|
April 14, 2004
Doing taxes on the web
Well, wasn't that easy? I just finished my 2003 taxes (US and Virginia) using TurboTax -- took me just over a half an hour. It cost me a chunk of change (probably could have done it for free via the IRS' eFile, but I've taken advantage of the AARP discount (employee, not member :) on TurboTax for a few years, and though it cost me this year (no AARP discount), it was really fast since I could reuse a lot of my 2002 return for 2003. Anyways, the folks at Intuit have gotten the UX down pretty well. The application is fairly well designed to get you through it without asking you questions that aren't relative. That said, the ROI equation is stronger for the Federal return than for the state, so I was amused to get this question as it was processing my Virginia return: Did you receive certification from the Virginia Department of Forestry valuing land you agreed to designate as a riparian buffer for a waterway? Too bad I didn't think to see if there was help for this question. Riparian buffer? Uh, I think not! Anyways, the good news is that I'm still getting (a little) money back even after the TurboTax fee. Now I just have to see about getting the AARP discount back :).
Comments
Just today I got a call from our accountant, who needed me to make some calls to a state bureaucratic office and listen to on-hold bland classical music for 10 minutes to get a number for her. As I said to my officemates, "Even when you're paying someone to do them, taxes are a big pain in the ass." Why do we pay someone? My wife's business taxes all go on the same form. Maybe TurboTax or eFile would handle all that business stuff too? -- Posted by ken on April 14, 2004 09:21 PMI have used TruboTax for years, but my frugalness got the better of me this year and I headed to TaxAct.com. While the UX wasn't as good as TurboTax, it definitely wasn't $30 worse. -- Posted by Shane on April 15, 2004 02:42 PM
Post a comment
Note: Your comment will be reviewed prior to posting to minimize comment spam. Management regrets the inconvenience!
|
IDblog is Beth Mazur tilting at power law windmills. A little bit Internet, a little bit technology, a little bit society, and a lot about designing useful information products. Send your cards and letters to .
search this site
archives
August 2004
July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002
categories
blogs and wikis
business and design content and writing design process education experience design hci information architecture information design marketing and brands multimedia & broadband politics search society & technology usability visual design web design wifi words can't describe
key links
STC Information Design SIG
boxes and arrows iawiki information design journal informationdesign.org infodesign usability sig usable web
groups
aiga experience design
a(o).i.r asilomar institute for information architecture asis&t sigchi society for technical communication usability professionals association
about moi
feeds
gratuitous right-nav promos
|
