Review by Heidi Anne Heiner

Yes, what took me about half an hour last year from download, install and data entry is still not done after at least six times that long and I am ANGRY. I am trying to create 1099s, a simple programming function compared to the rest of the tax needs I am going to have as I prepare our full taxes and THE SYSTEM DOESN’T WORK. 1099 and W-2 is now forced to be online and the system is horrible, doesn’t work and each successful data entry takes at least three attempts. And then you aren’t sure if it is successful because instead of freezing your computer, you get this message:nnHouston, we have a problem…nLuckily, we’re not in space. Rest assured, our programmers are on it.

That may work if you sign out, sign in and try that again.nIf you see this again, please contact us so we can help.

I am not amused. NASA wouldn’t have ever gotten to the moon with TurboTax 2011 Software. They’d never gotten to the launchpad. Or the rocket built. We’d still think it was made of swiss cheese.

Then, of course, when you go back and try again, your data is often correct–after all you just entered a four digit number! Why would that break a system?nnSo, yes, believe the reviews. I haven’t even started the individual tax return and I am worried. I might be buying TaxAct or whatever I can find before this tax season is over because my trust level is kaput. I could do 1099s online at the IRS site or handwrite them, they are the easiest, simplest form I will deal with over the next few months. But I bought TurboTax to make it even easier. And if it can’t handle these, well, I shudder and I worry.

And if you are in the same boat as me and bought early before the reviews and WANT to try this anyway, well, the functionality is slightly better in Google Chrome over IE 8. Not much but at least I got a file to transfer on my sixth attempt on Chrome. So my names were imported from last year’s file. Never mind that it said it didn’t and then it transferred the file twice and now won’t let me delete the duplicates without that lovely Houston message I shared above. I finally got one to delete after 8 attempts. I may not be so lucky with the rest of them.

So yes. Crap. Utter, useless crap. I want a refund but it is software so that’s not possible since I’ve ripped open the box and loaded this simulation of a tax preparer.

This is my 9th year using TurboTax and by far the worst experience I have ever had with it. Phooey on Intuit.

UPDATE on 1/31/12:nnAfter countless attempts at data entry in the online 1099/W2 Reporter system, I finally got my 8 1099s completed. It took me 6 hours of repeated attempts to get the data entered. Yes, I was foolish. I could have done it somewhere else in less than an hour. Then I read in another review here that there is a backend way to do the reports through the software.

Click FILE in the upper left hand corner menu and select NEW TAX RETURN and the selection like previous years. For kicks and giggles I decided to do that after finally printing up and mailing the 1099s today, a few days past when I intended. The whole process took me 15 minutes, what it has done in previous years. Why did Turbo Tax not give us the outright option? Why did they release extremely flawed online software? (Even selecting a state doesn’t work in the drop down boxes unless you hit a hard enter after selecting, otherwise it clears out the field when you move to the next one. Nevermind the inability to process submitted info, the forms can’t even handle data entry such as 5 digit only zip codes, etc.)nnSo this is too little too late for me and for you, but perhaps someone will be saved the headache.

And do save that return for the 1099/W2s in the software (the work around) because even though you save it, it doesn’t not come up as an option for your ongoing working returns in the open file page. You have to browse for it on your computer–know where you saved it!–if you need to access it again.

Pure idiocy…