible expenses one after another. Information on medical expenses, paid interest on mortgage, local and state taxes, charitable deductions, and expenses on business, if any, has to be filled.
Stage II of Filing Taxes In TurboTax
After entering all the information in the initial stage, TurboTax, whether it is the online version or the software version, will review the filed return and inform you if there are any mistakes or if any information is missing. Once this stage is completed, it will suggest to you about the process of lowering your tax liability, such as by opting for an IRA deduction. Before you file your return, TurboTax will show you the summary so that you can review everything before filing your return.
Mostly, you can e-file your federal return; however, you always get an option to print your return and file it using the traditional emailing process. Moreover, you can print the copies of your records or save the soft copies to your computer or any external drive for future use.
Once you submit your tax returns, you will be notified by an email, provided the IRS accepts your e-filed tax return. The process of email acknowledgement usually completes in 1-2 business days. Lastly, if you are eligible for a refund, you can track the refund status and ensure guaranteed credit of the refund amount.
While filing your taxes using Turbotax could be a smooth process, instances may occur when you encounter TurboTax error message. In such cases, it is very important to identify the reason behind the error. This will help you in resolving the issue quickly. It has generally been found that error messages in TurboTax get resolved by a simple restart of the computer system. However, if that doesn’t work, try resolving the issue by scanning your computer for viruses, malware, or trojans.
So, these are the various stages of working of TurboTax. Hope, you have a better picture of what the tax preparation software is all about and how it could aid in fulfilling your tax submission goals moving forward.
