Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) today announced TurboTax Online, the industry's most complete Internet-based personal tax preparation solution allowing taxpayers to securely and quickly prepare and file their personal tax return via the Web. TurboTax Online (www.turbotax.com) is designed specifically for use on the Web and rounds out Intuit's best-selling line of personal and professional tax preparation and filing programs.
Building on Intuit's award-winning EasyStep Interview approach, TurboTax Online asks taxpayers friendly, easy-to-understand questions. Customized frequently asked questions (FAQs) appear on each page to further simplify and speed the process. And since there's no need to download or install software, taxpayers simply need access to any PC, with Web access and running on the Windows 95 or NT operating system, to prepare and file their taxes anytime, anywhere.
In addition to being fast, cost-effective and simple to use, preparing tax returns electronically dramatically reduces the possibility of errors. Even if a customer must stop while preparing a return and exit the system -- for five minutes, five hours or five days -- TurboTax Online will pick up where it left off, upon the user's return.
"With the Internet making its mark on mainstream America, TurboTax Online offers a robust tax solution designed specifically for the Web that is secure, easy to access and allows people to prepare their taxes immediately, without waiting to download files or applications," said Larry Wolfe, senior vice president of Intuit's tax division.
Who Can Use TurboTax Online?
TurboTax Online can be used by anyone filing a simple to moderately complex personal tax return using Microsoft Internet Explorer (3.02 and higher) or Netscape Navigator (3.0 and higher) and Windows 95 or NT. California residents can prepare and file their state return online, as well. TurboTax Online includes the following forms:
- 1040 (including unemployment compensation)
- 1040A
- 1040EZ
- Schedule 1 for 1040A
- Schedule 2 for 1040A
- Schedule A: Interest, Taxes, Charity Contributions (cash/noncash; 50% limit only)
- Schedule B: 1099-INT and 1099-DIV
- Schedule D (up to 10 stock transactions)
- W-2
- Earned Income Credit
"TurboTax Online is a great complement to our existing TurboTax products, and we're delighted to provide it the Internet community," said Barry Saik, senior product manager for TurboTax. "We anticipate approximately 40 percent of American taxpayers can use TurboTax Online to complete their returns in about 30 minutes. And if customers take advantage of TurboTax Online's electronic filing capabilities, they could receive their refunds in as quickly as two to three weeks, rather than the typical four to six weeks when filing by mail."
How Does TurboTax Online Work?
TurboTax Online's FAQ-style interface stems from Intuit's award-winning, user-friendly EasyStep Interview process. TurboTax Online asks users a series of questions to determine each taxpayers specific tax situation. These questions are displayed with an accompanying screen, allowing users to quickly access the customized help they may need to complete their return. TurboTax Online then calculates and automatically flows the customer's information into the appropriate IRS forms.
All returns are then checked for errors, just like the Final Review feature in the desktop TurboTax software. Users can then print and mail their tax return, or file it electronically through Intuit's own electronic filing system. Additionally, after consumers have completed and filed their returns, TurboTax Online offers money-saving tax advice for next year.
How Secure is My Information When Filing Online?
Intuit uses only the latest in SSL encryption technology to ensure privacy. Working with leading Internet security companies, including RSA Data Security, Intuit designed a system that protects a customer's personal tax and credit card information as it travels to Intuit's server via a protected Internet connection. The user's return is then sent directly to the IRS over a secure, private connection.
How Much Does TurboTax Online Cost?
TurboTax Online costs $9.95, including electronic filing. California state returns can be prepared and filed for an additional $4.95. Intuit guarantees its TurboTax Online calculations are accurate. In the unlikely event a customer is assessed an IRS or state penalty due to a calculation error in TurboTax, Intuit will pay the penalty plus interest.
Maximizing Your Tax Savings
TurboTax is America's most complete way to prepare, file and plan taxes, and has been the market leader for over 10 years. More than 200 tax experts sank their knowledge into developing TurboTax for 1997, creating a product no other tax preparation software can match. When combined with its sister product, Quicken, the best-selling personal finance program, TurboTax can help Americans everywhere organize their finances and maximize their tax savings.
