Intuit's TurboTax family of tax preparation websites has won more Editors' Choice awards than any of its competitors, thanks to its thorough coverage, comprehensive help system, and best-in-class user interface. This year is no different, although we reviewed the Deluxe version this time around as opposed to last year's Self-Employed option. TurboTax Deluxe covers W-2 and interest/dividend income as well as the Schedule A, so there's special emphasis on finding as many deductions as possible. It also includes live on-screen site help, storage of past returns, and imports of your 2016 TurboTax data. For all these reasons, TurboTax deluxe retains its Editors' Choice distinction. Pricing and Features The lineup and pricing of TurboTax have changed slightly for 2018. The company is once again offering its Federal Free Edition (free federal and state for 1040EZ and 1040A filers), also called AbsoluteZero. TurboTax Deluxe costs $59.99 for federal taxes and $39.99 per state. You need TurboTax Premier ($79.99 federal, $39.99 per state) if you have to report on investment income and rental property. TurboTax Self-Employed ($119.99 federal, $39.99 state) lets you record income and expenses on a Schedule C, and it includes special guidance and features for self-employed individuals. TurboTaxLive ($179.99 federal, $39.99 per state) is new this year. It contains everything from the Self-Employed version, plus the ability to connect online with a CPA or EA (Enrolled Agent) and receive tax advice and a review of your return. You can add this capability to TurboTax Deluxe for $74.99. A Familiar Format Personal tax preparation services all still use the format Intuit introduced for its desktop software products in 1993. And with good reason: It works beautifully, saving time, easing frustration, and dramatically reducing errors. Instead of shifting your attention among the Form 1040, related forms and schedules, IRS instructions, and third-party reference books, you go through the tax preparation screens one at a time, in a logical order. TurboTax started this trend of using a wizard-based approach to tax preparation. Intuit's service (and many competitors) asks you a lengthy series of questions about your personal situation on a variety of tax-related topics. You provide an answer, click a button to advance to the next screen, and keep answering and clicking until the service says you're done. Then, it combs through your return, lets you fix any problems, and helps you file or print the finished product after you pay for your federal and state returns. All this time, you never have to look at an IRS form or schedule, because TurboTax and its competitors complete them for you in the background. What you do see—especially in TurboTax—is expert help in the form of simply worded explanations of tax concepts throughout the process. A Unique Personality Every personal tax preparation service has a personality of its own, made up of a combination of its tone, user interface, and skill at guiding you through its wizard without causing confusion. TurboTax's personality is on display from the start, even before you start filling in dollar amounts. TurboTax takes a conversational and friendly tone, whereas competing services, such as Jackson Hewitt Deluxe, tend to be more formal and businesslike. You may like this friendliness, especially if you're nervous about your taxes or this is your first time using a tax prep site. Others may just want to get on with it. In any case, the extra chumminess isn't overdone, nor will it slow you down (usually). Getting Started Once you create a username and password, TurboTax displays several life situations that might affect taxes (such as marriage, children, job, or home) and recommends the best version for you. It doesn't provide immediate guidance like TaxAct Online used to do, but it gives special attention in these areas as you move along. Next, you provide answers to the site's questions, mostly about your personal background, including your address, Social Security number, and occupation. When you come to issues that may be confusing, like filing status and dependents, TurboTax Deluxe provides extra guidance. As you finish, you see a summary of your personal information. The service also asks if you want to subscribe to MAX Defend and Restore, which includes audit support, help with identity theft monitoring and identity restoration, and priority care, for $49.99. At this point, you're ready to move on to the real meat of the site: entering your income (you can import your W-2 if your employer supports this), figuring out your deductions and credits, and taking care of additional issues like health insurance and other tax-related situations. The site offers two choices for data entry. You can select topics that apply to your situation from a list or let TurboTax Deluxe guide you through every available topic. A Clean, Lean Look TurboTax has considerably pared down its user interface over the years, though it still looks terrific and provides effective access to the tools you need. A new vertical toolbar on the left side of the screen replaces the old horizontal one. This divides the site into My Info, Federal, State, Review, and File. There are links to other tax tools here, as well as to a new feature called Turbo, which displays your income, credit score, and debt-to-income ratio. The bulk of the screen is reserved for the site's actual data-gathering questions and answers. Three icons (Search, Help, and Flag) in the upper right corner open windows that slide over from the right side of the