Eric

I don't know about the sign-out issue either. That sounds to me like the browser is remembering your details and logging you in automatically. You'll probably have to delete your cache and any cookies for this site to make it stop doing that. To test to see whether it's a browser thing, you can try logging in with a different browser (for example, if you're using Firefox, try logging in with Internet Explorer or Chrome to see if that same behavior persists) Whether you're logged in or not shouldn't affect the View New Content feature, however. If you go to the View New Content page, and view one of the topics listed (going to the last page of the thread) and then come back to the View New Content page, is that thread still listed, or does it disappear from the list?

Lizawelch just created an account today. To post their endorsement of Cloud whatever, the place Meenakshi was spamming earlier. I don't think it's a coincidence.

They're spamming the forum. Pretty sure Lizawelch is just another account created to spread it more.

The person who started this topic registered just to post it. Probably because they're an employee? Idunno. I heard from a guy who knows a guy. lol. I'm sure the press release will be out soon enough.

I heard the same, just a few minutes ago.

Nobody drives up to your house and intercepts email, but there are plenty of people who work in data centers and ISPs who have access to it. Possibly your son included? Heck, I run email service for dozens of clients on my server. I could read and download their email all day long. Really, it's no different than someone working for the Post Office having easy access to all of that mail. It's VERY unlikely that anyone would tamper with your snail mail, and also VERY unlikely that anyone will tamper with your email, but I wouldn't use the word "secure" to describe either service. EDIT: Also, it's true that password theft is almost always the cause of people getting their email address hijacked, but that doesn't change the end result: personal information is left exposed. Generally, people have very poor habits when it comes to setting passwords.

I've worked for one income tax software company and one sales and use tax software company. I think I'll stick to web development :)

How does delaying your order prepare you for this kind of mess? (serious question) So you pay when the software is released. You've paid a slightly higher price for software that you'll get at the same time as everyone else, only to find yourself in the same situation? Or would you wait to order until after the software is released, and you can see the reaction from members of a community like this? Even then, how do you tell the difference between early-in-the-season bugs common with the first release from from a deeper problem that's less likely to see a timely resolution? Or maybe I'm missing the point of the question entirely. I guess I have a hard time to relate. I rely on lots of different software, but none of it is on a yearly cycle like tax software. I guess if it were my decision, I'd do things differently: Program itself is free, receiving constant updates over time. Major features added between seasons, but gradually refined through the off season. No yearly releases, just normal version numbers. Single software program has simple toggle to switch views between different tax years (forms, client list, efile status, etc) Customers are welcome to test newly added features in the off season, providing valuable feedback to augment in-house QA department. Just install the updates in the off season and report any problems encountered. New tax forms / calculation engine updates are subscription based, probably a yearly subscription, but with some thought it might be possible to come up with a fair solution for a monthly subscription model.

Speaking of computer security, don't forget to update Windows tomorrow. IE is getting 50+ security vulnerabilities patched. 5 of them are critical, allowing remote code execution. Microsoft even suggested using another browser until this Patch Tuesday. It's important to have the security updates installed after they're released, because that's when they are reverse engineered and used to exploit unpatched systems.

Haha, you guys are relentless. I'll finish my return, save it as a PDF, and then scan my documents (there isn't much, really) and ask one of you to take a look.

It's no trouble at all!

How does one generally share all of these documents long distance? I can scan paperwork, but email doesn't seem very efficient. Google Drive? Dropbox? Something else?

Now there are too many people offering to do the return, and I can't possibly choose. And then what would I do next year? I can't ask for anyone to do my return every year for nothing. Please know that the sentiment is very much appreciated. Don't make me delete this thread!

No, not maxed out. In fact, it's the number form Box 2 that is showing up in TT as my actual expenses.. it didn't do the subtraction at all. In 2011 it showed tuition minus box 5. Yes, getting the Lifetime Learning Credit, not AOC Home office deduction isn't bad, but depreciation is where I draw the line. When I started at ATX (tech support for the first couple years) any call involving form 4562 was terrifying. Definitely a job for someone better at this stuff than me.

