Turbo Tax Online Price Increases in the decade through 2012 – A Comparison

Filing taxes using the Premium product of Intuit’s Turbo Tax Online in the 2012 tax year required paying $37.45 for the federal and $27.70 for the state filings. This pricing was after the click through discounts from Fidelity. Turbo Tax increased prices at a very fast pace during the period between 2003 and 2010. Below is a summary of Turbo Tax’s price increases for the decade through 2012.



YearFederalStateTotalYOY % Price Increase
2003$24.42Free$24.42NA
2004$29.95Free$29.9522.65
2005$24.95$9.95$34.90**16.53
2006$27.95$17.45$45.40**30.09
2007$37.45$22.45$59.90**31.94
2008$37.45$26.21$63.66**6.30
2009$37.45$27.70$65.15**2.34
2010$37.45$27.70$65.15**0.00
2011$37.45$27.70$65.15**0.00
2012$37.45$27.70$65.15**0.00

**The prices above are after click through discounts from Fidelity when filing before March 22nd. The discount was worth around $20 and prices went up by 50% when filing after March 22nd. For example, the premium product without the discount was $74.99 when filing after March 22nd and filing state was an additional $39.99 for a total of a whopping $115. There was no price increase in the three years through 2012 tax year. 

As far as alternatives, we tried TaxACT and H&R Block At Home (TaxCut) previously but ultimately stayed with Turbo Tax through 2012 tax year - we used the Deluxe product instead of the Premium product to reduce the price and also used the Fidelity click-through discount - even after all that, the final pricing was still a $30 premium over the comparable TaxACT product (Ultimate Bundle). For the 2013 tax year, we finally made the switch to TaxACT and that was overall very worthwhile .

Related Note: H&R Block tried to acquire (10/2010) TaxACT despite having a competitive product in H&R Block At Home (formerly TaxCut) but the deal did not go through due to anti-trust opposition. That essentially means the landscape will remain fairly competitive with these three main players.


There are a few other options to keep your tax filing costs down:
  1. Turbo Tax SnapTax for iPhone and Android can keep your cost to just $24.99 (increased from $19.99 last year). The pricing is about half when compared to the online product. 
  2. Opt for Turbo Tax Desktop Edition. Going this route saves you around 35% compared to the discounted pricing for the Online Edition. You can choose between a DVD and Download. Download is slightly cheaper and you get it almost instantly (~5 minutes if you have broadband internet connection).
  3. Get Turbo Tax Deluxe online edition for free by establishing a banking relationship with State Farm. 
  4. Intuit substantially increases the pricing of the software every year on March 22nd. So, you can save a bunch by filing before that date. 


Note: consider also what is available at the Amazon.com Tax Preparation Software area. The options there are suitable in case you prefer client software as opposed to online interface.


    2 comments :

    Andy said...

    Interesting analysis. Looks like the recession has hit turbo tax as well with price drops this year.

    Great blog you have here and as a fellow pf blogger always nice to discover other quality content.

    Unknown said...

    My comments are on my experience with TurboTax 07 and 09. In reporting stock trades manually in '07 I inadvertently entered nonsense numbers for the year of trade. Instead of flagging this as a meaningless year of trade, Turbotax dropped the entry altogether. This was caught by the IRS of course as a stock sale not accounted for. It took 4 exchanges of information with the IRS to clear up this problem. Those of you who have dealt with the IRS can appreciate the stress caused by this mistake.

    This year '09 TurboTax online recognized that I had a capital gains loss from '08, but used 1040A which does not have a line for the $3,000 deduction. 1040 which does should have been used. I did not have any stock trades for '09, and this maybe the cause. But trading stocks should not cause carryover losses to be ignored. Not surprisingly, my '09 worksheet showed no capital gains loss carryover to 2010 even though the losses appeared under qualified dividends and capital gains section. . I have used TurboTax since it introduction. In the last few editions, I have noticed a progressive deterioration in attention to potential errors by the user.

