Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've used H&R Block's tax software every year since 2004. Some annoyances, but most of it is excellent. The 2011 version is much like 2010. You can save money by waiting for price dips (see below). Unlimited number of tax returns: (family members, what-if copies of your return, etc.) 5 Federal e-Files included. Nice! Unlimited paper filings for one state ($ 19.95 extra per state e-file). So, I just file state returns on paper. I would say it delivers huge bang for the buck. - - - Price Dips - - - The amazon price swings mostly between 25 and 40 (see Note 2). Amazon has almost always had the best price. There's an "Online Price Alert" that will email you whenever this or any amazon product dips below your target price. Google it. It's nicely done. - - - Typical minor annoyances - - - These are all carry-overs from 2010 - Upgrade pitches: They weave it into the interview and make it sound as if "an upgrade to Premium is advised for your situation" even when it makes little or no sense for your situation. Sleazy. - Unclear wording in a few places, although most wording is very clear and accurate. - Privacy Policy: Hard to view. Hard to read. Has reassuring tone, but doesn't hold much water. - Copy...Paste from Interview screens: That would be very handy at times. No can do. Can't print them either. Only way I found is ALT + PrintScreen, then paste the graphic into Word or a paint program. - - - Alternatives - - - TurboTax is the head-on competitor. Both products have their fans and haters. Both can import previous year's data from the competing product, but most people become married to one or the other. TurboTax fomented a huge rebellion in 2008 when it introduced fee-per-tax-return pricing. They backed down on that, but they do usually charge 15-66% more than H&R Block. H&R Block's Basic and Premium editions: See H&R Block's helpful comparison table. There are also Basic and Deluxe editions without a state download included. Free File Tax Software - multiple IRS sponsored tax softwares to choose from if your last year's AGI was 58,000 or less. Available after January 17 via the IRS site. Free File Fillable Forms are available to all income levels -- No tax help, and no state forms are bundled in. TaxAct has a free version, but it does not import previous year's data, and does not include state. Their better versions are almost as expensive as H&R Block at low tide, and not as good. - - - Download Version - - - Downloading via Amazon is pretty smooth and painless. You can easily download it again later, even to a different computer if need be. Your authorization is stored in your account at amazon. You need to first install Amazon's special Downloader software -- also fairly painless. (Download version) - - - Notes - - - Note 1: Early Versions: Before the mid-January update, it may not reflect all tax law changes, but I was able to punch in all my numbers and do some valuable "what-if" scenarios before year end (Federal only. No state modules were available as of January 1.) You can easily flag your estimated numbers as "Tentative" so they won't get accidentally included on your final return. Note 2: Price History: If history is a guide, you can get this on amazon for about 25 bucks sometime in January. (Price dropped to $20 for 1 day on January 7, 2012). I plotted last year's price history as a pic and uploaded it, but amazon removed it on Dec 22.