September 30, 2022

Consider what kinds of forms and features you will actually need. You may find that a basic software package will suit your needs. ZDNET’s recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. But we do have to make money to pay our team and keep this website running!

Another possible option is the ATX 1040 Package, although it is limited to three state returns and 75 free e-filings. That might be enough for a new firm, but it is something worth careful consideration. The price will vary depending on the number of users and choice of software deployment options. The software can be installed on a workstation, hosted on a cloud via Virtual Office CS or leased as a SaaS solution. The Unlimited Plan has the same features, plus it includes unlimited user accounts and unlimited cloud storage.

TaxAct

There are many options when it comes to tax software, including free resources for tax research applications, which are increasingly used by tax professionals. Survey respondents included some practitioners requiring high functionality and quality, and others needing low-cost options. Although https://turbo-tax.org/tax-software-survey/ write-in comments highlighted concerns with customer support and cost, package ratings reflected overall satisfaction with software. The ratings of individual features and overall satisfaction reported from the 2021 survey should help those who wish to consider the different packages.

In this year’s tax software survey by the JofA and The Tax Adviser, 1,778 CPAs assessed the software they used to prepare 2021 tax returns for a fee. More information and analysis of the survey results is available in articles in the August 2022 issues of The Tax Adviser and the JofA. In the 2021 annual survey, New York State CPAs generally expressed satisfaction with commercial tax preparation and tax research software resources, as well as with free online tools. The average ratings for both tax preparation and tax research software were generally consistent with previous years, although ratings for some products reflected more substantial changes. In 2021, ease of use was selected as the most important feature for tax preparation software, followed by accuracy (low error rate) and cost. For tax research software, ease of use was rated as the most important feature, followed by timely updates and cost.

Unlimited

With Drake Tax software, you can print tax forms in English and Spanish, evaluate and compare taxes for different states and automatically double-check data entry (and calculations) as you input information. TaxWise features comprehensive Spanish language support, having over 60 forms and schedules available in Spanish. UltimateTax also has Spanish forms available on all product versions. You can apply the user-friendly interview mode in assisting your Spanish-speaking clients to fill data entry fields. Intuit provides a cloud-based professional tax preparer software option.

You can set up shortcut keys and macros to speed up tax return data entry tasks. Intuit’s products have garnered a reputation for elevated safety and cybersecurity features. The company’s TurboTax platform has earned repeated mentions in professional reviews for its excellent safety and data protection features. However, many other providers also offer highly secure tax filing programs. According to Investopedia, TaxAct is the only business tax platform that allows users to file partnership or C corporation returns online with Mac and PC systems. TaxAct also offers a downloadable version of its software, though this feature is only available for Windows users.

What Matters Most When Selecting Tax Software?

Under 8% of users of CCH Axcess Tax, CCH ProSystem fx, Lacerte, and UltraTax CS approved of these products’ price. Price was far and away named as the most frequent “dislike” for the latter four products. By the same token, only 5.5% of Drake Tax users disliked its price. Over three-quarters of users of Lacerte and UltraTax CS disliked those products’ price. Drake Tax has what you need to file taxes — and its website has resources to help you learn how to use the software.

Given that most customer support ratings declined in 2021, it is not surprising that respondents expressed concerns about customer support. For the third most often liked trait, ease of use, ProSeries was highly esteemed at 72.5%, against 50.5% for users https://turbo-tax.org/ of all the major products. CCH ProSystem fx and CCH Axcess Tax also stood out for accuracy, the next most often liked feature for all the major products, with CCH ProSystem fx at nearly 76% and CCH Axcess Tax at 67.7%, against an average of 53%.