I live one town over from Caribou Maine. There aren't many people up here Tuition is pretty much all she has for expenses. I was almost certain that was the case about the scholarships, but I was too chicken to simply override the number to what I thought it should be. My employer and her employer both pay part of her tuition, so I'll just have to deduct that stuff and fudge the number. There are a few books, but they're all ebooks and amount to less than $50 so I didn't mention them here. The Lifetime Learning credit is the one that TT picked out. Thank you for the advice, and also for the generous offer, but I can't accept free tax preparation. I'm sure after some hunting, I'll find someone locally.

Instead of sending PMs to everyone, here's where I'm at: I'm inclined to think it's a problem with TurboTax's calculations. I think I've narrowed it down to the education expenses. My wife got a 1098-T in 2011 and 2012. In 2011, TurboTax subtracted box 5 (scholarships or grants) from box 2 (Amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses) to arrive at the total for educational expenses. In 2012, that's not the case. Instead, TurboTax 2012 simply took the number in box 2 as the educational expenses. And Bart, I think you're absolutely right. I'm going to start looking for someone on Monday.

Hey John, I'll send you a quick PM. I know where the difference is coming from, I just don't understand why. Normally I wouldn't bother you folks with this stuff. I probably bringing my return to a professional, because I'm surely missing a lot. For example, I have a home office, but it's too much of a bother for me to keep track of everything to take advantage of it. Which means I'll have to be less lazy about my bookkeeping. Blugh. When something like this comes up, I have to know WHY. I'm not content in handing it off for someone else to fix it for me without understanding the reason behind the problem. I should really find a local preparer to hire who doesn't mind sitting down and explaining stuff when I have questions.

As most of you probably understand, I don't know anything about taxes. I've used ATX software in the past, and now use TurboTax Home & Business (gasp) for my fairly simple return with a Sch C for the little bit of freelance work I do every year. This is our first year with kids in daycare, and my wife is taking classes toward her master's degree, but still, I can't help but feel like the refund amount is just way too much. Should I talk to someone about whether it really is far off, or should I just give in and let a professional take care of it?

The weather channel names winter storms? I had no idea. I guess owning weather.com went to their heads. It's been a long time since I'd seen Finding Nemo and I don't think I saw it all the way though. Now I'm curious.

Well, from my point of view, as a web developer, all I really care about is how well a browser supports web standards, and how fast it is. In these two specific areas, Chrome is the best, no question. Other browsers have other strengths. Firefox has tons of extensions available for adding features. The only benefits that I can think of for Internet Explorer is that it comes with Windows, and it works with poorly designed websites that require Internet Explorer to function properly. There are spell check addons available for IE, although I've never tried them. http://www.speckie.com/ http://www.iespell.com/

I don't have the software, but based on TaxMan60601's Windows XP path, I would guess C:UsersAll UsersApplication DataCCH Small Firm ServicesATX2012 I think All Users and Application Data are hidden, so in Windows Explorer you'll have to go to Organize > Folder and search options > View > Show hidden files folders and drives

Hobbes is one classy tiger! As for the spell checker, what web browser are you using? Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome both have build-in spell checkers, not sure about Internet Explorer. My experience was that Chrome automatically had spell check enabled. Firefox wasn't checking spelling until I right clicked on a word in the editor and enabled "Check Spelling" but since then it has remained enabled on the website.

Already done

When they do taper off, I plan on removing the new forum and moving the threads back to General Chat. The flood of program related stress this year is higher than I've ever seen it before, and it was dominating General Chat. I think the root cause of this year's issues is a little more serious than in years past. I think it's likely to take longer for these things to get cleared up. EDIT: I'm going to remove the VMS forum while I'm at it. We've had one thread so far this year in there, and zero threads created last year. Kyle hasn't worked for them in forever, and nobody from VMS is watching it. EDIT2: I'll create any vendor specific forums that people request. I have no problem with extra forums for vendors, and I'm not worried about them getting too little traffic. I think it's important for community members to connect with others using the same software, even if there aren't many. EDIT3: Please know that I do not always closely monitor the forums depending on my work load, especially the Other Vendors category. When in doubt, send me a PM or post in "Help!" both will notify me by email.

I moved a bunch of threads, but left links pointing back to them as a way to direct people to the new forum. Those pointers will quickly sink to the bottom of the forum though, since they can't be replied to.