jae@iastate.edu (Edwards John Andrew) (12/11/90)
can anyone give me some info about the about-to-be-released tax package called "MacinTax"? it sounds interesting, but i know next-to-nothing about it. anything would be helpful. please email responses. thanks. Andy. -- Andy Edwards * Computer Science Dept. * Iowa State University * Ames, IA 50011 INTERNET: jae@iastate.edu PHONE: (515) 294-4377 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ddeutsch@bbn.com (Debra Deutsch) (12/11/90)
Macintax is wonderful. I have used it for the past three years. The main package lets you do your 1040. It comes with every form you can imagine and probably a few more. You can also get add-ons for various states. The same company sells a package for professional tax preparers. Here is what I like about Macintax. It uses the Mac interface very nicely. You can double-click just about anywhere and get help (including the relevant quotes from the IRS instructions, if you consider that help :-). All of the forms are linked together, so you don't have to copy and paste numbers from one place to another and recalculations are automatic. Macintax keeps track of whether you've fully filled out a form or if it is incomplete. You can put in estimates and place-holders and Macintax will track that for you too. You can itemize just about anything instead of just inputting totals. When you are all done you can print out your return on a laserwriter and just sign it! The software hasn't crashed on me (yet). They send free updates once you've registered for a year's version. Subsequent years' software are available at a reduced rate. If you use Checkfree you can transfer its database of your payments into Macintax. Here is what I don't like about Macintax. It is slow to start up and slow when I run it. Of course I have to admit that I have a souped-up 512E, so my system is probably a worst case. However, I have also tried it on an SE and it was only a little better. You may do better if you have fewer forms to deal with than I do, but my taxes are nowhere near being a worst case (for complexity, at least :-). All in all, I haven't tried any other individual tax preparation package for the Mac, but after using Macintax I have no desire to change. It saves me many hours of work and gets the math right. Buy your first year's copy discounted from someplace like MacConnection and get the updates directly from the Macintax folks. Debbie Deutsch
rkm@PacBell.COM (Richard Mossman) (12/11/90)
In article <jae.660846856@pv0320.vincent.iastate.edu> jae@iastate.edu (Edwards John Andrew) writes:
This "about-to-be-release" package has been around for about 5 years now.
I have been using it for 3 years to track my personal taxes and the three
small businesses I mess with. This, in conjunction with Quicken, keeps me
on top of my finances pretty much. Nothing fancy like stock tracking, etc.
but good enough to keep me out of trouble.
The best thing is the ability to put in information in the middle of the year
and estimate the remainder and see how much additional taxes I will have to
pay (so far I've never come out not owing more). Of course, those calculations
are based on the previous years' tables, but it's close.
Updates are about $50 per year (and deductible). The best part is that I have
been able to speed up my filing each year and I only use my tax accountant to
check the filing and tell me where I did something wrong. My tax preparation
bill has gone down by a lot more than the software cost.
The forms generated are acceptable to the IRS. There are even built in
worksheets so you can itemize things like travel expenses and only have the
totals show up on the Form C, but the itemization sheet is available should
you ever get audited.
For the cost, it's even good just to be able to do "what if's" or projections.
I'm, obviously, happy with it.
--
Richard K. Mossman {att,bellcore,sun,ames,decwrl}!pacbell!rkm
415/823-0974
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