Turbo Tax Desktop - Please keep it

[user17658219065]

I read that the future of TurboTax is online only? Please do not eliminate local installs for TurboTax. In an increasingly online world, the ability to keep data stored locally and privately is more important than ever. Installing TurboTax is not a hassle  (as the Intuit advertising email claims), and the online-only version does not work for many people. If TurboTax moves to a solely online model, I will choose to find another way to do my taxes.  Hope Turbo Tax continues to empower people, LOCALY.

[M-MTax]

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@user17658219065 wrote:

Hope Turbo Tax continues to empower people, LOCALY.

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You are far from alone in that hope.

My sense (and only mine) is that desktop won't disappear in the short-term but, eventually, TurboTax (as well as other tax software developers' products) will be 100% online. Hopefully, this will occur later rather than sooner.

[user99562]

I agree. I really don't want to have to switch from desktop to online.

[LenSegal47]

I agree. I do not store any of my personal or financial info in the cloud. I absolutely will not use a product that forces me to do so. 

[VeryLongSigh...]

The ability to work on my taxes, view everything in a current or past return (including all the worksheets, etc., not just the filed info) and, if necessary, work on an amended return without internet access is essential.  And I don't want anything shared with anyone other than is minimally necessary for transmission of my return, and even that should be deleted from intermediary sites as soon as the return is accepted by the IRS and state.  If Intuit cannot, or won't, agree to these fundamental issues of reliability and confidentiality, I'll find another service provider that will.

[M-MTax]

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@VeryLongSigh... wrote:

If Intuit cannot, or won't, agree to these fundamental issues of reliability and confidentiality,

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I'm not sure I understand your issue. As far as I have been able to determine, Intuit fulfills your requirements with respect to their desktop programs at least.

[VeryLongSigh...]

As the originator of this thread and numerous others have indicated, the only reasonable interpretation of their "The Future of TurboTax is Online" promotion is that they intend to fully eliminate, or reduce support for, the desktop product.  If so, my concerns will not be met and I'll be looking for alternatives.  I'm a long-term user, not entirely satisfied but not dissatisfied enough to change... yet.

[M-MTax]

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@VeryLongSigh... wrote:

"The Future of TurboTax is Online" promotion is that they intend to fully eliminate, or reduce support for, the desktop product.  

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Understood, BUT that's almost certainly the intention of the other developers of desktop products. It may take more than just a few years but, ultimately, it will all be online.

BTW, TaxAct and H&R Block are the only other developers of DIY, consumer-level, tax prep software other than Intuit.

[VeryLongSigh...]

I've never used any of those others, so I can't quit them.  Not yet, anyway.  TurboTax, that I can quit when it fails to meet my needs.

BTW, I was also not a willing TurboTax user in the first place -- I was a MacInTax user before it was acquired.  It was the superior product and I regretted having to change. Prior to that, I did my taxes in Excel, with spreadsheets that covered all the tax situations that applied to me.  It was never simple (and updating the spreadsheets every year to keep up with changes), but I understood my tax situation much better than I do now.

That said, I've been with TurboTax ever since.

[M-MTax]

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@VeryLongSigh... wrote:

I've never used any of those others, so I can't quit them.  Not yet, anyway.  TurboTax, that I can quit when it fails to meet my needs.

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You won't be doing a lot of "quitting" anyway since there's only two others besides TurboTax. If you try H&R and don't like it, you can quite that and try TaxAct. If you don't like TaxAct you can quit that, but then there will be nothing left to quit.

[VeryLongSigh...]

Oh, I don't think I'd like either of those any better, but if they meet my two stated "must haves" -- offline access and protection of my confidential information -- I might have to live with them.  And if they don't meet those requirements, I might actually have to use a CPA or tax attorney.  (I know someone's gonna say "Yeah, but they use online services, too", but I believe I'd be protected better.)

We're not there yet, thankfully, and I hope we don't get there anytime soon.  Maybe Intuit will listen to their customers and maintain the desktop product for those who prefer it, as I do. 

[M-MTax]

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@VeryLongSigh... wrote:

Maybe Intuit will listen to their customers and maintain the desktop product...

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I have no inside information (I mean ZERO), but I imagine they'll keep desktop around for a few more years.

However, regardless of anyone's wants or needs, the future is going to be online prep and filing. I mean, it IS going to happen, it's just a matter of how soon.

[jmwcpacma]

They took Quickbooks Pro Desktop away for the online version.  After decades of using desktop, and also being somewhat fluent in the online version of Quickbooks, I will find an alternative.  The underlying accounting hierarchy is the same for all accounting packages.

[Mike9241]

@VeryLongSigh... not sure anyone is totally safe. consider all the fortune 500 companies that have been hacked including defense contractors.  I think even one of the major credit monitoring companies was hacked. Even the IRS got hacked by a independent contractor they were using - DJT's return. 

[LenSegal47]

I agree. However, I'm not going to store my SSN, tax return or other PII on the web. It makes it much too easy for hackers. I can't control what other companies do with my info (health insurance companies, providers, etc.), but I can control what I personally do. For the same reason, I don't do any financial business on my smartphone, everything is done on a wired desktop machine.