While I didn’t file it just yet, I prepared my tax return tonight. Also, of note, for the first time in well over twenty years, I did not use TurboTax (also previously called QuickTax) as my choice of tax preparation software. I was about to buy TurboTax for 2019 but a quick look at the troubleshooting forum for the product revealed a ton of complaints. There were errors with trying to get an update, forms that were locked preventing people from filing, and inaccurate numbers in the forms that were unlocked. I’m normally a creature of habit but the problems I saw were enough for me to buy and use UFile to prepare my return this year.
Yes, I will admit that TurboTax is a bit prettier when it comes to their UI. The user experience is slicker for sure. I didn’t experience any show-stopping errors in the program however. It’s also at least ten dollars cheaper in most cases. At the end of the day, I finished my return and it calculated that I will be seeing a refund of just under $2,000. This is wonderful news since last year, I had to owed money to the government, to the tune of a few grand.
I’m going to double-check a few more receipts and numbers before doing the actual filing but it’s good news on the tax return front this year. As for what I’m going to do with the money coming back, I’m leaning towards putting it towards my mortgage.