Intuit Income Tax Preparation Products Being Pushed Already

A notice for automatic renewal of TurboTax for Tax Year 2005 landed in our mail box today. Intuit will again offer the Windows and Mac versions on the same CD.

For those who need to file a single state income tax return, it appears that TurboTax Deluxe for Tax Year 2005 at $39.95 list is the best deal among Intuit's products since it includes free, after a rebate, one state filing software. Federal-only TurboTax Basic for Tax Year 2005 carries a list price of $19.95 and the standalone state tax filing software is $29.95.

For those needing all the bells and whistles and returns including rental income and Schedule C businesses, Intuit recommends TurboTax Premier at $69.95 which also includes a free after rebate state download.

Our observation is that the retail box version of these tax products are often heavily discounted when released. Intuit forecasts that to happen in early December. Gee, we can hardly wait! [Dana Baggett]