What's the difference between TurboTax Online and the
TurboTax CD/Download?
TurboTax
Online and the TurboTax CD/Download products are very similar and both cover
most tax situations. The majority of our customers choose TurboTax Online to
confidently file their taxes.
Here
are the big differences between the two:
1. If you file online, we store all of your information
on our secure servers. If you use the CD/Download, you need to save and store
your own tax return.
2. With TurboTax Online, you can work on your taxes from
any computer or mobile device with Internet access. With the CD/Download, you
install TurboTax on your computer and you can do your taxes without the
Internet.
3. The CD/Download product is a better overall value for
people who prepare tax returns for their friends and family. It allows you to
prepare and print unlimited federal returns and e-file up to five at no extra
cost.
There
are some tax situations that TurboTax Online does not cover. If you need to
file corporate, partnership, and estate/trust returns, or 2014-2016 amended
returns, you'll need to use the TurboTax CD/Download products.
What are the advantages of the TurboTax CD/Download
software over the Online version?
We
happen to like them both, but we recommend the TurboTax CD/Download software if
you want to:
·
Create multiple returns for family
members (it's usually cheaper);
·
File separate state returns for
married spouses, especially in community property states;
·
Play around with different tax
scenarios;
·
Access Forms Mode;
·
Have complete control over the
storage of your tax return and tax data file.
There
are some situations that only the CD/Download software can handle, such as:
·
Preparing or amending prior-year
returns;
·
Data imports from Quicken.
·
Importing more than 500 stock
transactions;
·
Corporation, S-Corporation,
Partnership, Estate, and Trust returns (these are handled in TurboTax
Business).
Related
Information:
·
How many times can I e-file using the TurboTax CD or
download?
