My opinion on the foolishness of relying on do-it-yourself tax prep software for the actual returns that will be sent  to IRS and State tax agencies hasn’t changed any.  However, as I mentioned on several occasions, they can be useful tools for organizing data for your personal tax professional, especially when doing trial runs before April 15, when you need to know how much, if any, to send in along with your extension.

I came across the following helpful articles.

Tax Software – What Do You Really Get in That Box? – From NATP (1/13/2006)

PC Magazine’s review roundup of tax prep software.

Kay Bell’s tips on getting the most from tax software.

QuickBooks QuickMaps in Lacerte – Intuit guide to transferring data from QuickBooks into Lacerte tax programs.  I’m looking forward to giving this a try. Since all of our corporate tax clients are required to use QuickBooks, I’m hoping it will speed up the tax prep process.

Schedule D Guidance Helpful; Clarity Still Sought For E-Filers – From CCH

One of the main reasons I have always had for avoiding electronic filing of tax returns is the inability to attach additional info.  This Schedule D issue makes that difference very apparent, and is causing concern for tax preparers in states that mandate e-filing, such as the PRC.