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Level 2
posted Jan 11, 2025 9:40:10 AM

Been using TT for 20 years. Removing the running estimate is stupid.

And no, I can't find it in federal review. That redirects straight to state. If there's another workaround, I can't find it and I'm sure other won't either. That is by far the most useful feature to see where things stand before all of your forms are in.

"Hey we have a product that has been working for people for decades, let's remove one of their favorite features to make things interesting." - Chucklehead Exec

 

UPDATE:
So this is where things stand. It came up after I entered enough deductions and was finally allowed to go through the federal review questions without a redirect to state. I'm not sure if that was an error or feature but it was a poor experience either way. Taking away information from a user is never a good idea. It's like driving the same care for decades and someone puts a big old sticker in the center of your windshield.

Also, this is not about hiding my income but at a quick glance, I can see that I probably forgot something. It's also an incentive to go find that receipt I was too tired or lazy to enter that one day. lol

I decided to explore some of the other options out there since it's been a long time. Cash App taxes and FreeTaxUSA both got the job done and were accurate but not as intuitive. The former is free and the latter is something like 1/10 the filing cost for federal and state. Personally, I'm going to stick with TurboTax this year because my taxes are done and it's the first place I look for old returns. We'll see how next year goes.

15 17 7686
17 Replies
Expert Alumni
Jan 14, 2025 10:01:42 AM
Level 9
Jan 14, 2025 10:10:43 AM

After you put in your income and deductions and run review then the estimate will show up.

Level 2
Jan 14, 2025 10:20:50 AM

Did that. 

Level 2
Jan 14, 2025 10:28:08 AM

Thanks but I’ve already seen that. I understand they’re trying to cut down on support tickets but it should be an optional feature to turn on/off; not a QA joke.

Level 8
Jan 14, 2025 10:58:52 AM

In the 20 year club also, not tried online and never will - one solution is to come back to desktop version which still looks and works the same way it's worked for 20 years, tho someone keeps redesigning 1099 input to make that more difficult.

Level 3
Jan 14, 2025 12:40:48 PM

OP, I agree with you that this is a product management issue. The following thread seems to be the main one. https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/please-bring-back-the-running-total-refund-tax-due-at-the-top-of-the-screen/00/3276283

New Member
Jan 22, 2025 9:48:05 AM

COMPLETELY agree. Just spent time on chat trying to find it and discovered they removed the feature. Huge downgrade. You'd think they'd listen to customer feedback and re-enable it. I'm actually going to explore HR Block or another service to see what their interface is like. Using Turbotax for years as well but this is a poor "improvement". 

Level 2
Jan 23, 2025 7:58:09 AM

Same here, impossible to get the data file for doing 2024 taxes. what are they doing. I am so sorry I already bought the 2024 TT software.....Frustrated....even tried there solutions got no where, called support forget that!!

Level 15
Jan 23, 2025 8:14:45 AM

@rjkj 

 

I have it on mine.  Don't recall how I got there

BUT

Try jumping to the Federal review.

Then back to the income entry area.

Then click on the carat (>) next to the "explain" where the refund monitor is supposed to be:

_____________________________________________________

 

 

_________________________________________

 

New Member
Jan 28, 2025 8:21:29 PM

I too have been using TT for probably 18 years.  

I started my taxes about a week ago and have been updating as docs come in.  Not only is there no running estimate, there is no way to find my forms and taxes due or a refund.  I am sent directly to the screen to pay.  I spent over an hour on the phone with a TT representative and tried multiple browsers and cleared caches.

The only other suggestion I was given was to pay for the laptop version (I am already paying for deluxe) or to download the app and file on my phone!  Really!?! file on my phone?

 

New Member
Jan 28, 2025 8:22:17 PM

didn't work

New Member
Jan 31, 2025 10:39:50 AM

Agree.  Forms arrive over time and it is very help to see where things are headed for planning cash.  

Level 2
Feb 2, 2025 6:20:21 PM

I've been on a couple calls with help desk support to try to find what happened to my "explain my taxes" feature. It disappeared from my TurboTax online last week! It was by far the most helpful feature. I still have the running total, but when I click on the carat it just makes the running total disappear. Clicking on the carat again makes the running total reappear. But the "explain my taxes" is totally gone. What's worse is that instead of just admitting they removed the "explain my taxes" feature, TurboTax just gave me the run around and did a lot of gaslighting. I've been using TT for 20 years like yourself, but this may be the last year if they don't fix this issue with "explain my taxes."

 

 

Level 15
Feb 2, 2025 6:34:40 PM

MISSING REFUND MONITOR

 

Sorry—-the “running” refund monitor that used to change as you entered data is gone.  You have to get all of your income, etc. entered into the software in order to see the results.

 

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/customer-complaints/dont-see-tracker-shows-refund-taxes-owed/L55VbCDh0_US_en_US?uid=luslzmrc

 

 

The other place for you to look for your federal refund or federal tax due is on your Form 1040

Federal refund will be on line 35a

Federal tax due (that needs to be paid by April 15) will be on line 37

  

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/preview-turbotax-online-return-filing/L77WCkvnu_US_en_US?uid=m681fkhr

 

 

Level 1
Feb 3, 2025 7:26:48 AM

Dear TurboTax / Intuit.. I have been using TurboTax for 15 years.. Like the OP above, I value having the running tracker at the top of the screen so that I can track very quickly what I may owe.

 

Removing that feature was one of the dumbest design decisions you could have made,and it's actually making me consider filing with a different product SIMPLY OUT OF SPITE this year because you removed the running refund / amount owed tracker.  

 

I  hate 2024 product.  without the tracker it's  pretty much worthless... Yes, your tax preparation software without the running calculator to show us if we owe or get a refund is a worthless product in my mind.  2024 Turbotax is a pile of dogpoo.

New Member
Feb 12, 2025 10:37:18 AM

This is inaccurate.

New Member
Feb 12, 2025 10:51:26 AM

Apparently the folks in India did not bother checking the computer application since the mobile application works fine.