TurboTax Deluxe 2024 Tax Software, Federal & State Tax Return [PC/MAC Download]

TurboTax Deluxe 2024 is a reliable choice for homeowners, donors, or those with medical expenses needing federal and state tax filing. The user-friendly interface guides you through 375+ deductions, maximizing refunds with clear prompts on mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and more. It includes 5 federal e-files and 1 state download (state e-file extra), with seamless data import from prior years. The Audit Risk Meter and double-checks ensure accuracy, backed by a Maximum Refund Guarantee. Installation is smooth on Windows/Mac, though some users report minor download hiccups.

I have used TurboTax products for many years and have all been consistently good for me. What is so nice, after using it just one year all of your information will seamlessly transfer over to the next year when you do your taxes. It allows you to go step-by-step or if you know the exact sections that you need, you can also skip forward. It makes doing taxes so simplified. Can’t imagine using another program. Always well worth the money.

I don't like downloads. I like the CD disks that I can put into the computer, and have it read before I put it away for seven years. And I'm not as enamored with this particular years' service. I made two mistakes that made me have to file three times and download the program twice due to the first computer dying a sad death before I even started my taxes after the first download. The proofing could have been better, especially if you have "helpful" two legged and four legged associates running around the house interrupting a person while doing the taxes on the computer.

I’ve used Turbo Tax almost every year since they came out on 3.5 inch floppies. Not kidding. Only a couple of years I used other programs and just couldn’t get to try them a second year. I have this installed on a 2011 computer and have no issues transferring data from one year to the next. The program always recognizes previous years which makes doing taxes really easy since nothing really changes year to year. I still have 25 year old Turbo Tax files on a thumb drive in our safe. Not giving the IRS a reason.Hopefully, income tax will be a thing of the past this administration ;).

