Evaluation of business tax preparation software

When it comes to choosing your tax preparation software, you could try buying all of the different kinds available.But that sounds like a lot of wasted time and money.Most business minds know that learning from your own experience is good, but learning from someone else's experience is the key.

Many people have taken the time to evaluate the different types of business tax preparation software, and are more than willing to share their findings, sparing you the painstaking task.

About.com did a 32-point comparison and evaluated the top five tax preparation software brands for businesses. All of the top five ranked high in easy to navigate, good for starters, easy installation and setup, and all offered online updates and an e-file option.They ranged in price from about $15.95-$54.95.They ranked as follows:

1 TurboTax
2 TaxCut Premium
3 TaxAct
4 CompleteTax (Online)
5 Electronic Filing Service (Online)

The three top ranked at about.com also ranked at the top for most business tax preparation software comparisons.One of the main differences that separate the top three from the rest is the option to talk to a tax professional when you need a little extra help.Many business owners have taken advantage of these and have shared their observations.

TurboTax was given top of the line reviews by many business owners who pledged they will never go back to their old way.It is easy, and doesn't add stress to already packed schedules.There is a lot to be said for how much TurboTax picks up on deductions and errors, where business owners never want to go wrong.TurboTax did not include the State Tax software; it was an additional $34.95 on average.

TaxCut was found very comparable to TurboTax.TaxCut does have the State Tax software included, making it a better price value than TurboTax.Most features were the same with both types of software, and both offer great support.One of the features that about.com found was missing from TaxCut was year-to-year comparisons.If that is an important feature to your business, you need to keep that in mind.

TaxAct came in third and is highly recommended if price is your deciding factor.TaxAct is much less expensive than the other top two, but many business tax filers agreed they would pay a little bit more for a few more options.The State Tax software comes included with TaxAct.In the about.com comparison, the only options not offered with this software were audit defense and tax planner.

CompleteTax was highly recommended for anyone filing their own taxes for the first time.Some thought an advantage to CompleteTax was that it was done online and there was no installation required.

Electronic Filing Service, like CompleteTax, is an online service with no downloading needed.There are no deduction aides with Electronic Filing Service.Also, they offer the option of calling for help, but it costs per session.To contact them for no cost they offer mail and email services.

Don't be intimidated by your business taxes this year, they aren't a big deal with your new software knowledge.So put that old calculator back in your desk drawer and let your computer do all of the work!A little investment in tax preparation tools can pay you back with some extra time and with all of those handy features maybe some extra money.