Hope - I got the email from TurboTax. But their prices were higher than elsewhere. Is the rebate (not sure if we’ll need it yet) only good if you buy from them?
If we do decide to stick with TurboTax like the past 20 or so years… where is the best price today?
So…I just phoned them BEFORE purchasing. Very difficult to find a way to phone them, these companies make it hard on purpose these days. I told them I was a long time TurboTax download customer, and heard that I need Premier this year. And that I bought it one year in the past and thought it was a waste of money, and that I had no interest this year or any other year in paying extra for it. And… they gave me the whole thing for free (including a free state download like you get with Deluxe). I thought I would pay for Deluxe, and just get “upgraded” (cough) for free. But the woman said it would be free. I did say that I was a long time customer (have been using it for maybe 20 years), and that I would be switching to another provider if I had to pay for Premier. Now… I haven’t got the email with the free download into yet to confirm what she said is accurate. But it is promising…
Yup… just got the download done. Premier and one free state, all for free! Set for this year… but still will be looking at options for next year if they are still looking to fleece us on this. Maybe the CEO got some feedback that his “apology” wasn’t really an apology at all.
Nice job intparent. Which number did you call?
I tracked down this link to call them:
https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact/#/call
I put in a brief description of saying I needed to file a Schedule D and E this year, but did not want to pay for a premier upgrade. They give you an incident number and a number to call. I was polite to the person on the other end, but told her I wasn’t going to purchase this year (or any other year) if they make me pay for Premier. She put me on hold, then came back and said they would give it to me for free (all of it).
Good job intparent! I got the free upagrade and half price on deluxe but not free! I think I’ll leave it at that.
Good work Intparent
I called in for the 1/2 off discount on my already purchased Premier (used for several years) and we / they couldn’t find the order, although I had the email. She fumbled around for a while, then said she’d send for free (I prefer the CD’s) . Then after a week I got the email that my original (August) order had bounced due to change of credit card, and would I please update it. Since I thought it was coming free, I haven’t. Then I got another email saying shipment for free is delayed. So tried to call in today. She was taking my name and hung up on me. So far no way to get back to her, just got back in the queue.
I am NOT happy, nor very patient that they waste 5 minutes collecting my information into a robot then either lose me or put me in a queue and when they call back they verify everything AGAIN.
I am looking for alternatives, but I won’t be doing anything with putting my taxes on line. grrrr
Thank you @intparent. TurboTax really did right by me- I have always like their products (including Quicken, Quickbooks, QB Payroll when they first started with that, and TurboTax).
They comped me Home & Business (I need the Schedule C and it is not clear that Premiere has it) + State, even though halfway through the process we found that I had purchased Home & Business and not Deluxe last year.
I am a long time customer, I suspect that helped. They could probably see that I have ordered online (first disks, then downloads) for many years. I agree about not putting my tax information “in the cloud”! But I have found that downloads are a lot easier to deal with than disks, and you can go back and download again later (much later) if you need to.
I guess the Baby Boomer’s finally flexed their collective muscle in protest of something and got it done! I got this email today from Turbotax (sent them a response to their last “apology”, and also called as noted above):
Dear Intparent,
We recently tried to explain the changes made to our TurboTax desktop software and apologized for the impact it had on you. Many responded and let us know our apology and rationale were not acceptable.
You want the TurboTax desktop product (CD or download) you’ve used in the past to do what it has always done—handle your tax situation. We heard you. It’s time we make it right.
Beginning February 7, 2015, you can buy the same product you’d normally buy, and if you need to upgrade for your tax situation, we’ll help you do that at no additional cost. This means you’ll get all the forms you need, including Schedules C, D E, and F, without paying anything extra. Learn more.
If you’re a returning TurboTax Deluxe CD or download customer and you’ve already filed using TurboTax Premier or TurboTax Home & Business, we’re offering you $25 cash back. Simply visit TurboTax.com/25back to claim your money.
Next, we are committed to bringing back the product you know and love. By the time you are ready to prepare and file your taxes next year, the TurboTax desktop product you trusted in the past will include the forms you’ve counted on for years.
I understand our actions have caused anger and frustration, and our response has been far too slow. TurboTax is committed to regaining your trust and providing you with the level of excellence you have come to expect.
Thank you for your feedback and continued loyalty,
So… looks like they are putting those schedules back into Deluxe. Guessing this will make a fine marketing case study in the nation’s business schools in future years. 
Thanks intparent. I had good luck pleading my case as long time customer (20+ years, back to the days of diskettes).
more bad news for Turbo Tax…
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/291001201.html
You’ll never guess what state I live in. 
Hoping this gets straightened out soon – I can’t file anyway until my accountant gets my S-corp taxes done and gets my K-1 to me. And I probably owe with year, so didn’t intend to file early. Reading the article, I suppose it is possible someone already filed a return for me! Sheesh.
To any of you who live in California, do you pay state income tax on a small amount, a few hundred dollars?
I’ve really appreciated this thread and was able to call TurboTax as others have done and received a fee waiver although in the past we’ve used their software to file our returns as well as my two boys. I’m not happy with TT at all and the way this has been handled. I’m curious to know other tax preparation software packages folks have liked. I’m about ready to jump ship!
I’ve used TaxAct for 12 or so years and have been very happy with it. I buy the downloadable/installable deluxe version with one state for $21.99.
Apparently Intuit has temporarily disable filing all State tax returns for now because of so many suspicious returns.
Federal filing is still available.
I find this very nerve-wracking.
TaxAct seems to be well rated, so does H&R Block. I don’t need state returns because we don’t have state income tax here. It was very offputting when TT required that I purchase premium for a lot more money. Even though they gave me a credit, I’m not feeling very good about them right now. @annoyingdad - can you use TaxAct to file more than one return? (thinking about my two sons’ returns)
You can prepare as many returns as you like. You get one free federal e-file which I use for our return. I use the IRS free fillable forms to e-file for my kids based on printouts from Taxact. You can pay for more e-files if you want. Not sure how much each is.
I’ve read some bad things about H&R Block in the past both on the finaid forum and elsewhere. But that’s just anecdotal evidence and not personal experience.
^^^ Thanks!