Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!mit-eddie!bbn.com!ddeutsch From: ddeutsch@bbn.com (Debra Deutsch) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.wanted Subject: Re: MacinTax - INFO NEEDED Summary: Macintax is wonderful Keywords: Macintax IRS taxes tax preparation Message-ID: <61482@bbn.BBN.COM> Date: 10 Dec 90 21:30:29 GMT References: Sender: news@bbn.com Reply-To: ddeutsch@labs-n.bbn.com (Debra Deutsch) Distribution: comp Organization: BBN Systems and Technologies Corporation Lines: 36 Macintax is wonderful. I have used it for the past three years. The main package lets you do your 1040. It comes with every form you can imagine and probably a few more. You can also get add-ons for various states. The same company sells a package for professional tax preparers. Here is what I like about Macintax. It uses the Mac interface very nicely. You can double-click just about anywhere and get help (including the relevant quotes from the IRS instructions, if you consider that help :-). All of the forms are linked together, so you don't have to copy and paste numbers from one place to another and recalculations are automatic. Macintax keeps track of whether you've fully filled out a form or if it is incomplete. You can put in estimates and place-holders and Macintax will track that for you too. You can itemize just about anything instead of just inputting totals. When you are all done you can print out your return on a laserwriter and just sign it! The software hasn't crashed on me (yet). They send free updates once you've registered for a year's version. Subsequent years' software are available at a reduced rate. If you use Checkfree you can transfer its database of your payments into Macintax. Here is what I don't like about Macintax. It is slow to start up and slow when I run it. Of course I have to admit that I have a souped-up 512E, so my system is probably a worst case. However, I have also tried it on an SE and it was only a little better. You may do better if you have fewer forms to deal with than I do, but my taxes are nowhere near being a worst case (for complexity, at least :-). All in all, I haven't tried any other individual tax preparation package for the Mac, but after using Macintax I have no desire to change. It saves me many hours of work and gets the math right. Buy your first year's copy discounted from someplace like MacConnection and get the updates directly from the Macintax folks. Debbie Deutsch