This review is for Deluxe plus one state download.So why do I title my review this way? Well, you would think that a company that does away with CD’s and the packaging for those CD’s that their pricing would reflect those savings. Yet, Intuit does away with those things and charges you more for the same basic product that last year, you could get on a CD and pay 10 to 15 bucks less than now. Great job Intuit at giving your customers a break. I preferred getting it on CD in case of a hard drive failure, but I also understand that downloading a file may be the preferred method for people these days. What I don’t understand is charging more for it. Intuit is known for trying to sneak in other fees, such as the charging for e-filing, so it doesn’t surprise me.Off the soapbox, back to the review. TT hasn’t changed much over the last few years and likewise my review still highlights some of the same pros and cons that still exist with the software and Intuit as they haven’t really bothered to fix those issues over the years. I have been a user of TT since 2007 and been mostly satisfied with the software, minus 2014’s debacle and some recent lesser issues with TT and my bank’s interface in 2022 and 2023.I always mention this because a few years ago, I used the Premier version because I thought I needed it for my investments. It might have been the way to go then before you could automatically import your investment data, but with the ability to automatically import investment data the last 10 years or so, Deluxe has been fine for that. Unless you have some unique investment situations and you are not particularly comfortable with answering the basic questions or you cannot import your investment data automatically from your bank or financial institution, you should be able to use TT Deluxe with no issues. Of course, everyone’s situation and comfort level will be different.This year with the install being all from the network as opposed from a disk, the process is similar but a bit different as well. In this case, you have to go to Intuit’s website, select what you paid for on AMZ and download it. I will issue a word of caution, make sure you select the right version and the right OS or you could create a mess that will take more time than you want with Intuit. I had that happen in a year that I ordered a download, but they sent me the wrong version. You will then be asked to log into your Intuit account with your Intuit username/password, which has been a requirement for the last couple years now. You also have to provide the software key that Amazon sends to you via email and/or you can also access in your library of digital purchases. You are also verified with a code to your phone or email address that Intuit has on file. This key and log in requirement are Intuit’s way of preventing multiple users of their software. I personally recommend saving or printing out that key so that you have it, just in case, you need it. There have been instances in past years where the key disappears and you are asked to put it back in again, so it is important to have it on hand, just in case. The download worked pretty quickly, although I have pretty fast internet. Those will slower connections make take 5 minutes or so as it is a pretty large file. The installation process seems faster and a bit smoother than in years past, whether that is due to the install being straight from Intuit or they have streamlined the process, I cannot say. For me, the initial installation was maybe one to 2 minutes on my 10-year-old Windows 10 machine. Oddly, there were no initial updates installed as there normally is with the CD. I can understand this to an extent as the CD will always have an older version at printing, but I expected at least one update on install and that didn’t initially happen. Loading the program a second time after the initial install, updates occurred though. The update that I had took about 1 to 2 minutes, which seemed faster than in years past as well. Intuit seems to have not fixed the same start up bug after update as TT did not restart after the update and I had to manually click again on TT icon to start.As it is early in tax season, it is tough to give a full in-depth review of the software, but based on my initial use of the program, as far as I can tell, the 2024 version is mostly the same as the previous year’s version with the same included forms, including the investment forms, 1099-DIV. Like every year, not all forms are available for release until after the new year. Intuit has to wait like the rest of us until the Fed and State governments release the forms.There are some additional small tweaks to the interface, which continues the trend from last year, but these are not always welcome additions. This year Intuit has made more prominent their advertisement of live tax advice for 60 bucks. Seriously, do you really need to do that? You already ask at install and when you start to file. Intuit’s way of overkill. For the most part thought, Intuit doesn’t make any drastic interface changes as the same familiarity in functionality makes the software easy to use, year after year. I will update this further if I notice any major changes once I get knee deep into my taxes in the next few weeks.As it has been for some time, Intuit does not give any information about updates in an update history log. I still don’t understand why they hide what bugs are being fixed. I think it is important for users to know what bugs are being fixed and what forms are added/corrected. I personally think Intuit is tired of users criticizing the numerous bug fixes that occur each year up until August, although that doesn’t stop the complaints, it just adds new ones for users. Intuit started getting sloppy in 2018 with updating the history log, skipping posting some updates altogether and in 2019 they got rid of it permanently. I continue to complain about that as well as others do, but Intuit continues to ignore the history log. Intuit bring back your detailed update history and not some vague postings, it is important for users to know what is being fixed and what forms are being added with updates.As it has been for the last few years, Intuit no longer supports Windows XP, Windows 7 or Windows 8, and you need Windows 10 or higher and older Mac OSs. If you are still an older OS and plan to use TT for your taxes, you should probably use the TT tax online instead of trying to install a program on your computer. This is mostly for security issues that older OS are incompatible. Check compatibility with your computer before buying this software.If you have issues with installation in Win 10 or Win 11, try installing as an administrator, as I have seen that issue over the last couple of years, although that has not personally occurred with my installations and I didn’t have any issues this year.As I previously mentioned, the same bug from the past three years where you have to hit the launch button after there is an update installed as the software won’t re-launch and instead closed. I have to manually started the software from the TT desktop icon afterward.As it has been for the last 4 years or so, Intuit has an activation key and requires activation with your online Intuit account as well as be verified by phone or email. I presume this is to limit multiple users. It is not an issue for me, but if you use this among several family members or friends, this will limit giving the file for someone else to use. The key seemed to work with no issues this year as opposed to past years where the key either failed to work or would not allow the download of the software from the website.I still think that Intuit intentionally creates confusion with their multiple versions and efforts to get you to upgrade to a more expensive version. In a lot of cases upgrading to a more expensive version is not necessary. I have also complained since 2007, that I don’t like that Intuit has a tendency to hide their additional fees, such as the additional state download costs and e-filing costs, which I also think are excessively priced. I will say this again, state e-filing should be FREE.My tax situation has been mostly the same for the last several years and includes investments/mutual funds, which the deluxe version has handled perfectly fine, especially