The Federal program worked ok for me, though the interface is a bit clunky. However, the MD state program has some minor glitches, and the WV state program doesn't handle part-year residents, which of course I didn't know until I fired it up at the last minute...

I wrote a nice long review but as it happens my computer shut down before the review was submitted. However, I'm going to do it again here because I don't want you to waste your time like I wasted mine on this software this year, my first year doing my own taxes.

My main beefs --

- Rebate process was probably more annoying than if I had read the IRS detailed tax instructions.
- DeductionPro is useless; didn't even install it since I just took the standard deduction they give you instead of itemizing.
- Videos are annoying; you can't fast forward or rewind. I also felt like I was being talked down to or needlessly being sold on the software I had already purchased ("alternative minimum tax is way complicated, but don't worry, we'll help you out!")
- Useless questions that could be automated away. For example, why do I need to tell the software what 1040 form I want to use? Isn't that the point of the software?
- Lack of question explanation in the text. For example, how am I supposed to figure out if I have Hope or lifetime learning or deduction credit? If I wanted to look at detailed documentation or find an online reference, I wouldn't have bought the software.
- Ads of the H&R Block tax advisor service and all the other extra junk they try to sell you. Ask yourself, what's their incentive for making the questions and question flow clear if their intention is to sell you on the extras if you're confused.

And the straw that broke the camel's back and led me to another online service (free and better!) --

- Huge bug where it deducted my Roth IRA contribution. I didn't know much about the tax system but one of the things I did know is that Roth IRA contributions are not tax deductible. I considered filing an official complaint against the software, but am sick of dealing with it so this review will have to do.

About the only thing that didn't make the software completely worthless was that I did my state tax return with it. The online service I used for federal didn't have the part-year resident form I needed for my state. Even then I made sure to double check the numbers it spewed out since I had lost trust in the software's accuracy.

I had thought that the H&R Block name would've been an advantage in accuracy, etc. But really, I feel like the software's existence is to make people migrate toward their brick-and-mortar professionals. Also, it's no wonder the software has bugs if the IRS forms themselves were not yet finalized when the software was released (an online update of the software is required). Although, to be fair, the accuracy problems I entered both upped my refund; at the risk of getting audited!

Bottom Line:

If you're really lazy -- pay a tax professional or bribe a knowledgeable friend.

If you're medium lazy -- go with an online service or the other popular software package

If you're willing to spend time learning about taxes (for future benefit e.g. to optimize refunds, catch software mistakes) -- go directly to the IRS instructions and consider doing double checking and e-filing with an online service.

I have used this product frequently. This is the first time (and the last time because we will not order it again) WE HAVE USED PREMIUM.

For a simple return it is great!This product is TAX CUT PREMIUM!
It has all the bells and whistles according to the desriptions- Right ! If you have a more complicated return.....:

1. The software may not directly support input with their tax information. The info is canned and pasteurised for Mr. Joe or Jolene average. But you have assistance !
2. The $9.95 help claims that anything not on their interveiw is "TAX ADVICE"!.. KACHING... GO TO TAX ADVISOR FOR TWENTY FIVE BUCKS.!!YOU HAVE A COUPON TO BOOT.
3. Tax Advisor?? Spend half a day awaiting a callback on three occasions and receive the same answer three times ; "unable to contact client. Try again.

OK H&R block is in the tax prep business...now do you get the picture?

I found this program to be easy to use. Their interview style walks you right through, you don't even know you are preparing a tax return. I especially like the way it will take you right to the actual Form and show you the worksheets on how they arrive at decisions. Tax Cut showed me that we could make an $1850 traditional IRA contribution for my wife that we thought was disallowed. I also liked the way it held my hand through the capital gains, 1099, and stock buy/sell recording. It lets you skip around, go back and forth. Viewing the actual worksheets that TaxCut uses to compute the values that get entered on the 1040 was a little difficult. I had to contact their tech support to find the long term tax computations. I initially contacted them through thier on-line chat, but my browser crashed, not their fault. I then emailed my question and they responded the next day. The info was there, I hadn't scrolled down enough. All-in-all, the tax prep portion was excellent, checking the calculations took a little getting used to the software. I will be buying this next year.

This software disappointed on several straightforward tasks:

1. The Employee Stock Option interview is terrible: it performs NO actual calculations. It gives some vague advise about how to handle Stock Options and Employee Stock Purchase Plan situations rather than directly calculating the tax impact. I had to refer to the guides given to me by the broker, AND the TURBOX TAX website to figure out how to calculate the cost basis for these situations. The software, especially software labeled PREMIUM, should have this functionality built in and I should not require a trip to a competitor's website and the use of a hand calculator! That's why I buy tax software. TurboTax actually performs calculations when you input data.

2. The download "feature" for W-2, 1099, and 1098 forms is humerous. I have used this feature in TurboxTax for my W-2 form from a major Fortune 500 company and the 1099-DIV form from the Vanguard Group. Apparently, Taxcut has no agreement with these major corporations--the list of supported employers, brokers, and mortgage companies is tiny.

3. Printing-there seems to be some formatting issues with the worksheets when printed out. It seems to print outside the printable area of a standard printer.

On the plus side, the software is relatively cheap and is probably OK for simple tax situations. Its laid out logically and imported my 2003 tax data from TurboTax competently. But I would purchase TurboTax if you have a more "complex" tax situation (although I hardly classify Employee Stock Options and Purchase Plans as complex in 2004).

I tried it because it is cheaper than TurboTax and I was curious to compare the two, but I'll be using TurboTax again next year!