screen, and usually do not obstruct your view of the current page. The Flag button bookmarks the current page so you remember to return to it. It's hard to get absolutely lost if you simply read everything on the screens. TurboTax makes it clear what it's looking for on every page and how you can respond. For example, when it asks for interest, it displays two blank fields, one for the related financial institution and one for the dollar amount. You can also import forms from many supported banks. If you're filing for more than one individual, you need to indicate the recipient. You do this by selecting the correct name (or by clicking Both of Us, if that's the case), then hitting the Continue button to move to the next topic. You can also add another 1099-INT, or use the Back button to return to the previous page. This is how you communicate with TurboTax throughout the tax preparation process. It asks a question or makes a statement about what it wants and provides buttons and lists of options and blank fields for your answers. Unlike TaxAct Online Plus, though, TurboTax lacks a comprehensive navigation outline that lets you zero in on the exact screen you want if you're working out of sequence. Neither does it offer TaxAct's list of forms and topics, which can be very helpful if you come to the end of your return and have paper forms left over. Still, no other service can match the streamlined elegance of TurboTax, from its clean look to its simple, logical progression through the tax topics. For most users, this is the most critical aspect of tax preparation. If the interface and interview are clear and simple, e-filing your taxes will be, too. That doesn't mean you won't occasionally need help, but TurboTax hits a home run there, too. Understandable Help There was one advantage to using the actual IRS instructions when you prepared your taxes in the old days: They were comprehensive. They may have been difficult to understand if you weren't a tax preparer, but the answer to your question was in there, somewhere. Part of the beauty of personal tax preparation websites is that while you rarely need to search for an answer, the explanatory content has been rewritten so many times over the years that it's usually easy to understand. TurboTax does an especially good job here, in terms of both clarity and accessibility. It often provides brief, simple explanations of tax topics as it asks its questions. Many words and phrases are hyperlinks that open windows containing additional detail. Usually, there's a Learn More link that does the same thing. Sometimes, TurboTax even guesses at a question you might have and provides a link, just in case. It's an excellent and deep system, and it makes the tax process much less stressful. There are other ways to get help, too. For example, if you're not sure whether you qualify for a credit (Child and Dependent Care, for example), TurboTax asks a series of questions to determine your eligibility. You can also search a voluminous database of questions and answers for more thorough explanations of tax topics. However, you definitely need to check to see who answered the question first. Most often, the answer comes from TurboTax FAQ or TurboTax, which is preferable. But anyone can answer questions. It's on you to make sure that, if the source isn't TurboTax, it's a tax authority of some sort. All of TurboTax's competitors provide one or more of the aforementioned help options, but their offerings vary greatly in terms of coverage, depth, simplicity, and layout. TaxAct Online Plus, for example, displays context-sensitive phrases off to the right side on many screens. H&R Block Deluxe is good at providing relevant help, too, and its Refund Reveal feature displays the actions you took that contributed to your refund or obligation. Unique Tax Tools TurboTax has one innovative help method no other service offers. Its SmartLook feature connects you to credentialed tax professionals via video. You can see and hear them talking in a window and can grant them access to your in-progress return, so they can answer questions and correct problems. Finally, TurboTax encourages you to provide more thorough documentation than competing sites, such as Credit Karma Tax and Jackson Hewitt Deluxe. When you enter charitable donations, for example, it asks you to select things such as the type, the recipient, amount, and frequency. TurboTax Deluxe's final review process is also superior to that of most other competitors. It checks your return for accuracy and audit risks before it provides fields for your changes and additions. FreeTax USA's review process in particular is not as streamlined. Finally, TurboTax moves pertinent data into your state return to make that easier to complete. Taxes Done Right If used TurboTax last year and it worked for you, stick with it again this year. If you used another site last year and liked it, we don't necessarily suggest switching to TurboTax; stick with what you know. If you didn't love the service you used last year, or if you are preparing your taxes on your own for the first time, however, TurboTax is your best option. Intuit's tax preparation software is a clear Editors' Choice this year because of its solid tax topic coverage, excellent help options, and top-notch user experience. Intuit TurboTax Deluxe 2018 (Tax Year 2017) Bottom Line: Plain-language help resources, thorough exploration of tax forms and schedules, and an unparalleled user experience make TurboTax Deluxe our top pick for tax-prep software.

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