Using the deluxe package is not mandatory. It is recommended if your taxes are a little more complex than usual. If you know you have a lot of deductions and that you might need more help with figuring things out, then yes I would go for it. As for my wife and I, we kept it simple and went with the Absolute Zero program, just us, no kids, two w-2s, no huge expenses, no big life changing events. Just fill it out and done. BTW,Thanks TurboTax!