if you can automatically interface with your bank or investment company online, which was added around 2013. This functionality appears to be ok in this version as well. Chase bank and Intuit an issue in 2022, which was mostly fixed in 2023, but there were still glitches. It imported my interest income but not my wife’s for some reason, which was a minor thing, but still annoying. Hopefully that is fixed this year, I will update this in a few weeks. There was also a small bug last year where it asked to fill out an address in the forms that for some reason didn’t transfer over into the file e-file form. I will see if that occurs again and update accordingly.TT has had the ability to download and import your investment information directly into the program. Intuit tries to make it seem like you really need to upgrade for stocks and investments and in reality, for most cases, it isn’t necessary. If you have a unique tax/investment situation, then you may have a reason to get the premier or home/business version as everyone’s tax situation is different. For me, I have found for most standard investment stuff, the deluxe version works just fine.I suggest getting the Deluxe version and then if you have any issues with the investment portion or have other specific needs, opt for the upgrade to a higher version, which you can do afterwards, once you get into the program and find that you need additional guidance. I still think that TT should have a Home/business version (for those with businesses) and a version for everyone else, with and without state). Multiple versions with just a few added features create confusion for the consumer.Intuit’s seems to have done away with its terrible Quicken promotion as I didn’t see it offered. It really wasn’t a deal and Quicken is a shell of what it used to be as software.Pricewise, I already mentioned that Intuit has basically eliminated its CD and packaging costs and raised praises. There was an initial sale price around the holiday, but the normal drop at the end of December to 45 dollars for the Deluxe plus state didn’t occur. It is now 55 dollars as a “sale” price, which has trended up in recent years. Unless you really need the software before then, I suggest grabbing the software when you see the price drop around the holidays as it seems they now raise prices into the new year.As with each tax year, there are usually tax changes, the basic software works essentially the same. TT always seems to have bugs that seem to occur with each new version of TT, although it is impossible to tell what is being fixed with no update log being provided. In year’s past, Intuit has averaged around 45 to 55 patches and updates. Of course, some of the fixes are tax form updates or adding of forms that the IRS has just released of course. Maybe the program updates will be less with the elimination of the CD as I haven’t seen that type of update yet, but I do expect some over the course of using this software. I am always concerned that Intuit will still be issuing program updates after the April tax deadline. I understand Intuit needs to update things with the tax changes that may create some issues, but it does concern me that they have software bugs throughout the tax season, year after year and hide what they are fixing.I always wait to file with TT for several weeks into tax season and suggest most people do the same for a few reasons. One is to make sure the majority of the software updates and bugs in TT are worked out as well as all of the needed forms are installed as some of those come in mid-Jan or later. I also wait to file because of my investments. If you have investments/mutual funds, it is a good idea to wait a few weeks into the new year as well because, depending on what investment company (or bank) you utilize for the investments/mutual funds, 1099-DIV information tends to get updated with adjusted totals around late February or March and can drastically alter your tax totals if you file too soon. I had that happen to me a few years ago which caused some issues. Most forms should be on time per the schedule that Intuit has posted on its website.My yearly complaint about the additional cost of e-filing with the state (currently 25 dollars in my state) which in my opinion should be free with purchase. Intuit defends this saying that you can print for free, which to me, in today’s electronic world, is just ludicrous. In addition, if you have to file taxes in multiple states, then you have to pay for the additional cost (I believe is currently 40 bucks) to download that state’s forms as well, which I think is excessive.Hopefully, there will be no issues with uploading my 1099-DIV, which was smooth last year, but had some issues in 2021. I will update with any issues related to that.Even though I have my complaints, TT is the better cost option for me than the major tax retailers, even though TT’s prices seems to be creeping up over the last few years.As I have previously mentioned, the TT interface is basically the same and hasn’t changed much over the last few years, although there appears to be a few small tweaks aimed at a smoother interface. Even with my complaints about Intuit, I like the way the software walks you through the different things to help you finish the taxes pretty accurately. It is quick, easy, and I haven’t had any issues with the software doing my taxes.I have seen the occasion bug that pops up from time to time but that has mostly occurred with the error checks when it is verifying that you have no errors in the past. Luckily, there has been no calculation errors. These issues seem to have been smoothed out the last couple years as I have not seen many issues in the last few years in the regard. Intuit still needs to bring back their update history log though and make sure it is detailed with what is fixed/changed/added, etc. There was no activation bug this year, but don’t throw out that key.Like previous years, there is no easy way to report bugs to Intuit. I don’t know why Intuit can't you add a bug report button either in the software or on your webpage. No one wants to sit on the phone just to report a possible bug.From past experience, Intuit has horrible tech support.The last couple of years there has been an interface issue with Chase and importing 1099-INT information where the data can’t be imported like in years past and it must be added manually. This I consider a minor annoyance, since that is a relatively quick input of data, but I really don’t understand why this hasn’t been fixed since 2019, this was never an issue to import automatically before. I will update my review is this issue pops up again this year.Other than some minor tweaks, this version appears to be ok as the deluxe functionality is the same as last.With Intuit fixing bugs with the program and updating forms, I suggest waiting a few weeks before filing to make sure no critical bug affects your tax filings and to make sure your investments are updated. Intuit also needs to bring back the update log and links as well as address past bank interface issues a little more quickly, in addition to address complaints with their hidden fees and versions, which continues to be ignored by Intuit.3 stars

I went to three different stores looking for the CD-ROM version of TurboTax before I learned they don’t make it anymore. So I tried Intuit’s online version from the TurboTax website. That was way different and I didn’t feel comfortable with it. Then I thought I’ll try Amazon. They had the program on sale and I bought it. It took me awhile to figure out how to download and install it (Amazon really should make the instructions more prominent). Once I did, I was good to go. I had the TurboTax program that I know and love. Everything processed just fine and within hours both my federal and state returns were accepted.

I've been using Turbo Tax since 1999, and love it!! However, the only negative....it seems every year the past few they add or change the steps needed to install and use the product. It would be nice if you could just download the program, enter your key, and install and use the product....oh how I miss those days. Now it seems every year they add another step, or change last year's steps, to get to that point. Nothing is simple and straight forward anymore :-(