Democrats are loose in Washington, D.C., and the Internal Revenue Service is itching to get into our pockets. At this time of the year, when we need to dig out our box of receipts and take on the unpleasant task of figuring out what we owe our reckless uncle, it might seem as though we haven’t a friend.
Fortunately, Macintosh users have a buddy in San Diego who will do our taxes for us each year. And this chum gets friendlier each year.
A couple of years ago, ChipSoft of San Diego ported TurboTax, its popular MS-DOS tax-preparation program, to the Macintosh platform to take on Softview’s MacInTax. Last year, ChipSoft decided it was easier to buy the competition than go head-to-head again. That was a move I liked because TurboTax’s most outstanding feature was its help system (which also was MacInTax’s Achilles’ Heel). Combined into one package, ChipSoft’s MacInTax was a tremendous improvement.
But it still had weaknesses (as does every software product) and in the year since, ChipSoft has worked hard toward making MacInTax even better.
Taxes are generally difficult, perhaps one of the most daunting and loathsome tasks we face each year. So MacInTax can become an even bigger hit by easing our pain.
Welcome to the new MacInTax and EasyStep.
It only gets easier
EasyStep is one of two ways we can prepare our 1992 tax returns with MacInTax (the other is the “classic approach” or, more accurately, the more difficult approach). When we launch MacInTax, we’re given the option of going with EasyStep or going it alone.
When it comes to taxes and math, I never go it alone, so I love EasyStep. Especially since ChipSoft guarantees its calculations, even to the point that if you’re audited and the mistake was MacInTax’s calculations, ChipSoft will pay the penalties.
No matter how difficult your taxes might be to prepare (to some limit, of course), EasyStep holds our hand throughout the process and patiently asks each question. No flipping through pages of IRS mumbo-jumbo trying to figure out what form to use. EasyStep starts at the beginning and gently leads us through this difficult terrain.
My 1992 taxes were simple to figure out, even without MacInTax (though I no doubt would have gotten the math wrong, or at least would have felt uneasy until the Treasury Department check arrived in my mailbox). I took the 1040EZ approach. My experience, however, will give you an idea of EasyStep’s approach to tax preparation.
I selected EasyStep when the application finished loading into memory and was given a quick tutorial on how EasyStep works. It’s almost like a HyperCard stack with right and left arrows. Then MacInTax asked what form I’d like to use and by clicking on each form, I could discover which I was eligible to use. I chose 1040EZ and began the interview process. MacInTax’s interview system is not new, but combined with EasyStep, it makes much more sense because we’re being pampered from the time we launch the program until we print the final form.
After I’ve selected our primary form, MacInTax wants to know if I’d like to import some of the information from last year’s MacInTax return (if I’ve used MacInTax before) or from Quicken or CheckFree.
EasyStep doesn’t miss a thing (and if I try, MacInTax will warn me). MacInTax fills in all of the blanks, helps with deductions, figures out the math and makes the process almost enjoyable. After I finished the interview and, essentially, finished filling out the tax return, MacInTax helped me decide if I needed any additional forms to handle any miscellaneous receipts.
The last three steps of EasyStep are the coolest.
• MacInTax’s built-in accountant checks over my return for the possibility of being audited (it should have laughed at mine) and for missing or inconsistent information. It even makes suggestions on how I could save money on taxes. I don’t know how ChipSoft was able to stuff both H and R Block into those disks.
• No Command-P needed here; MacInTax knows it’s time to print and gets ready to spit out my document.
• If I want to forget the stamp and save a tree, the final part of EasyStep allows me to file electronically. While this isn’t directly to the IRS, it can get my return in my hands much more quickly (reportedly three to six weeks faster). I can even have my refund deposited directly to my bank account. To be able to file electronically, I must have a refund or zero-balance return and a modem. I’ll have to fill out an extra form (which MacInTax, of course, handles for me) and it costs $20.
How easy is it?
Since this is the third year in a row I’ve used MacInTax, I can safely evaluate the improvements ChipSoft has made. However, somebody with less confidence might be able to better evaluate just how easy MacInTax and EasyStep are. So I put MacInTax in front of my friend Laurie Williams. Laurie hasn’t had her Classic II for too long, but she is a budding guru nonetheless.
I got her started, then left her alone — without the manual — to see how she’d do. Laurie reports that the process seems easy enough, especially with EasyStep, but at one point she was asked if anything appeared in Box 17 of her W-2, which she did. MacInTax informed her that she might not be able to use 1040EZ because of this (though she could, the IRS later told me, because it was a 401(k) contribution) and she tried to convert the data she’d already entered to the 1040 or 1040A. This she found difficult, especially without the manual. She also wanted to see what various IRA deposits might do to her total tax picture, which she found cumbersome.
With the manual (and if she didn’t have to try to convert the data), I’m confident the process would have been even smoother for her.
Documentation
If the size of the manual is any indication of a program’s ease, MacInTax must be getting better each year. MacInTax’s documentation now consists of a thin 84-page manual. And really, that’s all we need. In fact, I thought too much room was given to installing the software, since this year’s version (on four double-density disks) uses the Apple installer, which makes it a snap.
In addition to installation, the manual also covers using EasyStep, using the traditional approach and answering common tax questions.
Help!
We’re all looking for help when it comes to filling out our tax returns. This still is MacInTax’s greatest strength. In addition to EasyStep and the interview process, MacInTax provides a comprehensive tax help function, along with official IRS instructions.
The help menu explains changes to both MacInTax and U.S. tax laws. MacInTax’s cross-reference function brings up help for whatever part of the form we’re on.
MacInTax’s status bar also is a big help. A window in the upper left corner provides a message for whatever kind of field we’re in (such as text input, calculated value, itemized value or numeric input). And as your pointer passes over icons in the status bar, this message tells what each is (such as IRS instructions, reminder notes, tax summaries and itemizing).
If that isn’t enough, ChipSoft has technical support for extended hours during tax season. It also has a toll-free fax line for technical questions, a 24-hour, 2400-baud bulletin board system and support areas on CompuServe and GEnie.
The one weird thing (and I complained about it in last year’s version, too) is that MacInTax doesn’t take advantage of System 7’s balloon help. I’m not a big fan of balloon help, but MacInTax is one program where it would really make sense.
Conclusions
EasyStep is a big improvement over last year’s version of MacInTax. It simplifies the entire process and does a better job of holding our hands.
The price, too, isn’t so prohibitive. Street price is around $50 (renewals are $40) for the federal version and $35 for state versions (including Oregon). A year ago, I suggested that ChipSoft might do better making available a cheaper specialized version for those of us who don’t need all of the forms. This idea, apparently, still hasn’t caught on, as just the one version is available.
I have another idea, though. Wouldn’t it be cool if ChipSoft made a deal with America Online to have an online tax form that would go through the interview process just like the one we get on disk? ChipSoft could charge, say, $30, which would cover the “software” and the electronic filing fee. Since it would be on America Online, users would have the benefit of a real graphical user interface (as opposed to CompuServe’s lame attempt), plus we could have it billed on our monthly accounts (and directly to our credit cards). And we wouldn’t even have to wait for MacWarehouse’s overnight shipping!
Reprinted from The Finder, monthly newsletter of the Mid-Columbia Macintosh Users Group. Nonprofit computer user groups have permission to reprint this article as long as the author and the Mid-Columbia Macintosh Users Group in Tri-Cities, Wash., are fully credited and a copy of the newsletter in which the article appears is sent to:
