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now i am puzzled why you say almost no one uses Basic. I thought it was great. (but then you don't know what you don't know!) What makes you go for the upgrades that basic lacks?
There is nothing inherently wrong with Basic beyond being relegated to using Forms Mode for some entries.
The upgraded versions simply offer additional guidance in Step-by-Step mode.
What I had meant...up in the first post...was that few, or perhaps none of us who are experienced forum helpers, actually uses the desktop "Basic" edition. So sometimes we can't always see exactly what a user sees for that software package's display and it's exact software progression when they are answering a question that relates to the "Basic" edition.
Certainly, one of the primary reason's why few of us actually use "Basic" is that the higher versions come with one free state software download ......and Basic never does, while most of us need at least one state to file. So a user that has to prepare and file a state, will always have a lower software cost by using one of the higher versions right from the start.
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A crude summary of what the higher versions offer for "help" can be seen if you access, and scroll down on the desktop comparison page:
https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/cd-download/
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One other reason for using any desktop software itself, as already noted by tagteam, is the availability of a "Forms Mode' to see easily see the actual forms the software is filling out for you at any time you want to take a look
....the BUT to that, is that one year TTX eliminated "Forms" displays for the Basic users. A real stink was raised about that and it was re-initiated later. No telling what TTX will do in the future to make "Basic" less minimally useful.....that's between the TTX powers and their marketing folks advice.
thank you for all the comments. Since i do not have to file a state return, the pro/con was not so obvious. I appreciate the time and effort to help me
When I worked for TT support I had access to ALL of the programs and trust me ... ALL the downloaded versions work exactly the same way. Basic can handle all the same forms and situations. The only thing that Basic doesn't have is an included state return and the ability to import from "It's Deductible".
The only thing upgrading to a higher level does (aside from taking more of your money) is it gets you more guidance in certain sections (aka a longer interview process with more screens to click thru) which I personally find unnecessary since you get the same info by simply clicking on the blue "learn more" hyperlinks. So I always say to start with the Basic (or Deluxe if you need a state return) and only upgrade if you feel the need for more "hand holding".
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