    Labels

    401k ( 15 ) ACT ( 1 ) AP ( 4 ) ARIUS ( 1 ) Abad Turtle Beach ( 1 ) Abrams Capital Management ( 5 ) Acoustic Electric Guitars ( 1 ) Acoustic Guitars ( 1 ) Activist ( 4 ) Address Change ( 2 ) Advanced Placement ( 4 ) Akre Capital Management ( 18 ) Alex Roepers ( 5 ) Appaloosa ( 15 ) Arlington Value Capital ( 3 ) Atlantic Investment Management ( 5 ) Ayemenem ( 1 ) BDCs ( 3 ) BP Capital Management ( 2 ) Bangalore ( 3 ) Bangkok ( 2 ) Bannerghatta National Park ( 1 ) Battery Park ( 1 ) Baupost ( 2 ) Baupost Group ( 17 ) Benjamin Graham ( 2 ) Benjamin Graham Model ( 2 ) Berijam Lake ( 2 ) Berkshire Hathaway ( 35 ) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ( 44 ) Bill Ackman ( 19 ) Bill Gates ( 43 ) Blue Ridge Capital ( 16 ) Blum Capital Partners ( 12 ) Boone Pickens ( 2 ) Brave Warrior ( 3 ) Brave Warrior Advisors ( 19 ) Bruce Berkowitz ( 19 ) Bruce Fund ( 38 ) CANROYs ( 7 ) CBRE ( 2 ) CEF ( 2 ) CLEP ( 1 ) Camcorders ( 3 ) Cantillon ( 12 ) Carl Ichan ( 8 ) Casio ( 2 ) Charles Akre ( 15 ) Charlie Munger ( 41 ) Chase Coleman ( 16 ) Chou Associates ( 29 ) Christmas gifts ( 7 ) Christopher H. Browne ( 7 ) Chuck Akre ( 13 ) Cisco ( 2 ) Class Action Settlements ( 2 ) Coatue Management ( 28 ) Cochin ( 2 ) Consumer Product Reviews ( 29 ) Covered Calls ( 2 ) DAT ( 1 ) DCF ( 2 ) Daily Journal ( 38 ) Dalal Street ( 8 ) Dan Loeb ( 10 ) David Abrams ( 5 ) David Einhorn ( 22 ) David Swensen ( 17 ) David Tepper ( 15 ) David Winters ( 15 ) Digital Piano ( 3 ) Dinakar Singh ( 20 ) Donald Yacktman ( 10 ) Duquesne ( 34 ) ESL Investments ( 14 ) ESPP ( 6 ) ETF ( 2 ) ETN ( 2 ) EXPLORE ( 1 ) Education ( 37 ) Edward Lampert ( 21 ) Egerton Capital ( 42 ) Egypt ( 3 ) Elementary Education ( 10 ) Elementary School Textbooks ( 5 ) Eric Mindich ( 13 ) Eton Park ( 13 ) Everyday Musings ( 58 ) Exam Prep ( 7 ) Exiting the rat race - how to? ( 19 ) FD Laddering ( 1 ) FVE ( 2 ) Fair Value Estimates ( 4 ) Fairfax Financial ( 4 ) Fairfax Financial Holdings ( 14 ) Fairholme ( 19 ) Fairpointe ( 28 ) Family Office ( 18 ) Financial Independence ( 93 ) Fisher Asset Management ( 10 ) Flash Camcorders ( 3 ) Flip ( 3 ) Francis Chou ( 29 ) Frugal Living ( 34 ) Fund Holdings ( 961 ) GMAT ( 1 ) GRE ( 1 ) Genting ( 2 ) Glenn Greenberg ( 23 ) Glenview Capital ( 17 ) Google ( 2 ) Gotham Asset Management ( 7 ) Greenlight Capital ( 22 ) Guitars ( 3 ) HELOC ( 1 ) HOA ( 3 ) Half Marathon ( 2 ) Hawaii ( 2 ) Hedge Funds ( 1211 ) High School Education ( 7 ) High School Textbooks ( 6 ) Holidays ( 3 ) Holyland ( 11 ) Home Improvement ( 2 ) Homes ( 18 ) Homeschool ( 18 ) Houses ( 2 ) Housing ( 3 ) Hykon ( 2 ) Ian Cumming ( 15 ) Icahn Enterprises ( 6 ) Infinuvo ( 6 ) Insurance ( 3 ) Investment Portfolio ( 96 ) Investment Research ( 10 ) Investments ( 7 ) Irving Kahn ( 16 ) Jason Maynard ( 10 ) Jefferies ( 2 ) Jeffrey Bruce ( 39 ) Jeffrey Ubben ( 25 ) Jerusalem ( 2 ) Jim Chanos ( 20 ) Joel Greenblatt ( 7 ) John Armitage ( 43 ) John Griffin ( 16 ) John Paulson ( 17 ) Joho Capital ( 22 ) Jordan ( 3 ) Joseph Steinberg ( 9 ) Julian Robertson ( 4 ) KWA ( 2 ) Kahn Brothers ( 17 ) Kakkanad ( 4 ) Kanyakumari ( 2 ) Kawai ( 2 ) Ken Fisher ( 10 ) Kids ( 49 ) Kids Yamaha ( 3 ) Kindle ( 2 ) Kodaikanal ( 2 ) Korg ( 2 ) Kraft ( 2 ) Kuala Lumpur ( 2 ) Kynikos ( 20 ) LSAT ( 1 ) Larry Robbins ( 17 ) Las Vegas ( 2 ) Leon Cooperman ( 30 ) Leucadia ( 2 ) Leucadia National ( 13 ) Lone Pine Capital ( 9 ) Lou Simpson ( 15 ) MCAT ( 1 ) MFP Investors ( 37 ) MODUS ( 1 ) MSD Capital ( 22 ) Mahabalipuram ( 2 ) Malaysia ( 3 ) Marathon ( 2 ) Mark McGoldrick ( 10 ) Markel ( 24 ) Mason Hawkins ( 4 ) Melinda Gates ( 34 ) Michael Dell ( 22 ) Michael Price ( 40 ) Middle School Education ( 4 ) Middle School Textbooks ( 3 ) Mini Notebook ( 3 ) Mohnish Pabrai ( 22 ) Mount Kellett ( 10 ) Music ( 6 ) Mutual Funds ( 8 ) Nelson Peltz ( 16 ) Netbook ( 4 ) Notebook ( 3 ) O-Duster ( 1 ) Oahu ( 2 ) Ole Andreas Halvorsen ( 10 ) Omega Advisors ( 29 ) Options ( 4 ) PEG ( 2 ) PLAN Test ( 1 ) PSAT ( 1 ) Pabrai Fund ( 17 ) Paulson & Company ( 7 ) Paulson and Company ( 9 ) Pershing Square ( 19 ) Phil Fisher ( 5 ) Philippe Laffont ( 28 ) Piano ( 9 ) Prem Watsa ( 17 ) Property Taxes ( 2 ) R2I ( 24 ) R2I Finances ( 3 ) R2I Housing ( 5 ) RBS Partners ( 19 ) REIT ( 3 ) Raising Kids ( 41 ) Rat Race ( 15 ) Reducing Expenses ( 2 ) Retirement Portfolio ( 9 ) Reviews ( 81 ) Richard C. Blum ( 12 ) Robert Bruce ( 39 ) Robert Karr ( 22 ) Robotic Vacuum ( 4 ) Roland ( 2 ) Roomba ( 10 ) SQ Advisors ( 15 ) Sears ( 12 ) Services - Reviews ( 33 ) Seth Klarman ( 19 ) Shipping ( 5 ) Shopping ( 3 ) Ski ( 5 ) Sled ( 4 ) Solar Stocks ( 13 ) Soros Fund Management ( 14 ) Southeastern Asset Management ( 4 ) Southwest ( 2 ) Stanley Druckenmiller ( 33 ) Statue of Liberty ( 2 ) Stephen Mandel ( 9 ) Stock Analysis ( 84 ) Stock Investments ( 4 ) Stock Portfolio Updates ( 6 ) TOEFL ( 1 ) TPG-Axon ( 20 ) TaxAct ( 3 ) TaxCut ( 1 ) Teacher's Editions ( 5 ) Technology ( 5 ) Test Prep ( 11 ) Thailand ( 3 ) Thekkady ( 2 ) Third Point ( 10 ) Thomas Gayner ( 43 ) Thyra Zerhusen ( 29 ) Tiger Cub ( 34 ) Tiger Global ( 17 ) Tiger Management ( 13 ) Time Square ( 2 ) Travel ( 278 ) Travel Reviews ( 82 ) Trian Fund Holdings ( 10 ) TurboTax ( 3 ) Tweedy Browne ( 10 ) Vacations ( 28 ) ValueAct ( 10 ) ValueAct Holdings ( 8 ) Vancouver ( 2 ) Video ( 3 ) Viking Global ( 10 ) Wallace Weitz ( 17 ) Warren Buffett ( 32 ) Wayanad ( 4 ) Weitz Investment Management ( 16 ) William Von Mueffling ( 12 ) Wintergreen Advisors ( 15 ) YDP ( 1 ) YPG ( 1 ) Yacktman Asset Management ( 10 ) Yale Endowment ( 17 ) Yale University ( 7 ) Yamaha ( 7 ) air asia ( 2 ) airlines ( 2 ) apartments ( 2 ) barbuda ( 2 ) bay area ( 2 ) best sites ( 9 ) books ( 4 ) british honduras ( 2 ) canada ( 4 ) cancun ( 3 ) carl icahn ( 9 ) casino ( 3 ) coin collecting ( 266 ) collectibles ( 266 ) cook islands ( 2 ) coonoor ( 2 ) credai ( 4 ) dry bulk shipping ( 2 ) eReaders ( 2 ) flat ( 4 ) flats ( 2 ) free ( 17 ) frugal ( 3 ) futures ( 2 ) gambling ( 3 ) garmin ( 2 ) george soros ( 27 ) giveaway ( 15 ) gps ( 5 ) hobby ( 17 ) holiday shopping ( 7 ) home ownership ( 5 ) iRobot ( 5 ) india real estate ( 5 ) invesco ( 17 ) investing strategies ( 3 ) israel ( 5 ) kerala real estate ( 5 ) kochi ( 8 ) laptop ( 5 ) long ( 6 ) long call ( 2 ) long puts ( 3 ) memorabilia ( 266 ) mortgage ( 2 ) mysore ( 2 ) numismatics ( 266 ) offers ( 2 ) online tax ( 4 ) ooty ( 2 ) passive income ( 7 ) pattaya ( 2 ) philately ( 283 ) portfolio ( 4 ) product reviews ( 13 ) reading ( 5 ) real estate ( 6 ) schooling ( 2 ) seeking alpha ( 2 ) short ( 5 ) short calls ( 2 ) short put ( 2 ) short puts ( 2 ) short selling ( 13 ) spin-offs ( 2 ) stamp collecting ( 283 ) stocks ( 3 ) summer ( 2 ) tax ( 7 ) theme park ( 2 ) trip report ( 21 ) value investing ( 25 ) wilbur ross ( 17 )