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Is TurboTax Advantage worth doing?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
June 6, 2019
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I have been in the TurboTax Advantage program for years. I diligently pay the full price. This year $109.99 for TurboTax Home & Business 2018 w/Fed Efile & FREE State Download. I then see the same product at Costco and every place else for much less money. Besides the fact that TurboTax gets 100% of my full price money and does not need to share it with a retailer, is there any other advantage or am I just being played for a fool by TurboTax?

For example, is the price that I pay to file state and federal less than others pay so the net/net is I am paying less?

TurboTax Home & Biz Mac

Best answer by VolvoGirl

It’s all the same programs. Buy it anywhere you want and can find it cheaper. There is no other advantage than getting it as soon as it comes out. And if you get the CD on the Advantage plan they also put the download in your account. Costco usually has a coupon in January. And even at Turbo Tax they might have lower prices during the year.

The price is the same for everyone to file. In the Desktop program you get 5 Federal Efiles for free. The state is 19.99 to efile which goes up to 24.99 in March. Or you can print and mail state for free.

VolvoGirlAnswer

Employee

It’s all the same programs. Buy it anywhere you want and can find it cheaper. There is no other advantage than getting it as soon as it comes out. And if you get the CD on the Advantage plan they also put the download in your account. Costco usually has a coupon in January. And even at Turbo Tax they might have lower prices during the year.

The price is the same for everyone to file. In the Desktop program you get 5 Federal Efiles for free. The state is 19.99 to efile which goes up to 24.99 in March. Or you can print and mail state for free.

VolvoGirl

Employee

If you want to cancel, here’s how
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901052-how-do-i-cancel-my-turbotax-advantage-subscription">https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901052-how-do-i-cancel-my-turbotax-advantage-subscription</a>

P

peace11

so happy that i am not the only person who feels they have been duped by Intuit. I was having difficulty downloading my advantage premier 2019 yesterday. i called this am for help and asked why i can get the same program cheaper at costco, walmart and many other stores saving me 30 to 60 dollars. and what am i getting for advantage premium. the response was, "it don't know" when asked who could answer she said "i guess the owner of the company" I have used turbotax since its inception and years ago they gave out extra perks. This is how they treat loyal customers...by ripping them off. I canceled my subscription since there is no sense in getting the program early. paperwork needed to complete taxes doesn't come out until after year end.

M

mjharchitect

The "advantage" is (1) early release access, and (2) full audit support which is a $45 value. All that said, you can still purchase it at a vendor for less, and then add audit support if you want prior to filing for $45.

C

CTUser

I just cancelled as well. Feel like I have been ripped off all of these years for being a loyal customer. Agree with earlier posts about buying only from reputable sites, like Costco or Amazon. In the past have bought supplemental TurboTax titles form Sears Marketplace of all places.

W

wenjiecao

TurboTax Advantage?

1. $100 upfront as a member.

2. Pay higher retail price because you only buy one copy while Costco pay lower whole sale price and share some discounts with you!

The higher price you pay allows you get it when "it becomes available"! Funny!

Critter-3

IMHO there is no real advantage to the ADVANTAGE program any longer so just buy the program from a reputable reseller for less and cancel your advantage account. Many resellers have discounts on the program and the price usually goes down as the season continues ( cheaper in March than in December) but beware of deep discounts from unknown sources as they could have malware or worse imbedded in them ... if the price sounds too good to be true it is. AND all the downloaded programs have all the same forms so save a few bucks and just but the Deluxe (Basic if you don't need a state program) and watch closely as the Deluxe is sold outside of TT system both with & without the state program.

There are only 3 so called "advantages" any longer ... https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/cd-download/advantage/

1) phone support from a dedicated number (word in the forum is you don't get any faster service using that number)

2) free shipping/download as soon as it is available ( most places give free download ... and you don't really need the CD ever as it only has the beta version of the program on it anyway ... after installation you always have up update it AND no one needs the first beta version of the program in November which is not really fully operational until late January at the earliest ... some forms & states not until March some years. If you need to do any tax planning for the next tax year you need to use the prior year program which is already fully operational)

3) free re-downloads for 3 years ... all sellers do the same or you can always ask TT for another download for free

T

tcd29485

I see that there is a charge for annual subscription to Turbo Tax on my credit card that will be taken out on Jan 29, it is for $115. Will I have to pay another fee to E-file federal and state taxes? I tried calling customer service, but can't speak to a person because it is an automated system.

thanks for the input.

VolvoGirl

Employee

@tcd29485 Huh? The Advantage plan is to get the Desktop program each year. It is not charged until November for the next year's Desktop program. Don't know what you are being charged for on Jan 29.

How to contact Turbo Tax
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/using-turbotax/help/how-do-i-contact-turbotax/00/26991

What is the Turbo Tax phone number
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/using-turbotax/help/what-is-the-turbotax-phone-number/00/25632

S

Simpleton

The key reason I use TurboTax Advantage is access to the dedicated phone line for technical support.

When I used two weeks ago, I dialed the based customer service number, had to wade through the frustrating voice prompts twice, waited forever, and then got hung up on 2 times. I remembered how to get to the advantage number, had almost no wait, got to a human that cared and helped me answer my question. That is just what I need and will continue to pay for.

I would always watch for TT to lower their prices and at minimum use their $10 discount when offered, so it seems Advantage pricing is on target to me.

K

karra

Not sure it is worth it but doesn't advantage include the audit defense which otherwise is $60.

Critter-3

It does now ... it did not in the past. https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/cd-download/advantage/

However that feature is really worthless ... the chances of your getting an audit are slim at best and most audits are done thru the mail asking for missing information to be provided which is something you can do for yourself for free.